LOCATION DESERET UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Xeric Haplogypsids
TYPICAL PEDON: Deseret silt loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 4 inches, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) when moist; weak, thin platy structure; soft friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine vesicular pores; moderately calcareous; strongly alkaline; clear, smooth boundary.
A2--4 to 9 inches, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silty clay loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) when moist; weak, medium, subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; common fine and few medium roots; common fine and few medium pores; moderately calcareous; strongly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary.
By1--9 to 15 inches, pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) when moist; weak, medium, subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common fine and few medium roots; few fine and very fine pores; few salt and gypsum flecks; strongly calcareous; strongly alkaline, gradual smooth boundary.
By2--15 to 25 inches, very pale brown (10YR 8/2) silty clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) when moist, massive; hard firm, sticky and plastic; few fine and medium roots; common fine and few medium pores; many gypsum flecks; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline; gradual, wavy boundary.
By3--25 to 38 inches, very pale brown (10YR 8/3) loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) when moist, massive; very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; common fine and few medium pores; many gypsum flecks; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline; abrupt, wavy boundary.
By4--38 to 60 inches, very pale brown (10YR 8/3) silty clay loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) when moist; common fine, distinct, strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) mottles; massive; few fine and medium roots; few fine and very fine tubular pores; many gypsum flecks; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Millard County, Utah; about 2 miles north of the town of Pavant; about 1,050 feet west and 600 feet north of the southeast corner of section 16, T. 20 S., R. 5 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 51 to 56 degrees F. The mean summer temperature at a depth of 20 inches ranges from 69 to 72 degrees F. In most years the soils are saturated for a period of time from a depth of 48 to 60 inches.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 6 or 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. It ranges from sandy loam through silty clay loam. The A horizon is moderately or strongly alkaline.
The By horizon has a hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 6 through 8 dry, 4 through 6 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. They are dominantly silty clay loam, loam, and silt loam, in some pedons thin lenses of sandy loam occur. These horizons average between 18 and 35 percent clay and less than 15 percent coarser than very fine sand. The gypsic horizons occur at depths of 8 to 60 inches and mottles may occur at depths of 30 inches or greater. The By horizon is moderately or strongly alkaline. The By horizon contains 5 to 25 percent gypsum, and averages 15 to 20 percent gypsum.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Soutin (UT) series. Soutin soils are not saturated from 40 to 60 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Deseret soils are on floodplains and lake terraces at elevations of 4,600 to 4,800 feet. Slope gradients are 0 to 4 percent. The soils formed in lacustrine and deltaic sediments and alluvium from mixed parent material. The climate is semiarid, with an average annual precipitation of 8 to 12 inches. The mean annual temperature is 49 to 54 degrees F., and the mean summer temperature is 70 to 73 degrees F. The frost free season is 115 to 150 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Woodrow and Yenrab soils and the Kanosh soils. Woodrow soils are well drained and lack gypsic horizons. Yenrab soils are loamy sand or sand throughout, are undulating or rolling and lack gypsic horizons. Kanosh soils contain less than 18 percent clay.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; slow to medium runoff; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used as rangeland and irrigated cropland. The native vegetation is greasewood, saltgrass, rabbitbrush, smother weed, western wheatgrass, and shadscale. In Utah this soil is correlated with semi-desert range sites.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern and central Utah. This series is inextensive. MLRA 28A.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Delta Area, Utah, 1948.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon include:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of about 9 inches. (A1 and A2 horizon)
Gypsic horizons - the zone from 9 to 60 inches. (By1 to By4 horizons)
Xeric feature - Soil moisture regime is Aridic bordering Xeric.
The classification is based on the "Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Eighth Edition, 1998". The type location was changed in January 2004 to the taxonomic unit description in the Delta Area, Utah, Soil Survey.