LOCATION HELPER                  UT

Established Series
Rev. LDS/CW/JWB
03/2011

HELPER SERIES

The Helper series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in colluvium and/or slope alluvium over residuum weathered from sedimentary rock. Helper soils are on mountainsides, ridges and canyons. Slopes range from 8 to 70 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 47 cm and the mean annual temperature is about 5 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Haplustepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Helper stony loam, on a south-southeast facing, convex, 60 percent slope in rangeland at an elevation of 2,548 meters. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The surface is covered with about 2 percent boulders and 6 percent stones.

A--0 to 10 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) stony loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium platy structure parting to moderate medium granular structure; friable, soft; common fine and very fine roots; few very fine pores;; 5 percent stones, 5 percent cobbles, 10 percent gravel; very slightly effervescent, carbonates are finely disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 18 cm thick)

Bw1--10 to 28 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, hard, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; common fine and few very fine roots; few very fine pores; 5 percent cobbles, 5 percent gravel; very slightly effervescent, carbonates are finely disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual smooth boundary.

Bw2--28 to 38 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; firm, hard, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few fine and very fine pores; 10 percent gravel; slightly effervescent, carbonates are finely disseminated; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizons is 17 to 33 cm)

Bk1--38 to 61 cm; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) loam, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) moist; massive; very friable, loose, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few fine and very fine pores; 10 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, carbonate coats on bottom surfaces of rock fragments, carbonates are finely disseminated in matrix; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear smooth boundary.

Bk2--61 to 89 cm; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) gravelly loam, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) moist; massive; very friable, loose, slightly sticky; few fine roots; few very fine pores; 15 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, carbonate coats on bottom surfaces of rock fragments, carbonates are finely disseminated in matrix; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); gradual smooth boundary.

Cr--89 to 114 cm; weathered shale bedrock.

TYPE LOCATION: Carbon County, Utah; about 10 kilometers (7.5 miles) northwest of Helper; located about 800 feet south and 1,800 feet east of the northwest corner of sec. 19, T. 12 S., R. 9 E.; Kyune USGS quad; lat. 39 degrees 46 minutes 25 seconds N. and long. 110 degrees 57 minutes 38 seconds W., NAD 83

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: The soil moisture control section is affected by precipitation that has peak periods in December to March and July to October and falls evenly throughout the remainder of the year; typic ustic moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 4.4 to 8.3 degrees C
Depth to paralithic contact: 51 to 102 cm to weathered sedimentary bedrock
Depth to secondary calcium carbonate: 28 to 41 cm
Depth to cambic horizon: 7 to 18 cm

Particle-size control section (weighted averages):
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 35 percent

Surface fragments: 0 to 35 percent gravel, channers, cobbles, flagstones, stones and/or boulders

A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 or 6 dry; 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3 dry or moist
This horizon does not meet the requirements for a mollic epipedon; where the color qualifies, the thickness is insufficient for the mollic epipedon.
Texture: gravelly sandy loam, channery loam, cobbly loam, stony loam, very gravelly loam
Clay content: 15 to 27 percent
Rock fragments: 5 to 35 percent gravel, channers, cobbles, flagstones, stones and/or boulders; fragments greater than 600 mm diameter are 0 to 10 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 15 percent
EC (mmhos/cm): 0 to 2
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

Bw horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 7 dry; 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4 dry or moist
Texture: loam, clay loam, gravelly loam, cobbly loam
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 35 percent total; 0 to 15 percent gravel, channers and cobbles, 0 to 5 percent stones
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 15 percent
EC (mmhos/cm): 0 to 2
SAR: 0 to 2
Reaction: moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline

Bk, BCk or CBk horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 6 to 8 dry; 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4 dry or moist
Texture: loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, gravelly loam, cobbly loam, cobbly silty clay loam, gravelly clay loam, parachannery clay loam, paragravelly silt loam, very paragravelly loam
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 60 percent total; individual horizons have 0 to 35 percent gravel, channers, and/or cobbles and 0 to 2 percent stones
Pararock fragments: 0 to 35 percent paragravel and/or parachanners
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 15 percent
EC (mmhos/cm): 0 to 4
SAR: 0 to 4
Reaction: moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline

C horizon (when present):
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 7 dry; 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4 dry or moist
Texture: loam
Clay content: 18 to 27 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 15 percent
EC (mmhos/cm): 0 to 4
SAR: 0 to 2
Reaction: strongly alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Arikara, Broadus, Doney, Macar, Mara and Slategoat series. The Arikara, Broadus, Macar, Mara and Slategoat soils are very deep. The Doney soils have moisture control sections affected by peak periods of precipitation in the spring and early summer.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: colluvium and slope alluvium derived from sedimentary rocks over residuum from interbedded calcareous sandstone, shale, siltstone and limestone
Landform: mountainsides and canyons
Slopes: 8 to 70 percent
Elevation: 2,037 to 2,888 meters
Mean annual temperature: 3.3 to 7.2 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation: 38 to 56 cm
Precipitation pattern: Peak periods from December to March and July to October; falls evenly throughout the remainder of the year
Frost-free period: 60 to 100 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Modo (T), Tosca and Wiggler series. The Modo soils are less than 20 inches to hard bedrock and are on ridges under mountain shrubs. The Tosca soils are 40 to 60 inches to hard bedrock and are in concave areas on mountainsides under Douglas fir. The Wiggler soils are less than 20 inches to weathered shale and are on steeper slopes.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: well drained, high or very high runoff, moderate or moderately slow permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland and wildlife habitat. Native vegetation is salina wildrye, slender wheatgrass, Nevada bluegrass, mountain big sagebrush, and mountain snowberry, bitterbrush and Utah serviceberry.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and northeastern Utah; LRR E, MLRA 48A; moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Carbon County, Utah, Carbon Area, Utah soil survey area, 2011. The name is from the nearby railroad town of Helper.

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Series control section: The zone from 0 to 99 cm.
Particle-size control section: The zone from 25 to 89 cm. (Bw, Bk horizons)
Ochric epipedon: The zone from 0 to 10 cm. (A horizon)
Cambic horizon: The zone from 10 to 89 cm. (Bw and Bk horizons)
Secondary carbonates: The zone from 38 to 89 cm. (Bk horizons)
Paralithic contact: The contact with weathered bedrock at 89 cm. (Cr horizon)

The assignment of the cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.

Lithologic discontinuities have not been recognized in this series. Texture and/or color changes in C or BC horizons have been attributed to the inherent interbedded nature of the parent material.

Taxonomic Version: Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Eleventh Edition, 2010

ADDITIONAL DATA:

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.