LOCATION MORONI UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Aridic Haploxererts
TYPICAL PEDON: Moroni silty clay, nonirrigated cropland. (Colors are for air-dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 2 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; few fine and very fine pores; moderately calcareous; carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)
A2--2 to 9 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate fine granular; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; common very fine roots; few fine and very fine pores; moderately calcareous; carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bk1--9 to 20 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; moderate coarse prismatic structure; wedge shaped structure at 15 degrees angle from horizontal; extremely hard, very firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine pores; few slickensides, cracks 1 to 2 cm wide; strongly calcareous; carbonates are disseminated and in fine veins; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 15 inches thick)
Bk2--20 to 41 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; moderate coarse prismatic structure; wedge shape peds at 15 degrees angle from horizontal; extremely hard, very firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; common slickensides, cracks 1 cm wide; strongly calcareous; carbonates are disseminated and in fine veins; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); gradual smooth boundary. (15 to 25 inches thick)
Bk3--41 to 62 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) clay; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) moist; massive; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; strongly calcareous; carbonates are in fine nodules and vines; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6).
TYPE LOCATION: Sanpete County, Utah, about 4 miles NW of Mt. Pleasant, Utah, 1,980 feet east ad 165 feet south of the NW corner of sec. 21, T. 14 S., R. 4 E.
RANGE IN CHATACTERISTICS: The A horizon ranges from 4 to 12 inches thick. The soils are moderately calcareous or strongly calcareous. The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 47 to 54 degrees. Slickensides are few to common at some depth between 10 and 40 inches, and cracks are 1 to 3 cm wide.
The A horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. Texture ranges from silty clay loam to silty clay. Reaction ranges from mildly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
The Bk horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value is 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist, and chroma is 2 or 3. Texture ranges from heavy silty clay loam to clay. Reaction ranges from moderately alkaline to strongly alkaline. The Bk horizon below 40 inches has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. Texture ranges from silty clay loam to clay. Reaction ranges from moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Doten, Karcal, Manogue and Waspo series. Doten soils have mottles in the series control section. Karcal and Waspo soils have bedrock at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Manogue soils lack visible carbonates in the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Moroni soils are at elevations of 4,800 to 6,500 feet. They occur on alluvial fans and colluvial slopes. Slopes are 0 to 8 percent. Parent materials are alluvium and colluvium from shale, mixed igneous, and quartzite. The climate is semiarid and the average annual precipitation ranges from 10 to 14 inches. The mean annual temperature is 45 to 52 degrees F. The mean summer temperature is 64 to 68 degrees F., and the freeze-free period ranges from 100 to 140 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Atepic, Keigley and Freedom soils. All of these soils lack slickensides and parallel-epiped structure. Atepic soils are less than 20 inches deep over shale bedrock. Keigley soils have values of less than 3.5 moist and 5.5 dry in the A1 horizon and are silty clay loam in the particle-size control section. Freedom soils are silty clay loam in the particle-size control section and have calcic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; rapid to medium runoff; permeability is slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for nonirrigated crops of small grain and pasture, irrigated crops of small grain, alfalfa and pasture for rangeland. The potential vegetation is bluebunch wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass and black sagebrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Utah; this series is inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sanpete Soil Survey Area, Utah, 1971.
REMARKS: These soils were formerly classified as a Crumosol.