LOCATION PALISADE UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Sodic Xeric Haplocalcids
TYPICAL PEDON: Palisade silt loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted).
A--0 to 6 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak thin platy structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; many fine and medium pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick.)
Bw--6 to 12 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; common very fine vesicular pores; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick.)
Bk--12 to 19 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; many very fine vesicular pores; violently effervescent; secondary carbonates are disseminated in the matrix; strongly alkaline (pH 8.7); gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 8 inches thick.)
Bkn--19 to 30 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine vesicular pores; violently effervescent; secondary carbonates are disseminated in the matrix; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4); gradual smooth boundary. (10 to 16 inches thick.)
Cn1--30 to 43 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; soft, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.1); gradual wavy boundary.
Cn2--43 to 60 inches; pale brown (10YR6/3) very fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Box Elder County, Utah; about 7 miles southwest of Promontory on Rozel Flat; approximately 400 feet north and 700 feet east of the southwest corner of section 12, T. 9 N., R. 7 W.; USGS Golden Spike Monument 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 41 degrees 31 minutes 0 seconds north latitude and 112 degrees 35 minutes 53 seconds west longitude, NAD27; UTM zone 12N 366584E, 4597333N, NAD83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually moist in winter and early spring, dry in late spring through fall; Aridic moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature - 48 to 54 degrees F.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: 8 to 18 percent.
Other features - In some pedons the lower one-third of the control section contains up to 50 percent gravel and cobbles.
A horizon - Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 8 to 15 percent.
Bw horizon - Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR.
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Silt loam or loam.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 15 percent.
Bk horizon - Hue: 7.5YR through 5Y.
Value: 5 through 8 dry, 4 through 6 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Silt loam or loam.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 30 percent.
Sodicity (SAR): 0 to 10.
Bkn and Cn horizons - Hue: 7.5YR through 5Y.
Value: 5 through 8 dry, 4 through 6 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Very fine sandy loam or loam.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline through very strongly alkaline (up to pH 9.6).
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 30 percent in the Bkn and Cn1 horizons, 10 to 20 percent in the Cn2 horizon.
Sodicity (SAR): 15 to 40.
COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no other series in this family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Palisade soils are on lake terraces. These soils formed in lacustrine deposits derived from limestone and sandstone. Slopes are 1 to 10 percent. The mean annual precipitation is 8 to 12 inches, the mean annual temperature is 46 to 52 degrees F., and the freeze-free period is 90 to 130 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bram and Sanpete soils. Bram soils are moderately well drained. Sanpete soils average more than 50 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium surface runoff; moderate permeability (moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity).
USE AND VEGETATION: Palisade soils are used for irrigated cropland and rangeland. Common crops are alfalfa, small grains, and corn for silage. The present vegetation on rangeland is mainly Wyoming big sagebrush, Indian ricegrass, and rabbitbrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Utah. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 28A.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: East Millard Soil Survey Area, Utah, 1959.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 7 inches (A horizon and part of the Bw horizon).
Cambic horizon - The zone from 6 to 12 inches (Bw horizon).
Calcic horizon - The zone from 12 to 30 inches (Bk and Bkn horizons).
Sodic feature - The zone from 19 to 43 inches (Bkn and Cn1 horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 40 inches (Bk and Bkn horizons and parts of the Bw and Cn1 horizons).
The Palisade series was last reviewed in the field in 1965. The type location was moved from Millard County to Box Elder County with the update of the series in 1998. The revision of April 2005 updates the taxonomic class from Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Xeric Haplocalcids based on estimated soil properties for cation exchange capacity and sodium adsorption ratio in the NASIS database.