LOCATION PASS CANYON             UT

Established Series
Rev. MEO/AJE/MJD/JBF
08/2013

PASS CANYON SERIES

The Pass Canyon Series consists of shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum, slope alluvium and colluvium over fractured intermediate igneous bedrock. These soils are on ridges, hills and mountain slopes. Slope gradients are 4 to 60 percent. The mean annual temperature is 8.3 degrees C, and the average annual precipitation is about 350 mm.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Lithic Argixerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Pass Canyon very cobbly coarse sandy loam - rangeland (Colors are for dry soils unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 8 cm; brown (7.5YR 5/2) very cobbly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and few medium roots; common fine and few medium tubular pores; 3 percent stones and boulders, 25 percent cobbles, 10 percent gravel; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 13 cm thick)

Bt1--8 to 23 cm; brown (7.5YR 4/2) sandy clay loam, very dark brown (7.5YR 2/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; few fine, medium and coarse roots; few fine and medium tubular pores; thin continuous clay films; 2 percent cobbles, 10 percent gravel; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 18 cm thick)

Bt2--23 to 36 cm; brown (7.5YR 4/3) cobbly clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; few fine roots; few fine tubular pores; thin continuous clay films; 15 percent cobbles, 5 percent gravel; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 20 cm thick)

R--36 cm; fractured intermediate igneous bedrock.

TYPE LOCATION: Millard County, Utah; 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) north and 1 kilometer (0.75) mile east of Cove Fort; located about 1,100 feet east and 2,500 feet south of the NW corner sec. 13, T.25 S., R.7 W.; Dog Valley Peak USGS quad; latitude 38 degrees 38 minutes 14.30 seconds N and longitude 112 degrees 35 minutes 41.76 seconds W; NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Moist in winter and spring and continuously dry in all parts for 60 to 90 days in summer and fall; xeric moisture regime bordering on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8.3 to 10.0 degrees C
Mean summer soil temperature: 18.3 to 20.5 degrees C (64.9 to 68.9 degrees F)
Depth to bedrock: 23 to 50 cm (9 to 20 inches)

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 25 to 35 percent
Rock fragments: 5 to 30 percent

A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Reaction: neutral or slightly alkaline

Bt horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: clay loam, sandy clay loam
Rock content: 5 to 20 percent
Reaction: neutral or slightly alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Borland, Jilson, Libertybutte (UT)(T), Malinda, and Yrtneg (UT)(T) series. Borland soils contain less than 5 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section. Yrtneg soils have vitrandic properties in the surface horizons. Jilson soils have a mean annual soil temperature of 10 to 15 degrees C, and a mean summer soil temperature of more than 20 degrees C. Laric, Malinda, and Yrtneg soils have silica capped lithic contacts. Libertybutte soils have clay content 18 to 23 percent in argillic horizon. Malinda soils have 18 to 27 percent clay in the upper argillic horizon

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: residuum, slope alluvium, and colluvium over fractured intermediate igneous bedrock
Landform: hills, ridges, and mountain slopes
Slopes: 4 to 60 percent
Elevation: 1,676 to 2,350 meters
Mean annual temperature: 7.2 to 10.5 degrees C (45 to 51 degrees F)
Mean summer temperature: 17.8 to 18.9 degrees C (64 to 66 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation: 300 to 430 mm ( 13 to 17 degrees F)
Precipitation pattern: June is the driest month, and August is the wettest. The climate is dry subhumid
Frost-free period: 90 to 130 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Deer Creek, Red Butte, Pharo and Yeates Hollow soils. Deer Creek soils are deep, cobbly, fine textured and have calcic horizons. Red Butte soils are deep and have calcic horizons. Pharo soils are deep, very gravelly, have calcic horizons and do not have Bt horizons. Yeates Hollow soils are deeper than 450 cm to bedrock and have very cobbly clay argillic horizons.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well-drained; medium or high runoff; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for watershed, wildlife grazing, spring grazing by sheep and summer grazing by cattle. Present vegetation is pinyon, juniper, big sagebrush, rock goldenrod, bitterbrush, Mormon tea, and bluebunch wheatgrass. These soils are correlated to Upland ecological sites in Utah.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Utah. This series is not extensive. MLRA 28A.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Millard County (East Beaver Area), Utah, 1969.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon include:
Mollic epipedon - the zone from the soil surface to 23 cm (A and Bt1 horizons)
Argillic horizon - the zone from 8 to 36 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)
Lithic contact - the contact with intermediate igneous bedrock at 36 cm (R layer)
Particle-size control section - the zone from 8 to 36 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)

Revised for the correlation of SDJR - MLRA 28A - Pass Canyon-Lucero complex 4 to 40 percent slopes, 03/13, LJG2 (Adinot, Cooperopolis, Laric, Marlic, McQuarrie, and Terca no longer competing series.

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 11th Edition, 2010

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.