LOCATION VICKERY IDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Xeric Haplodurids
TYPICAL PEDON: Vickery silt loam - range. (Colors are for air dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 5 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak thin platy structure parting to very weak very fine granular; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; many very fine pores; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt wavy boundary.
A2--5 to 10 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; very weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to very weak very fine granular; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; common very fine pores; neutral (pH 7.1); clear wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the A horizons is 4 to 12 inches)
Bw1--10 to 15 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; many very fine pores; neutral (pH 7.1); clear wavy boundary.
Bw2--15 to 25 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; common very fine pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the Bw horizons is 8 to 20 inches)
Bk--25 to 34 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; common very fine pores; common 0.5 inch nodules presumed to be cicada krotovinas; common splotches and veins of lime; soil matrix mostly noncalcareous; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 13 inches thick)
Bkqm--34 to 40 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) and white (10YR 8/1) indurated duripan; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2), pale brown (10YR 6/3), and white (10YR 8/2) moist; massive; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7).
C--40 to 60 inches; stratified sand to gravelly loamy coarse sand.
TYPE LOCATION: Gem County, Idaho; about 10 miles northwest of Emmett; 630 feet west and 370 feet north of the southeast corner of the NE1/4 of section 7, T. 7 N., R. 2 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Average annual soil temperature - 47 to 54 degrees F.
Particle-size control section texture - SIL, L, or VFSL; 18 to 27 percent clay
Depth to duripan - 20 to 40 inches
Depth to bedrock - 40 to more than 60 inches
Other features - duripan is underlain by sand and gravel through medium textured material in some pedons
A horizon
Value - 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma - 2 through 4 dry or moist
Reaction (pH) - neutral to moderately alkaline
Bw horizon
Value - 5 or 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma - 2 to 4 dry or moist
Structure - weak prismatic to weak or moderate, medium or fine subangular blocky
Reaction (pH) - neutral to moderately alkaline
Other features - less than 1.2 times as much clay as in the A horizon
Bk or Bkq horizon
Value - 6 or 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist
Chroma - 2 to 4 dry or moist
Durinodes - 0 to 20 percent
Reaction (pH) - mildly to moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bellavista and Bioya series. Bellavista soils are calcareous in the A horizon and lack a cambic horizon. Bioya soils lack a cambic horizon, and have 20 to 50 percent durinodes or a weakly cemented layer above the duripan.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Vickery soils are on level to rolling dissected very high terraces, calderas, buttes, and plains. Elevations range form 2,000 to 5,100 feet. Slopes are commonly less than 5 percent and range from 0 to 15 percent. These soils formed in a thin mantle of loess and alluvium from igneous rocks and very minor amounts of volcanic ash overlying medium to coarse textured alluvial material. The climate is semiarid and summers are dry. The average annual precipitation is 8 to 12 inches, including 1 to 3 feet of snow. The average annual temperature is 45 to 52 degrees F. The frost-free period is 100 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Chilcott, Minidoka, and Purdam soils. Minidoka soils are coarse silty. Chilcott and Purdam series have argillic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow to rapid runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Vickery soils are used mainly for irrigated cropland and pasture, rangeland, and wildlife habitat. Crops are small grains, corn, and alfalfa. The dominant natural vegetation is bluebunch wheatgrass, Sandberg bluegrass, Wyoming big sagebrush, and Thurber needlegrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Idaho. The series is of large extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Gem County, Idaho, 1962.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to 10 inches (A1, A2 horizons)
Cambic horizon - the zone from 10 to 25 inches (Bw1 and Bw2 horizons)
Particle-size control section - the zone from 10 inches to the duripan (Bw1, Bw2, and Bk horizons)
Duripan - an indurated pan at 34 inches (Bqkm horizon)