LOCATION ABERONE WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, mesic Aridic Haplustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Aberone fine sandy loam, on a west facing slightly convex slope of 4 percent, rangeland. Elevation is 5,600 feet. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 5 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) fine sandy loam, very dark brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine, very fine, and medium roots; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)
Bw--5 to 18 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and medium roots; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 15 inches thick)
2Bk--18 to 60 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very gravelly sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; soft, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; 40 percent rounded gravel and 18 percent rounded cobbles; violently effervescent; calcium carbonate as prominent pendants on undersides of rock fragments and thin coatings on all other rock fragment surfaces; calcium carbonate equivalent is 55 percent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Laramie County, Wyoming; about 5.3 miles west of Carpenter, Wyoming, on the Chalk Bluffs Road; 2640 feet south and 15 feet east of the northwest corner of Sec. 5, T.12N., R.63W. 41 degrees 02 minutes 09 seconds north longitude and 104 degrees 27 minutes 56 seconds west latitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of mollic epipedon ranges from 7 to 20 inches. Depth to the 2Bk horizon is 10 to 20 inches. The mean annual soil temperature is 47 to 53 degrees F., and the mean summer temperature is 63 to 72 degrees F. Rock fragments in the particle size control section average from 40 to 60 percent gravel and 10 to 20 percent cobble.
The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y; value of 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist; and chroma is 2 or 3. It is fine sandy loam or sandy loam. In some areas on overwash of gravel may occur and texture is gravelly sandy loam with 15 to 25 percent gravel. Typically, gravel content is less than 5 percent in this horizon. Reaction is slightly or moderately alkaline.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y; value of 4 or 5 dry, 2 through 4 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. Coarse fragments are typically absent but may range to 20 percent gravel in some pedons. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam or loam with 5 to 18 percent clay, 10 to 40 percent silt, and 52 to 75 percent sand with over 35 percent fine sand or coarser. Reaction is slightly or moderately alkaline.
The 2Bk horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR; value of 6 through 8, 4 through 6 moist, and chroma of 1 through 5. Rock fragments range from 30 to 75 percent gravel and 15 to 35 percent cobble. Texture is very gravelly loam, very gravelly sandy loam, extremely gravelly sandy loam, or loam with 5 to 18 percent clay, 10 to 40 percent silt, and 51 to 75 percent sand with over 35 percent being fine sand or coarser. Calcium carbonate equivalent of the 20mm or less fraction ranges from 40 to 70 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Aberone soils are on late Pleistocene or early Holocene terraces, benches, and hillslopes. They formed in alluvium and colluvium. Slopes are 0 to 30 percent. Precipitation ranges from 13 to 18 inches. The mean annual temperature is 45 to 50 degrees F. Elevations range from 4,900 to 6,500 feet. The frost-free season is about 100 to 140 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Altvan, Ascalon, Wages, and Treon soils. Altvan, Ascalon, and Wages soils have argillic horizons and are on toeslopes and in depressions. Treon soils are on upland hillslope positions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively or well drained; slow to medium runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils support vegetation utilized primarily for domestic livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The native vegetation is mainly western wheatgrass, needleandthread, and prairie sandreed.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeastern Wyoming. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Laramie County, Wyoming, Eastern part; 1980.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon--0 to 18 inches (A,Bw)
Calcic horizon--18 to 60 inches (2Bk)
Lithologic discontinuity - 18 inches 2Bk
MLRR- G
SIR- WY0454, WY0910, WY9718