LOCATION BOOKCLIFF UT+WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Argiustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Bookcliff sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for air-dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oi--0 to 1 inch; undecomposed twigs and needles. (1 to 2 inches thick)
A--1 to 5 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine and fine pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
Bt--5 to 13 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and plastic; few very fine, fine, and medium roots; few very fine and fine pores; few thin clay films bridging sand grains; slightly effervescent; carbonates are disseminated; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 18 inches thick)
Bk1--13 to 33 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine pores strongly effervescent; carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 20 inches thick)
Bk2--33 to 52 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) channery clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine pores; 10 percent channery fragments and 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; carbonates are in few flakes and disseminated, strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (12 to 19 inches thick)
R--52 inches; sandstone.
TYPE LOCATION: Grand County, Utah; along Middle Canyon in the Bookcliffs; about 3,000 feet south and 1300 feet west of the NE corner of sec. 30, T. 16 S., R. 24 E.; 39 degrees, 23 minutes, 9 seconds, north latitude and 109 degrees, 18 minutes, 19 seconds west longitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mollic epipedon thickness: 10 to 16 inches thick
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent clay
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 10 to 20 inches
Depth to secondary carbonates: 7 to 24 inches
Depth to bedrock: 40 to 60 inches
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent gravel.
Mean annual soil temperature is 44 to 47 degrees F.
A horizon
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 3, 4 or 5 dry, and 2, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2, 3 or 4 dry, and 2 to 4 moist
Calcium carbonate: noncalcareous or slightly calcareous
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
Rock fragments: commonly are absent, but range from 0 to 5 percent.
Bt horizon
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 3 to 5 dry, and 3 or 4 moist (lower Bt ranges to values of 6 dry and 5 moist)
Chroma: 2, 3 or 4 dry, and 2 or 3 moist
Texture: loam, sandy clay loam and clay loam, and less commonly sandy loam and silty clay loam
Calcium carbonate: noncalcareous to strongly calcareous
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent.
Bk horizon
Hue: 10YR to 5YR
Value: 4 to 6 dry, and 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry and moist
Texture: loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 15 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline
Rock fragments: 0 to 35 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Absarook (MT),
Archmesa (CO),
Beartooth (MT),
Beeno (WY),
Bielenberg (T MT),
Burtoner (MT),
Clancy (MT),
Clasoil (MT),
Dooley (MT),
Doughty (MT),
Empedrado (CO),
Fairfield (MT),
Farnuf (MT),
Farside (MT),
Felor (SD),
Greenway (SD),
Gurney (SD),
Hangdo (UT),
High (CO),
Hoppers (MT),
Hyalite (T MT),
Jeffcity (MT),
Kokoruda (MT),
Livona (ND),
Martinsdale (MT),
Maudlin (CO),
Meagher (MT),
Moen (CO),
Moento (CO),
Pianohill (MT),
Placerton (MT),
Reeder (ND),
Reedwest (MT),
Sipple (MT),
Snakejohn (UT),
Sponseller (AZ),
Trag (CO),
Tragmon (CO),
Trazuni (NM),
Trujillo (CO),
Ulrant (WY),
Vida (MT),
Watne (MT),
Watrous (ND),
Williams (ND), and
Yegen (MT) series.
Absarook, Archmesa, Burtoner, Gurney, Maudlin, Moen, Moento, Pianohill, and Watrous soils are moderately deep to a lithic contact.
Beartooth, Bielenberg, Clasoil, Dooley, Doughty, Empedrado, Fairfield, Farnuf, Farside, Felor, Greenway, Hangdo, High, Hyalite, Kokorudu, Livona, Martinsdale, Meagher, Sipple, Trag, Tragmon, Trazuni, Trujillo, Vida, Watne, Williams, and Yegen soils are very deep.
Beeno, Clancy, Hoppers, Jeffcity, Placerton, Reeder, and Reedwest soils are moderately deep to a paralithic contact.
Snakejohn soils have a calcic horizon.
Sponseller soils formed in pyroclastic and basalt parent materials and have cobbles and cinders in the lower part of the profile.
Trazuni soils have redoximorphic feature in the lower part of the profile.
Ulrant soils formed in granitic parent materials and have more than 15 percent granitic gravel in the profile.
In addition, Absarook, Archmesa, Beartooth, Beeno, Bielenberg, Burtoner, Clancy, Clasoil, Dooley, Doughty, Empedrado, Fairfield, Farnuf, Farside, Felor, Greenway, Gurney, High, Hoppers, Hyalite, Jeffcity, Kokoruda, Livona, Martinsdale, Maudlin, Meagher, Moen, Moento, Pianohill, Placerton, Reeder, Reedwest, Sipple, Trag, Tragmon, Trujillo, Ulrant, Vida, Watne, Watrous, Williams, and Yegen soils are in LRR-E, LRR-F, or LRR-G, and are more moist in May and June.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bookcliff soils are on narrow reverse structural benches of landslides and on mountainsides at elevations of 6,400 to 8,900 feet. Slopes are 2 to 30 percent. These soils formed in residuum, colluvium, and alluvium derived from sandstone and shale. The mean annual temperature is 40 to 45 degrees F, and the average annual precipitation is 15 to 20 inches. The freeze-free period is 60 to 110 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Skylick, Shalako, and Travessilla soils. Skylick soils have mollic epipedons that are more than 20 inches thick and a cryic temperature regime. Shalako and Travessilla soils are 20 inches deep or less.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. Potential vegetation is Gambel oak, pinyon, Utah juniper, birchleaf mountainmahogany, and snowberry.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and Southeastern Utah and West-Central Colorado. The soils of this series are moderately extensive, about 35,000 acres have been mapped. MLRA 34, 39, 47, and 48A.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Grand County, Central Part, Utah, 1985. Named after the Book Cliffs.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon include:
Mollic epipedon - from a depth of 1 to 13 inches (A and Bt horizons).
Argillic horizon - from a depth of 5 to 13 inches (Bt horizon).
Bookcliff soils have a frigid temperature regime and an ustic moisture regime.