LOCATION BUELL UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive Typic Humicryepts
TYPIFYING PEDON: Buell gravelly loam, rangeland. (Colors are for air dry soils unless otherwise noted.)
A11--0 to 5 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) gravelly loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; loose, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; many fine roots; 45 percent angular gravel; medium acid (pH 5.7); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick)
A12--5 to 15 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) gravelly loam; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure that parts to weak medium granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky, slightly plastic; many fine and common medium roots; 45 percent angular gravel; medium acid (pH 5.7); clear wavy boundary. (7 to 13 inches thick)
A13--15 to 29 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) very gravelly loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; very weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky, slightly plastic; common fine and medium roots; 55 percent angular gravel; medium acid (pH 5.6); abrupt wavy boundary. (11 to 14 inches thick)
B21--29 to 56 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common fine and medium roots; 70 percent angular gravel and cobble; strongly acid (pH 5.4); diffuse boundary. (26 to 37 inches thick)
B22--56 to 60 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very gravelly loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure that parts to moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; hard friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; few medium vesicular pores; few thin clay films; 70 percent angular gravel and cobble, medium acid (pH 5.7); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)
B23--60 to 62 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very gravelly loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; 70 percent angular gravel and cobble; strongly acid (pH 5.1).
TYPE LOCATION: Wasatch County, Utah; about 10 miles north of Midway and 1/2 mile south of Park City, Midway Pass (FDR marker) at the head of Pine Creek; 1,800 feet north and 400 feet west of southeast corner of sec. 32, T.2S., R.4E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The umbric epipedon is more than 20 inches thick and has base saturation of less than 50 percent. The mean annual soil temperature is about 40 degrees F. and the mean summer temperature is about 54 degrees F. at 20 inches depth. The soils are usually moist and are dry less than 90 cumulative days in some subhorizon. The A horizon has value of 3 or 4 dry, and 1 through 3 moist. It has weak or very weak fine granular or subangular blocky structure. The B2 horizon has value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is sandy loam to loam containing 50 to 80 percent angular gravel and cobble, mostly of sandstone and quartzite. This horizon has weak fine to coarse subangular blocky structure that parts to very fine subangular blocks. It is medium or strongly acid.
COMPETING SERIES AND THEIR DIFFERENTIAE: These are the Broad Canyon, Daybell, Goodlow, Hailman, Hummington (T), Lake Janee, and Poleline series. Broad Canyon soils have mollic epipedons with base saturation of more than 50 percent that are less than 20 inches thick. Daybell, Hailman, and Poleline soils have thick mollic epipedons, and the base saturation is about 60 percent or more. Daybell soils have too few fines to fill the voids 1 mm. or larger. Goodlow soils have umbic epipedons less than 20 inches thick. Hailman soils have less than 35 percent coarse fragments in the control section. Hummington soils have a lithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Lake Janee soils lack umbric horizons and have less than 35 percent coarse fragments in the control sections.
SETTING: Buell soils are on steep to very steep and strongly sloping mountain slopes and strongly sloping alluvial fans at elevations of 8,200 to 8,800 feet. They formed in alluvium and colluvium derived mainly from quartzite and some sandstone parent rocks. The climate is humid with about 25 to 35 inches of precipitation, falling mostly as snow. The mean annual temperature is about 43 degrees F., and the mean summer temperature is about 56 degrees F. Frost-free period is about 50 to 70 days.
PRINCIPAL ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing lake Janee and Hailman soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; medium runoff; rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for watershed and summer range by livestock and wildlife. Present vegetation is mountain bromegrass, oniongrass, blue wildrye, bearded wheatgrass, slender wheatgrass, Columbia needlegrass, geranium, horsemint, bluebell, buckwheat, snowberry, and shrubby cinquefoil.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mountain area of north-central Utah. These soils are inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Wasatch County (Wasatch Area), Utah, 1971.
REMARKS: Buell soils were previously classified as Sols Bruns Acides.