LOCATION BUTTERFIELD UT+IDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Calcic Argixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Butterfield very cobbly silt loam, on a southeast facing, 43 percent slope, under pinyon and juniper. (Colors are for air dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The surface is covered by 10 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones of quartzite and limestone origin.
A--0 to 4 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very cobbly silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak very fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 15 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, 10 percent stones; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary.
Bt--4 to 9 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very gravelly silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; few patchy faint clay films in pore linings; 30 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, 10 percent stones; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual smooth boundary.
Btk1--9 to 13 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very cobbly silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; few patchy faint clay films in pore linings; noneffervescent matrix, carbonates are segregated in less than 1 mm thick coats on rock fragments; 25 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); gradual smooth boundary.
Btk2--13 to 18 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very cobbly silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine, few coarse roots; common very fine and fine, few medium tubular pores; common patchy faint clay films on ped faces; noneffervescent matrix, carbonates are segregated in coats 1 to 3 mm thick on rock fragments; 30 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary.
Bk--18 to 27 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very cobbly silt loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; slightly effervescent matrix, carbonates are segregated in coats 1 to 3 mm thick on rock fragments; 10 percent gravel, 45 percent cobbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt smooth boundary.
R--27 inches; fractured quartzite bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Utah County, Utah; about 1.5 miles southwest of Oak Springs; about 1,600 feet south and 2,100 west of the northeast corner of sec. 6, T. 5 S., R. 2 W., Tickville USGS quad; lat. 40 degrees 24 minutes 59 seconds N. and long. 112 degrees 06 minutes 16 seconds W.; NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature is 47 degrees to 54 degrees F., the mean summer soils temperature is 65 degrees to 72 degrees F. These soils are usually moist but are dry for more than 60 consecutive days in the four months following the summer solstice.
The mollic epipedon is 7 to 20 inches thick. The depth to bedrock ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Stones and cobble exceed 35 percent by volume throughout the soil.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 2 or 3 moist and chroma of 2 or 3. It is 7 to 20 inches thick.
The Bt horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 to 7 dry and chroma of 2 through 4. Textures include very cobbly clay loam, very cobbly sandy clay loam, and very cobbly silt loam. It contains less than 35 percent clay and has 35 to 80 percent cobble and stone by volume. This horizon has moderate to strong, fine to medium subangular blocky structure.
The Bk horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist and chroma of 2 through 4. Textures include very cobbly sandy clay loam, very cobbly silt loam, very cobbly silty clay loam, and very cobbly clay loam. Rock fragments are 35 to 80 percent cobble and stone by volume. The lime accumulation is mainly as coatings on coarse fragments.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Kapod (UT), Red Butte (UT), Schuelke (WA), and Tannahill (ID) series.
Kapod and
Red Butte soils are very deep.
Schuelke soils formed in basalt and have calcic horizons.
Tannahill soils have bedrock at 40 to 60 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Butterfield soils are on short, sloping to very steep, south-facing mountain slopes at elevations between 5,200 to 7,300 feet. Gradients range between 5 and 50 percent. The soils formed in moderately fine textured residuum and colluvium from quartzite, andesite, and mixed sedimentary rocks. The climate is moist subhumid. The mean annual temperature is 45 degrees to 53 degrees F. Mean summer temperature is 66 degrees to 72 degrees F. Frost-free period is 100 to 150 days. Annual precipitation averages 12 to 16 inches and comes mostly as snow.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Henefer and Little Pole soils and the Bingham, Dry Creek, and Horrocks soils. Henefer and Little Pole soils have mean annual soil temperature of less than 47 degrees F. Henefer soils have more than 35 percent clay, have less than 35 percent coarse fragments in the Bt horizons and lack lime accumulations. Little Pole soils are less than 20 inches deep to bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; medium to rapid runoff; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for spring and fall range. Present vegetation is cheatgrass, big sagebrush, oakbrush, and bitterbrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mountain areas of southern Salt Lake County, This series is inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Salt Lake County (Salt Lake Area), Utah, 1971.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon include:
Mollic epipedon: from the surface to 18 inches (A, Bt, Btk1, and Btk2 horizons).
Argillic horizon: from 4 to 18 inches (Bt, Btk1, and Btk2 horizons).
Classification: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Eighth Edition, 1998.