LOCATION BLAZON WY+UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, frigid, shallow Ustic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Blazon clay loam-rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 4 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; strong fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine and very fine roots; strongly effervescent, calcium carbonate disseminated; 2 percent fine gravel; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4), gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
C--4 to 14 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; massive with 70 percent soft rock structure as thin plates; very hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine and very fine roots; strongly effervescent, calcium carbonate disseminated and as few fine filaments and threads on platelets; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual wavy boundary. (2 to 17 inches thick)
Cr--14 to 60 inches; semiconsolidated, calcareous shale interbedded with thin lenses of sandstone and loamstone beds.
TYPE LOCATION: Lincoln County, Wyoming; 260 feet east and 528 feet south of the west 1/4 corner of sec. 3, T. 20 N., R. 116 W. 41 degrees 44 minutes 30 seconds north latitude and 110 degrees 31 minutes 13 seconds west longitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: The soil moisture control section is usually dry and is dry less than 90 days from June 10 to October 10 in normal years.
Mean annual soil temperature: 40 to 47 degrees F.
Mean annual summer soil temperature: 59 to 63 degrees F.
Depth to paralithic contact: 4 to 20 inches
The soil is typically calcareous throughout but may be leached in some pedons through the A horizon.
Gravel lag is common on many surfaces.
Particle-size control section: 18 to 35 percent clay and more than 15 percent fine or coarser sand, 0 to 35 percent angular gravel, channers, or cobbles. Many coarse fragments will break down with pretreatment and would be considered as pararock fragments.
A horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR 5Y
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4
Texture: clay loam, silt loam, or gravelly silt loam
EC: 0 through 4 mmhos
Reaction: slightly alkaline through strongly alkaline
C horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR through 5Y
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 6 moist
Chroma: 2 through 6
Texture: clay loam, silt loam, or gravelly silt loam
EC: 0 through 4 mmhos
Reaction: moderately or strongly alkaline
A thin Bw or Bk horizon may be present in some pedons but is not diagnostic.
The Cr horizon consists of interbedded, semiconsolidated shale, sandstone, and loamstone. The majority of this material will break down with pretreatment.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Blackhall, Byrnie, Seaverson, and Thermopolis series. Blackhall and Byrnie soils have less than 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section. Seaverson soils contain over 15 percent ESP throughout. The Thermopolis soils have hue redder than 7.5YR.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: slope alluvium over residuum derived from interbedded, shale, sandstone, loamstone and siltstone
Landform: pediments, hillslopes, plateaus and ridges
Slopes: 0 to 60 percent
Elevation: 5,300 to 8,400 feet
Mean annual temperature: 39 to 45 degrees F.
Mean annual precipitation: 9 to 15 inches of which about half falls as snow or rain in April, May, and June
Frost-free period: 60 to 100 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Blackhall soils and the Carmody, Cragosen, and Poposhia soils. Carmody soils have bedrock between 20 and 40 inches and occur where parent sediments are thicker. Cragosen soils have skeletal control sections and occur where the dominant influence is from gravelly outwash. Poposhia soils are deep and occur in more depressed areas on the toeslopes.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff on gentler slopes; rapid runoff on more sloping areas; moderate and moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland and wildlife habitat. The native vegetation at the type location is Gardner saltbush, western wheatgrass, low sagebrush, and Sandberg bluegrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Intermountain basins and uplands in southern Wyoming, and adjacent areas in Colorado and Utah. The series is extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Fremont County, Lander Area, Wyoming; 1975.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--0 to 4 inches(A)
Paralithic contact--14 inches(Cr)
Taxonomic version: Eighth Edition, 1998.