LOCATION CARDON UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Aquic Haploxererts
TYPICAL PEDON: Cardon silty clay, cultivated. (Colors are for air dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) silty clay, very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure grading to weak fine granular; extremely hard, firm, sticky, plastic; common medium and large roots; few fine pores; moderately calcareous; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (7 to 11 inches thick)
A--7 to 11 inches; dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) silty clay, very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure, grading to weak fine subangular blocky; extremely hard, extremely firm, sticky, plastic; many fine and few medium roots; common fine pores; moderately calcareous; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear irregular boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
AC--11 to 34 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) and dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) silty clay, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) and very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) moist; irregular shaped peds with long axis not parallel to the surface; common slickensides; extremely hard, extremely firm, sticky, plastic; common fine and few medium roots; many fine pores; strongly calcareous; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear irregular boundary. (15 to 44 inches thick)
C--34 to 62 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) silty clay, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) moist; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mottles; massive; extremely hard, extremely firm, sticky, plastic; few medium roots; common fine pores; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Cache County, Utah; 1 1/2 miles north of College Ward Church, 400 feet south and 200 feet east of the northwest corner of the northeast 1/4 of sec. 18, T.11N., R.1E.; Wellsville USGS quad; latitude 41 degrees 41 minutes 55 seconds N. and longitude 111 degrees 52 minutes 54 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The average annual soil temperature is 48 degrees to 50 degrees F., and the average summer soil temperature at 20 inches is 62 degrees to 68 degrees F. The soil is generally saturated within 30 inches when not drained.
The mollic epipedon is 10 to 15 inches thick. Deep cracking to depths of 40 to 55 inches and sloughing of the A horizons into cracks have caused a mixing of colors below the 10 to 15 inch depth. The soils have cracks that open and close once each year and remain open for 60 consecutive days or more in 7 out of 10 years. Common medium distinct, yellowish brown mottles occur at depths below 20 inches. Reaction ranges moderately to strongly alkaline, and strongly calcareous. The series control section is clay or silty clay.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 through 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of less than 1.5. It contains 4 to 7.5 percent organic matter. This horizon has weak fine granular to moderate medium alkaline and contains more than 15 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and is 10 to 15 inches thick.
The AC horizon has weak to moderate parallelepipeds structure and common to many slickensides.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 6 or 7 dry, and 5 or 6 moist. It contains 30 to 40 percent calcium carbonate equivalent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bashaw, Logan, Obray, Pit, and Salt Lake series. Bashaw soils are noncalcareous throughout. Obray soils have chroma of 2 or more in the surface horizons. Pit soils are noncalcareous in the upper 22 inches and lack mottles within 40 inches. Salt Lake and Logan soils have calcic horizons within 16 inches, and lack both parallelepipeds and slickensides and do not crack.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cardon soils are on nearly level low lake terraces at elevations of 4,420 to 4,470 feet. Slope gradients are 0 to 3 percent. In uncultivated areas, gilgai microrelief is evident. The climate is dry subhumid; the average annual precipitation is about 14 to 18 inches. The mean annual temperature is 46 degrees to 48 degrees F., and the mean summer temperature is 67 degrees to 70 degrees F. Frost-free period is 120 to 130 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Collett, Greenson, and Nibley soils and the competing Logan and Salt Lake soils. Collett, Greenson, and Nibley soils lack both parallelepipeds and control sections. Nibley soils have argillic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained; slow runoff; very slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for production of irrigated alfalfa, small grains and sugar beets. The native vegetation is meadow foxtail, gumweed, Kentucky bluegrass, saltgrass, and cheatgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Low lake terraces in south-central Cache County, Utah. The series is inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Cache County (Cache Area), Utah, 1971.