LOCATION CATAHOULA UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Ustic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Catahoula very bouldery sandy loam, on a northeast facing, 23 percent slope at an elevation of 5960 feet. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The surface is covered by 5 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, 10 percent stones and 15 percent boulders.
A--0 to 5 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very bouldery sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky parting to fine granular structure; soft, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine interstitial and few fine tubular pores; 15 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, 10 percent stones and 10 percent boulders; slightly effervescent; carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
C1--5 to 26 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very bouldery loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak fine subangular structure parting to massive; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine interstitial and few fine tubular pores; 10 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones and 15 percent boulders; slightly effervescent; carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 30 inches thick)
C2--26 to 49 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) very bouldery loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine interstitial pores; 5 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, 10 percent stones and 20 percent boulders; strongly effervescent; carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual wavy boundary. (15 to 35 inches thick)
C3--49 to 60 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) very bouldery loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 5 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones and 25 percent boulders; strongly effervescent; carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Kane County, Utah; Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument; about 1 1/2 miles southwest of Fiftymile Spring; Sooner Bench USGS quad; lat. 37 degrees 15 minutes 07 seconds N. and long. 111 degrees 1 minute 38 seconds W; NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soil moisture regime is Ustic aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature - 47 to 54 degrees F
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 18 to 27 percent
Rock fragments: 35 to 75 percent angular and subangular gravel, cobble, stone and boulder sized Cretaceous aged Straight Cliffs formation sandstone; very and extremely stony and bouldery modifiers dominate this series concept.
A horizon:
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
C horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: extremely bouldery loam, very bouldery loam, very stony loam, Clay content: averages 18 to 27 percent
Rock fragments: 35 to 75 percent angular and subangular gravel, cobble, stone and boulder sized Cretaceous aged Straight Cliffs formation sandstone
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 20 percent
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Chilton (NM), Happle (CO), Nihill (WY), Notlic (UT) and Polychrome (UT) series. All of the above series lack a particle size control section dominated by very and extremely stony and bouldery soil textures.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: colluvium and slope alluvium derived from Straight Cliffs sandstone
Landform: hillslopes and landslides on escarpments
Slopes: 15 to 60 percent
Elevation: 5,200 to 6,500 feet
Mean annual air temperature: 45 to 52 degrees F
Mean annual precipitation: 9 to 12 inches
Frost-free period: 120 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Daklos and Dient series. The Daklos soils are 10 to 20 inches over bedrock. The Dient soils are typic aridic.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: well drained, medium to very high runoff, moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: The major uses are for wildlife habitat, fuelwood production, and limited livestock grazing. Potential native vegetation is Utah juniper, two-needle pinyon, green mormontea, roundleaf buffaloberry, Indian ricegrass, and galleta. These soils have been correlated to Semidesert Stony Loam (Utah Juniper-Pinyon) 035XY46UT ecological site at the type location in Utah.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South central, Utah, MLRA 35. This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kane County, Utah, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument soil survey area, 2004. The name is coined.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Particle-size control section: The zone from 10 to 40 inches. (parts of the C1 and C2 horizons)
Ochric epipedon: The zone from 0 to 5 inches. (A horizons)
The assignment of the cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.
Taxonomic Version: Ninth Edition 2003