LOCATION CANYON NE+CO KS SDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic, shallow Ustic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Canyon loam on an 8 percent convex slope in rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated)
A--0 to 4 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak medium granular structure; slightly hard, very friable; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
AC--4 to 9 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium prismatic structure; slightly hard, friable; 5 percent by volume sandstone gravel; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
C--9 to 16 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/3) very fine sandy loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable; 10 percent by volume sandstone gravel; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Cr--16 to 80 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/3) weakly cemented fine grained sandstone; violent effervescence.
TYPE LOCATION: Box Butte County, Nebraska; 9 1/2 miles south and 6 miles west of Hemingford; 80 feet east and 2140 feet north of the southwest corner, sec. 32, T. 26 N., R. 50 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: 6 to 12 inches
Depth to bedrock: typically is about 16 inches, but the full range is 6 to 20 inches
Depth to carbonates: 0 to 6 inches
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline throughout
Sandstone gravel content: is typically 0 to 15 percent but ranges from 0 to 25 percent.
The soil above the paralithic material has 12 to 25 percent clay and 35 to 70 percent sand throughout.
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 7 and 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: loam and ranges to include silt loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, gravelly loam, or gravelly sandy loam
AC horizon:
Hue of 10YR
Value: 5 to 8 and 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 1 to 4
Texture: loam and ranges to include silt loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, gravelly loam, or gravelly sandy loam
C horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 6 to 8 and 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: loam and ranges to include very fine sandy loam, silt loam, or gravelly loam
COMPETING SERIES:
Epping soils formed in residuum weathered from siltstone containing ash
Eslendo,
Gerst,
Redarrow and
Sandoval soils are dry in the soil moisture control section for longer periods
Gerst soils contain 15 to 35 percent channers by volume
Redarrow soils have hue redder than 10YR and have paralithic materials of red shale
Picante soils are driest during
May and June and have paralithic materials of siltstone or shale
Remorris soils occur in areas having less than 12 inches mean annual precipitation and formed in paralithic materials of siltstone or shale.
Shingle soils have less than 35 percent fine sand and coarser sand in the particle-size control section
Taluce soils have a sandy loam or fine sandy loam C horizon
Tassel soils have less than 12 percent clay in the particle-size control section
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: hills, plains, tablelands and uplands
Landform: side slopes and ridgetops
Slope: 0 to 60 percent
Parent material: weakly cemented limestone or very fine grain sandstone which is Tertiary in age
Mean annual air temperature: 48 to 55 degrees F
Mean annual precipitation: 14 to 19 inches
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Spearfish and
Tassel soils are on similar landscape.
Spearfish soils have hue redder than 10YR
Alliance and
Oglala soils are deep and below Canyon soils on the landscape
Alliance soils are fine-silty and Oglala soils are coarse-silty.
Ascalon,
Colby,
Creighton and
Ulysses soils are very deep
Ascalon soils are fine-loamy, Colby and Ulysses soils are fine-silty, and Creighton soils are coarse-loamy
Ascalon soils are on low ridges of tablelan.
Colby soils are above Canyon soils on the landscape.
Creighton soils are at lower elevations
Butche soils have a lithic contact at a depth of 10 to 20 inches and are on similar topographic positions
Rosebud soils are moderately deep to weakly cemented limestone or very fine grain sandstone and on similar landscapes
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage: well and somewhat excessively drained
Runoff: moderately slow, medium or rapid
Saturated hydraulic conductivity: moderately high
USE AND VEGETATION: Used principally for rangeland. A few small areas are cultivated.
Wheat is the major crop.
Where in rangeland, the native vegetation is primarily little bluestem, sideoats grama, blue grama and needleandthread.
Other plants that are common are yucca and broom snakeweed.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Canyon soils are extensive and are in western Nebraska and adjacent parts of Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Reconnaissance Soil Survey of western Kansas, 1910.
REMARKS: Some laboratory data indicates the soil has a calcic horizon and classifies as Ustic Haplocalcids.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Data for two profiles of Canyon soils, S57 Nebr.-53-8 and S57 Nebr.-53-9 are on pages 28 and 30 of "Soil Survey Laboratory Data and Descriptions for Some Soils of Nebraska," Soil Survey Investigation Report No. 5.