LOCATION ERDA UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Calcixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Erda silt loam - cultivated. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine roots; many very fine vesicular pores; strong effervescence (9 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); carbonates are disseminated; mildly alkaline (pH 7/6); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
A2--8 to 14 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine roots; many very fine tubular pores; strong effervescence (12 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); carbonates are disseminated; mildly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
Bk1--14 to 23 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine roots; many very fine tubular pores; violent effervescence (23 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); carbonates are disseminated and in soft masses; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 13 inches thick)
Bk2--23 to 39 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; many very fine tabular pores; violent effervescence (37 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); carbonates are disseminated and in soft masses; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 22 inches thick)
C--39 to 60 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; common fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) relict mottles; massive; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; many very fine tubular pores; violent effervescence (24 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); carbonates are disseminated; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8).
TYPE LOCATION: Tooele County, Utah; about 1 mile north and 1 mile east of Erda; 1,600 feet west and 100 feet south of the northeast corner of section 27, T. 2 S., R. 4 W.; 40 degrees, 37 minutes and 24 seconds north latitude and 112 degrees, 16 minutes and 52 seconds west longitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The soil moisture regime is Xeric bordering on Aridic. The soil moisture control section is dry for 60 to 75 consecutive days following the summer solstice. The mean annual soil temperature is 47 to 54 degrees F., and the mean summer soil temperature is 67 to 72 degrees F.
The mollic epipedon is 7 to 23 inches thick. Some pedons have a cambic horizon with an increase in clay. The depth to the calcic horizon is 7 to 23 inches. The particle-size control section ranges from 18 to 27 percent clay with less than 15 percent fine sand or coarser.
The A horizon has value of 4 or 5 dry; 2 or 3 moist and chroma of 2 or 3. It is mildly alkaline or moderately alkaline. It is strongly or violently effervescent.
The Bk horizon has value of 6 to 8 dry, 3 to 6 moist and chroma of 2 to 4. Clay content is 18 to 27 percent. Reaction is moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
The C horizon has value of 6 to 8 dry, 4 to 6 moist and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is silt loam or silty clay loam. Clay content is 18 to 35 percent. Reaction is moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline. Salinity ranges from 0 to 8 millimhos/cm.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Collinston (UT) and Fielding (UT) series. Collinston soils are dry in the soil moisture control section for 45 to 60 consecutive days following the summer solstice and have chromas of 1 in the A horizon. Fielding soils have a water table at 45 to 60 inches in depth and have redoximorphic concentrations below 24 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Erda soils are on nearly level to gently sloping lake terraces, alluvial flats and fan terraces at elevations of 4,250 to 6,000 feet. Slopes range from 0 to 8 percent. These soils formed in alluvium and lacustrine sediments derived dominantly from limestone, sandstone and quartzite. The climate is dry subhumid. Average annual precipitation is 12 to 16 inches. The mean annual air temperature is 45 to 52 degrees F., and the freeze-free period is 110 to 170 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Lakewin, Borvant, Bramwell, Doyce, Manassa, Kapod and Taylorsflat soils. Lakewin, Borvant and Kapod soils have more than 35 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section. Bramwell soils are somewhat poorly drained. Manassa and Taylorsflat soils do not have a mollic epipedon. Doyce soils have an argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used as rangeland and for nonirrigated and irrigated alfalfa and small grains. Native vegetation is dominantly Wyoming big sagebrush, rabbitbrush and bluebunch wheatgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: West Central Utah, Tooele County. This series is moderately extensive. MLRA 28A.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Tooele County Area Soil Survey, Tooele County, Utah, 1992.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - the zone from the soil surface to a depth of 14 inches. (Ap and A2 horizons)
Calcic horizon - zone of carbonate accumulation between a depth of 14 to 39 inches. (Bk1 and Bk2 horizons)
Particle-size control section - the zone from 10 to 40 inches.
In 1/95 the classification was changed from Aridic Calcixerolls to Typic Calcixerolls.
The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Reno MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.