LOCATION ETCHEN UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, frigid Mollic Haploxeralfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Etchen very cobbly loam, rangeland. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
A11--0 to 4 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) very cobbly loam, reddish brown (5YR 5/4) dry; weak medium granular structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; many very fine, fine and medium roots; 15 percent cobbles and 15 percent pebbles in the horizon; 60 percent of the surface is covered with cobbles and pebbles; slightly calcareous, lime is disseminated; mildly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)
A12--4 to 8 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) cobbly loam, reddish brown (5YR 5/4) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure that parts to moderate coarse granular; soft, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; many very fine, fine and medium roots; 20 percent cobbles and stones, and 20 percent pebbles; moderately calcareous, lime is disseminated; mildly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
B21t--8 to 16 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) cobbly light sandy clay loam, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) dry; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine, fine and medium roots; few fine pores; common thin clay films on faces of peds; 20 percent pebbles and 20 percent cobbles and stones; moderately calcareous, lime is disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 12 inches thick)
B22t--16 to 29 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) very cobbly sandy clay loam, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) dry; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine, fine and medium roots; few fine pores; common thin clay films on faces of peds; 35 percent cobbles and stones, and 25 percent pebbles; strongly calcareous, lime is disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 13 inches thick)
C--29 to 34 inches; red (2.5YR 4/6) very cobbly heavy loam, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine and medium roots; 45 percent cobbles and stones, 25 percent pebbles; strongly calcareous, lime is disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt irregular boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick)
R--34 inches; fractured sandstone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Morgan County, Utah; about 10 miles north and 3 miles east of Lost Creek Dam; 900 feet east and 1,750 feet south of the NW corner of section 24, T.7N., R.5E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The A1 horizon has moist value of 3 to depth of 4 to 8 inches and moist chroma of 4 or more below depth of2 to 8 inches. The combined thickness of the A11, A12 and B2t horizons is 20 to 40 inches and the depth of bedrock is 21 to 40 inches. The mean annual soil temperature at depth of 20 inches ranges from 41 to 46 degrees F., and the mean summer temperature ranges from 60 to 68 degrees F. The soils are usually moist but are dry for 50 to 85 consecutive days during the later part of the summer. Rock fragments consist dominantly of angular sandstone and quartzite pebbles, cobbles, and stones, and range from 20 to 60 percent in the A1 horizon, 45 to 70 percent in the B2t horizon, and 60 to 80 percent in the C horizon.
The A1 horizon has hue of 2.5YR, 5YR, or 7.5YR, value of 3 moist in the upper 4 to 6 inches and 3 or 4 below, and 3 through 6 dry, and chroma of 2 through 6 moist, 3 through 8 dry. It ranges from very cobbly loam to gravelly loam. The A11 horizon is dominantly slightly to moderately calcareous but is noncalcareous in some pedons. It is dominantly mildly to moderately alkaline but may be slightly acid or neutral in some pedons. The A1 horizon ranges from 4 to 12 inches thick.
The B2t horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 3 through 5 moist, 3 through 6 dry, and chroma of 4 through 8 moist and dry. It ranges from cobbly or very cobbly sandy clay loam to very gravelly or very cobbly loam, or to gravelly or very cobbly clay loam. Structure ranges from weak through strong, fine through coarse subangular blocky. Clay films are few to many, thin or moderately thick. This horizon is dominantly slightly through strongly calcareous, but is noncalcareous in some pedons. It is dominantly mildly alkaline through moderately alkaline but is slightly acid or neutral in some pedons. The B2t horizon ranges from 9 to 25 inches thick.
The C horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 3 through 5 moist, 4 through 6 dry, and chroma of 4 through 6 moist, 4 through 8 dry. It is moderately calcareous through very strongly calcareous, and ranges from 0 to 15 inches thick.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bullnel, Hoskins and Kilfoil series. Bullnel and Kilfoil soils have less than 35 percent rock fragments in the argillic horizon. Hoskin soils have a mollic epipedon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Etchen soils are at elevations of 5,400 to 8,200 feet. They occur on mountain slopes and foot slopes. Slopes range from 25 to 70 percent. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium and local alluvium from sandstone and conglomerate of quartzite and sandstone, and some shale. The climate is moist subhumid or humid. The average annual precipitation ranges from 18 to 25 inches. The mean annual temperature is 36 to 44 degrees F., and the mean summer temperature is 56 to 64 degrees F. The frost free season ranges from 70 to 90 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Bullnel soils and the Guilder, Henhoit, Lucky Star, Redcan and Schuster soils. Guilder soils have more than 35 percent clay and less than 20 percent rock fragments in the argillic horizon. Henhoit soils have mollic epipedons and are more than 40 inches deep to bedrock. Lucky Star and Schuster soils have mollic epipedons, and are more than 40 inches deep to bedrock. They also have summer temperatures of less than 59 degrees F. Redcan soils lack argillic horizons and have soft rock at depths of 15 to 20 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderate or moderately slow permeability above the bedrock.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for range, wildlife habitat, and watershed. The present native vegetation is bog sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, western wheatgrass, bitterbrush, native bluegrass, serviceberry, balsamroot, cheatgrass and snowberry.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Utah. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Morgan County, Morgan Area, Utah 1974.
REMARKS:
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.