LOCATION FIREHOLE WY
Tentative Series
ALB-DPG-DEW
04/2025
FIREHOLE SERIES
Depth class: Deep and Very deep
Drainage class: Well drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity class: Moderately high
Parent material: Slope alluvium, alluvium, or eolian sands, over residuum weathered from interbedded sedimentary rocks
Geomorphic location: Hillslopes, dunes, or alluvial flats
Slope range: 1 to 15 percent
Mean annual temperature: 4.5 degrees C (40 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation: 205 millimeters (8 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS:
Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Sodic Ustic Haplocambids
TYPICAL PEDON: Firehole very channery fine sandy loam in rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 8 centimeters; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very channery sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate very thick platy structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots throughout; few very fine and fine vesicular pores; 40 percent channers; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); gradual smooth boundary.
Bk1--8 to 14 centimeters; brown (10YR 5/3) channery sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; weak very coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; common very fine and fine, few medium, coarse, and very coarse roots throughout; few very fine tubular pores; 65 percent calcium carbonate concretions on bottom of rock fragments; 30 percent channers; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual smooth boundary.
Bk2--14 to 45 centimeters; brown (10YR 5/3) very channery sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; few very fine, fine, medium, and coarse roots throughout; few very fine tubular pores; 60 percent calcium carbonate concretions on bottom of rock fragments; 35 percent channers; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual smooth boundary.
BCkn1--45 to 73 centimeters; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) channery sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; few very fine, fine, medium, and coarse roots throughout; few very fine tubular pores; 25 percent calcium carbonate concretions on bottom of rock fragments; 20 percent channers; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); gradual smooth boundary.
BCkn2--73 to 111 centimeters; pale brown (10YR 6/3) channery sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; few very fine and few fine roots throughout; few very fine tubular pores; 50 percent calcium carbonate concretions on bottom of rock fragments; 20 percent channers; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); gradual smooth boundary.
BCkn3--111 to 158 centimeters; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very channery sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; 35 percent calcium carbonate concretions on bottom of rock fragments; 35 percent channers; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); gradual smooth boundary.
BCk--158 to 200 centimeters; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) channery fine sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; 35 percent calcium carbonate concretions on bottom of rock fragments; 30 percent channers; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).
TYPE LOCATION:
Sweetwater County, WY
USGS Quadrangle: Sugarloaf Basin
Latitude: 41.223800
Longitude: -109.4487300
Datum: WGS84
Coordinates source: Hand-held GPS
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to cambic horizon: 4 to 12 centimeters
Depth to sodic properties: 41 to 74 centimeters
Depth to bedrock: 106 to 200 centimeters
Particle-size control section (weighted averages):
Clay content-8 to 17 percent
Sand content-58 to 75 percent
Total rock fragments-0 to 28 percent
(Individual horizons allow for textures with greater than 18 percent clay but are outside the control section or thin enough that the weighted average clay in the control section is always under 18 percent. Some horizons may have a high calcium carbonate equivalent and/or some secondary calcium carbonate accumulation, but the profile should never meet the full requirements for a calcic diagnostic horizon.)
A horizon:
Hue-10YR or 2.5Y
Value-5 to 7 dry; 3 to 5 moist
Chroma-2 to 4
Texture (less than 2 mm fraction)-Fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loamy fine sand, or loam
Clay content-7 to 17 percent
Rock fragments-0 to 50 percent; 0 to 50 percent channers, 0 to 25 percent gravels, 0 to 2 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent-1 to 15 percent
Sodium absorption ratio-0 to 3 percent
Reaction-pH 7.8 to 8.4
Thickness-4 to 12 centimeters
Bk/Bw horizon (s):
Hue-7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value-5 to 8 dry; 3 to 5 moist
Chroma-3 or 4 dry; 3 to 6 moist
Texture (less than 2 mm fraction)-Fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loamy fine sand, or loam
Clay content-7 to 17 percent
Rock fragments-0 to 40 percent; 0 to 40 percent channers, 0 to 5 percent gravels, 0 to 2 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent-1 to 15 percent
Sodium absorption ratio-0 to 3 percent
Reaction-pH 7.8 to 8.4
Thickness-23 to 56 centimeters
Bkn/BCkn horizon (s)
Hue-10YR or 2.5Y
Value-4 to 7 dry; 3 to 6 moist
Chroma-3 or 4 dry; 3 to 6 moist
Texture (less than 2 mm fraction)-Fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or loam
Clay content-5 to 17 percent
Rock fragments-0 to 50 percent; 0 to 50 percent channers, 0 to 30 percent gravels
Calcium carbonate equivalent-3 to 15 percent
Sodium absorption ratio-13 to 25 percent
Reaction-pH 8.6 to 9.6
Thickness-25 to 159 centimeters
C/BCk horizon (s) (when present):
Hue-10YR or 2.5Y
Value-4 to 8 dry; 4 to 6 moist
Chroma-2 to 8
Texture (less than 2 mm fraction)-Fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or loam
Clay content-3 to 17 percent
Rock fragments-0 to 40 percent; 0 to 5 percent gravels; 0 to 40 percent channers, 0 to 20 percent parachanners
Calcium carbonate equivalent-1 to 15 percent
Sodium absorption ratio-0 to 25 percent
Reaction- pH 8.0 to 9.6
Thickness-0 to 173 centimeters
COMPETING SERIES:
Redgap (WY) - has sodic properties within 40 cm of the mineral soil surface
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: Slope alluvium, alluvium, or eolian sands over residuum weathered from interbedded sedimentary rocks
Landform: Hillslopes, dunes, or alluvial flats
Slope: 1 to 15 percent
Mean annual temperature range: 2.5 to 7.0 degrees C (37 to 45 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation range: 180 to 230 millimeters (7 to 9 inches)
Frost-free period: 50 to 100 days
Elevation: 1,840 to 2,210 meters (6,040 to 7,250 feet)
Climate: Long, cold winters; cool, moist springs; short, warm summers
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
None listed.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class: Well drained
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: 1.5 to 5 m/sec
USE AND VEGETATION:
Firehole soils are primarily used for rangeland. The potential native vegetation is Indian ricegrass, Wyoming big sagebrush, Gardener's saltbush, bottlebrush squirreltail, thickspike wheatgrass, needle and thread, bud sagebrush, Sandberg bluegrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Firehole soils are of moderate extent in southwestern Wyoming; MLRA 34A.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES PROPOSED:
Sweetwater County, WY 2024. Firehole series is derived from a local area.
REMARKS:
Typical Pedon Taxonomic Features:
Ochric epipedon-0 to 8 centimeters (A horizon)
Cambic horizon-8 to 45 centimeters (Bk1 and Bk2 horizons)
Sodic properties-45 to 158 centimeters (BCkn1, BCkn2, BCkn3 horizons)
Particle-size control section-25 to 100 centimeters
Taxonomic Version: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 13th edition, (2022)
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.