LOCATION FREEDOM UT+IDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Xeric Haplocalcids
TYPICAL PEDON: Freedom silt loam - rangeland (Colors are for air dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 3 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak thin platy structure that parts to weak fine granular; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few fine and very fine pores; moderately calcareous, lime is disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
AB--3 to 8 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam; brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, plastic; few fine and very fine roots; common very fine and few fine pores; moderately calcareous, lime is disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 9 inches thick).
Bk1--8 to 18 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 7/3) light silty clay loam; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; weak fine prismatic structure that parts to weak medium subangular blocks; hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine and few fine pores; strongly calcareous, lime is disseminated, and in fine veins and soft rounded accretions; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 25 inches thick)
Bk2--18 to 30 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 7/3) light silty clay loam; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure; hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few very fine roots; common fine and very fine pores; strongly calcareous, lime is disseminated, and in fine veins and soft rounded concretions; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 25 inches thick)
Bk3--30 to 40 inches; light yellowish brown 2.5Y 6/3) silty clay loam; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; massive; hard, firm, sticky plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine and few fine pores; few small pockets of gravel; strongly calcareous, lime is disseminated and in fine veins; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2); gradual smooth boundary. (10 to 20 inches thick)
Bk4-- 40 to 60 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) silty clay loam; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few very fine roots; common fine and very fine pores; strongly calcareous, lime is disseminated and in fine veins; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Sanpete County, Utah; 1.5 miles east of the Moroni feed mill; about 1,650 feet north and 660 feet west of the S.E. corner of sec. 14, T. 15S., R. 2E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Average annual soil temperature is 45 to 52 degrees F. The soil moisture regime is Aridic bordering on Xeric.
Depth to the calcic horizon is 7 to 13 inches. Control section is 18 to 35 percent clay with less than 15 percent coarser than very fine sand. Texture is silt loam or silty clay loam. Reaction is moderately to very strongly alkaline.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3.
The Bk horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 6 through 8 dry, 4 through 7 moist and chroma of 2 or 4. Calcium Carbonate equivalent is 15 to 40 percent in the calcic horizon. Some pedons have discontinuously weakly cemented layers in the Bk horizon.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Freedom soils are on nearly level to moderately sloping alluvial fans, alluvial flats, lake plains and high stream terraces. Elevations range from 4300 to 6000 feet. They formed in alluvium from shale, limestone, sandstone and lacustrine sediments. The climate is semiarid, with an average annual precipitation of 8 to 12 inches, and an average annual temperature of 45 to 52 degrees F. The frost-free period is about 100 to 150 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Amtoft, Arapien, Atepic, Denmark, Genola, Lisade, Moroni, Stake and Woodrow soils. Amtoft and Atepic soils are 10 to 20 inches deep over limestone and shale respectively. Arapien soils are carbonatic. Denmark soils have a petrocalcic horizon at 10 to 20 inches. Genola and Woodrow soils lack calcic horizons. Lisade soils have less than 18 percent clay and Moroni soils have more than 35 percent clay in the control section. Stake soils have a cumulic mollic epipedon and more than 35 percent clay in the control section. Amtoft soils are on strongly sloping to very steep hillsides and ridges. Arapien, Lisade, and Moroni soils are on alluvial plains. Atepic soils are on foothills and mountainsides. Genola, Stake and Woodrow soils are on floodplains and alluvial fans.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderate or moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for range, nonirrigated pasture, and irrigated crops. The potential natural vegetation is Basin big sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, needleandthread, and bottlebrush squirreltail. The principal irrigated crops are small grains.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Utah and south central Idaho. The series is moderately extensive. MLRA 11, 28A and 47.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sanpete County, Utah, 1971.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to 8 inches (A1 and AB horizons)
Calcic horizon - the zone from 8 to 30 inches (Bk1 and Bk2 horizons)
Particle-size control section - 10 to 40 inches
The classification was changed from Xerollic Calciorthids to Xeric Haplocalcids in 9/94.
In Utah this series is correlated with semidesert range sites.
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 Lakewood MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.