LOCATION HANSEL UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Calcic Haploxeralfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Hansel silt loam, dry cropland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 6 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; common fine and medium pores; neutral (pH 7.3); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 9 inches thick)
A2--6 to 10 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; common fine and medium pores; neutral (pH 7.3); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Bt1--10 to 14 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium prismatic structure; slightly hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine pores; common thin clay films on faces of peds; moderately calcareous; mildly alkaline (pH 7.5); gradual wavy boundary. (4 to 12 inches thick)
Bt2--14 to 18 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) silty clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; common medium pores; few thin clay films on faces of peds; moderately calcareous; mildly alkaline (pH 7.5); gradual wavy boundary. (4 to 12 inches thick)
Bk1--18 to 23 inches; white (10YR 8/2) light silty clay loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; common medium pores; strongly calcareous; mildly alkaline (pH 7.7); gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 22 inches thick)
Bk2--23 to 33 inches; white (10YR 8/2) light silty clay loam, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common medium pores; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 24 inches thick)
C1--33 to 45 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) silty clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common medium pores; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual smooth boundary. (10 to 25 inches)
C2--45 to 62 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) silty clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.3).
TYPE LOCATION: Box Elder County, Utah; 2 3/4 miles north and 1/2 mile west of the Howell Post Office; 800 feet north and 750 feet west of the E1/4 corner of section 30, T.13N., R.5W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The average annual soil temperature at 20 inches is 48 to 52 degrees F., and the mean summer temperature is 69 to 72 degrees F. The soil moisture regime is Xeric bordering Aridic. They are moist for 60 to 90 consecutive days during the winter.
Depth to the Bk (calcic) horizon is 15 to 32 inches. Depth to carbonates is 10 to 22 inches. The average organic matter content is more than 1.0 percent to a depth of 15 inches, generally about 1.5 to 2 percent. The soil ranges from neutral to moderately alkaline.
The A horizon is noncalcareous slightly calcareous. Value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist and chroma 2 to 4. It is 4 to 15 inches thick.
The Bt (argillic) horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y. Value of 6 or 7 dry, 3 to 5 moist, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is silt loam or silty clay loam and has 25 to 35 percent clay, but dominantly 28 to 32 percent. This horizon has few to common thin clay films on peds. It is neutral to strongly alkaline and the lower part is slightly to moderately calcareous; thickness ranges from 8 to 17 inches.
The Bk and C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 6 to 8 dry, 5 to 7 moist, and chroma of 2 to 4. It ranges from very fine sandy loam or silt loam to heavy silty clay loam. This horizon is mildly to very strongly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Hansel soils occur on dissected intermediate lake terraces at elevations of 4,400 to 5,000 feet. Slopes range from 0 to 10 percent. The soils formed in lacustrine deposits derived from a variety of rocks. The climate is dry subhumid. The average annual precipitation ranges from 12 to 14 inches. The frost-free period ranges from 90 to 130 days. The mean annual temperature ranges from 46 to 49 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Erda, Fridlo, Kearns, Thiokol, Timpie, Pomat, Uvada and Yenrab. Erda, Pomat, Timpie, Kearns and Thiokol soils lack argillic horizons. Fridlo soils have a natric horizon. Uvada soils have 35 to 50 percent clay in the control section. Yenrab soils have less than 10 percent clay in the control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; very slow to medium runoff; moderately slow to slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for nonirrigated cropland, growing small grains on a crop-fallow rotation. A small area is irrigated in the Curlew Valley, growing alfalfa and small grains.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern and Central Utah. Moderately extensive. MLRA 28A.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Box Elder County, Utah, Northern Utah SCD, 1941.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 10 inches (A1 and A2 horizons)
Argillic horizon - the zone of clay accumulation from 10 to 18 inches (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)
Calcic horizon - the zone of carbonate increase from 18 to 33 inches (Bk1 and Bk2 horizons)
In September 1994 the classification was changed from Xerollic Haplargid to Calcic Haploxeralf. The series is correlated with upland range sites and is used in map units that are in nonirrigated farmland.
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.