LOCATION HARRISBURG              UT+NM

Established Series
Rev. VLM/RSJ/MJD/WWJ
04/2015

HARRISBURG SERIES

The Harrisburg series consists of moderately deep to a hardpan, well drained soils on mesas. Harrisburg soils formed in residuum and eolian sediments from sandstone, shale, and volcanic ash. Slope ranges from 1 to 15 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 9 inches and mean air annual temperature is 61 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Typic Petrocalcids

TYPICAL PEDON: Harrisburg fine sandy loam - rangeland (Colors are for air dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 2 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) fine sandy loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; weak thin platy structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine vesicular pores; 5 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)

Bw1--2 to 26 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) fine sandy loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular pores; 5 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); clear smooth boundary. (16 to 32 inches thick)

Bw2--26 to 35 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) fine sandy loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular pores; slightly effervescent slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt wavy boundary. (O to 15 inches thick)

Bkm--35 to 44 inches; indurated carbonate hardpan.

TYPE LOCATION: Washington County, Utah; 2 miles east of old St. George airport; 1,600 feet south and 1,600 feet east of the NW corner of sec. 24, T.43S., R.15W; Washington Dome Quadrangle; lat. 37 degrees 2 minutes 0 seconds N. and long. 113 degrees 29 minutes seconds W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature: 59 to 63 degrees F.

Soil moisture: The soils are dry in all parts of the moisture control section 75 to 85 percent of the time the soil temperature is above 41 degrees F., unless irrigated. The soil moisture regime is typic aridic.

Depth to petrocalcic horizon: 20 to 40 inches

Reaction: slightly to strongly alkaline

Rock fragments: 0 to 35 percent

Texture: fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, or loam

A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 5YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 through 6

B horizon
Hue: 5YR, 2.5YR, or 7.5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 4 through 8
Effervescence: slightly to strongly effervescent

In some pedons the upper part of the hardpan is fractured and the fragments are mixed in the lower part of the B horizon.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Nations series. Nations soils have massive 2Bw horizons above the petrocalcic horizon and sandy horizons below the petrocalcic horizon. In addition, Nations soils are in the Trans- Pecos portion (MLRA 42) of the Chihuahuan Desert and receive mostly summer precipitation.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Harrisburg soils are on desert mesas at elevations of 1,600 to 4200 feet. Slopes range from 1 to 15 percent. These soils formed in residuum from sandstone and wind blown sediments from sandstone, volcanic ash and shale. The mean annual temperature is 57 to 70 degrees F., and the mean summer temperature is 80 to 84 degrees F. The frost-free period is 180 to 200 days in Utah and ranges to 240 days in Arizona. Average annual precipitation ranges from 6 to 11 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bermesa, Pintura, Tobler and Winkel soils. Bermesa soils have an argillic horizon and have more than 35 percent coarse fragments. Pintura soils are in a sandy family and lack petrocalcic horizons. Tobler soils lack petrocalcic horizons. Winkel soils are less than 20 inches deep to the petrocalcic horizon and have loamy-skeletal control sections.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; slow runoff; moderately rapid permeability to the hardpan.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used as rangeland. Vegetation is creosote bush, galleta, filaree, yellowbrush and cheatgrass. In Utah this series is correlated with Desert Climate Zone range sites.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Utah and Northern Arizona. These soils are inextensive. MLRA 30.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: PHOENIX, ARIZONA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Virgin River Valley Area, Utah, 1936.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon are:

Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 2 inches (A Horizon).

Petrocalcic horizon - The zone from 35 to 44 inches (Bkm horizon).

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999

The classification was changed from Typic Paleorthids to Typic Petrocalcids in 12/94.

ADDITIONAL DATA: lab data for this pedon is available - S69Utah-27-3.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.