LOCATION HENRYSFORK WY+UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, carbonatic Oxyaquic Haplocryepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Henrysfork clay loam on a 1 percent somewhat hummocky surface; pasture or rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 3 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) clay loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; weak coarse platy structure; soft, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few very fine roots; strongly effervescent, 45 percent carbonates disseminated; electrical conductivity 1.5 mmhos; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
Bw--3 to 50 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) and light gray (10YR 7/2) clay loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; strongly effervescent, 50 percent carbonates disseminated; few fine faint brown iron concentrations; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary.
2C--50 to 60 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) very cobbly sandy clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and slightly plastic; slightly effervescent, carbonates disseminated; 20 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8).
TYPE LOCATION: Uinta County, Wyoming, about 1/4 mile southwest of Lonetree; about 900 feet south and 1500 feet east of the northwest corner, Section 4, T12N, R113W; Lonetree USGS quad; lat. 41 degrees 03 minutes 10 seconds N. and long. 110 degrees 09 minutes 28 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to seasonal water table is 2 to 5 feet.
Depth to an intermittent very cobbly substratum (2C horizon) is over 40 inches.
Calcium carbonate equivalent is 40 to 70 percent.
Particle-size control section (weighted averages)
Noncarbonate clay content: 20 to 35 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 40 to 70 percent
A horizon
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 5 through 7 moist
Chroma: 1 through 3
Reaction: moderately alkaline through very strongly alkaline
Electrical conductivity: 1 to 4 mmhos
Bw horizon
Hue: 5Y through 7.5YR
Value: 7 or 8 dry, 5 or 6 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: clay loam or sandy clay loam
Noncarbonate clay content: 20 to 35 percent
Redox concentrations with higher chroma occur in the lower part of this horizon in some pedons
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
2C horizon (is intermittent)
Rock fragment content: 35 to 60 percent, gravel and cobbles
Texture, fine earth fraction: sandy clay loam or sandy loam
Clay content: 15 to 25 percent
COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no competitors.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Henrysfork soils are on nearly level alluvial fans and floodplains. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevation is 7,000 to 8,500 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 10 to 14 inches with slight highs in spring. The mean annual air temperature is 36 to 43 degrees F. The average frost-free season is 30 to 60 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Silas and Turson soils. Both of these soils have mollic epipedons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poor to moderately well drained; low runoff and moderately slow permeability. These soils receive seepage from higher ground and subirrigation from a seasonal water table at 2 to 5 feet most of the year.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are pastured or used for rangeland. Native vegetation is very sparse; it is thinly scattered bull thistle, red top, timothy, alkali sacaton, junegrass and sedges.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Wyoming and into northeastern Utah. MLRA 47. These soils are of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Henrys Fork soil survey area, Utah and Wyoming, 1990.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - from 0 to 3 inches (A horizon)
Cambic horizon - from 3 to 50 inches (Bw horizon); based on the color change from the horizon above and the lack of fine stratification (This horizon was originally described as a non-cambic C horizon).
Oxyaquic feature - the lower part of the Bw horizon is assumed to be saturated for more that 20 days, based on the described redox features and the depth to water table (2 to 5 feet). This range in water table depth crosses a taxonomic limit; soils with a high water table depth below 40 inches would not be in the Oxyaquic subgroup, hence would no longer be considered within the series range.
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 40 inches (part of Bw horizon)
Series control section - The zone from 0 to 60 inches.
1.1 Organic matter content of .5 to 1 percent is by field estimate.
1.2 Clay content of 20 to 35 percent is by field estimate and includes carbonatic clay.
Other Diagnostic Properties:
1. Carbonatic mineralogy is determined by field kit.
2. The precipitation and temperatures are interpolated from data for stations at Mountain View and Evanston and from vegetation.
Note from 02/2007 revision: The actual noncarbonate clay content in the particle-size control section is unclear. The RIC notes describes it as " 20 to 35 percent noncarbonatic clay" but note 1.2 above suggests this clay range includes carbonate clay. It seems very likely that the note is correct and the 20 to 35 percent range is for total clay, which is consistent with the clay loam or sandy clay loam textures described. When this total clay range is discounted for carbonate clay, a reasonable range in noncarbonate clay would be about 12 to 18 percent. This needs to be confirmed, as this would place the soil in a coarse-loamy class.
The 03/2007 revision changes the classification from Aquic Eutrocryepts to Oxyaquic Haplocryepts. The classification when established was fine-loamy, carbonatic Aquic Cryorthents.
Taxonomic version: Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.