LOCATION HONLU UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Ustic Haplocalcids
TYPICAL PEDON: Honlu gravelly loam, on a southeast facing, linear, 8 percent slope in Utah juniper with an understory of black sagebrush and needleandthread at an elevation of 6,300 feet. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
The surface is covered by 15 percent gravel.
A--0 to 3 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) gravelly loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; weak very fine and fine subangular blocky structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and many very fine roots; many very fine and fine random tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; very slightly effervescent (6 percent calcium carbonate equivalent), carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick).
Bk1--3 to 9 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) gravelly loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate fine and very fine subangular blocky; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine roots; common fine and many very fine random tubular pores; 15 percent gravel; slightly effervescent (11 percent calcium carbonate equivalent), carbonates are disseminated and segregated as 1 mm thick coatings on underside of gravel; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick).
Bk2--9 to 18 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) gravelly loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate fine and very fine subangular blocky; slightly hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; 20 percent gravel; strongly effervescent (16 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); carbonates are disseminated and segregated as few fine filaments and 1 mm thick coatings around gravel; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 21 inches thick).
Bk3--18 to 32 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) gravelly loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; weak fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few fine and very fine random tubular pores; 35 percent gravel; strongly effervescent (23 percent calcium carbonate equivalent), carbonates are disseminated and segregated as common fine veins and 1 mm thick coatings on gravel; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 24 inches thick).
Bk4--32 to 44 inches; pink (7.5YR 7/4) gravelly loam, light brown (7.5YR 6/4) moist; massive; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few fine and very fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; strongly effervescent (30 percent calcium carbonate equivalent), carbonates are disseminated and segregated as common fine filaments and 1 mm thick coatings on gravel; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 22 inches thick).
Bk5--44 to 60 inches; pink (7.5YR 7/4) gravelly loam, light brown (7.5YR 6/4) moist; massive; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few fine and very fine tubular pores; 15 percent gravel; strongly effervescent (26 percent calcium carbonate equivalent), carbonates are disseminated and segregated as common fine filaments and 1 mm thick coatings on gravel; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8).
TYPE LOCATION: Uintah County, Utah; about 8 miles northwest of Vernal; located about 2,000 feet north and 100 feet east of the southwest corner of sec. 11, T. 4 S., R. 20 E., SLBM; Vernal N.W., Utah USGS quad; lat. 40 degrees 28 minutes 55 seconds N. and long. 109 degrees 39 minutes 1 seconds W., NAD 27
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: The soil moisture control section is affected by precipitation that falls evenly through the year with a slight increase in late summer and early fall. Aridic moisture regime bordering on ustic.
Mean annual soil temperature: 47 to 51 degrees F.
Depth to cambic horizon: 2 to 8 inches
Depth to calcic horizon: 8 to 15 inches
Particle-size control section: 18 to 27 percent clay and 15 to 35 percent rock fragments
A horizon: (combination of colors and depths do not meet mollic criteria)
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry or moist
Rock fragments: 15 to 35 percent (predominantly gravel)
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 15 percent
Reaction: moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline
Bk1 horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 4 to 6 dry or moist
Texture: gravelly loam or loam
Rock fragments: 0 to 35 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 15 percent
Reaction: moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline
Bk (excluding Bk1) horizons:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4 dry or moist
Texture: gravelly loam with thin layers of gravelly clay loam and gravelly sandy loam in the upper part and gravelly loam, very gravelly loam, gravelly clay loam and thin layers of very gravelly sandy loam in the lower part
Rock fragments: 15 to 40 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 30 percent
Reaction: moderately alkaline through very strongly alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: Current competitors are the Abra, Bighams, Bowdish, Darvey and Numa series. Competitors prior to the Eighth Edition, 1998 Keys to Soil Taxonomy are the Copeman, Creel, Harvey, Hernandez, Peachsprings, and the Pultney series.
Abra, Darvey, Harvey, and Hernandez: have less than 15 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section
Bowdish and Pultney: have a paralithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches
Creel: have a lithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches
Copeman: have horizons of secondary gypsum accumulation
Numa: have a soil moisture control section that is affected by mean annual precipitation exceeding 12 inches, with peak precipitation occurring during spring and early summer.
Peachsprings: have mean annual soil temperatures greater than 51 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: slope alluvium and colluvium derived from sedimentary and metamorphic rocks
Landform: fan remnants and hillslopes
Slopes: 0 to 40 percent
Elevation: 5,500 to 6,800 feet
Mean annual air temperature: 45 to 49 degrees F.
Mean annual precipitation: 8 to 12 inches
Frost-free period: 110 to 140 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Abracon, Clapper, Mikim, and Montwel series.
Abracon and
Mikim soils have less than 15 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section.
Clapper soils have a loamy-skeletal particle-size control section.
Mikim and
Montwel soils lack calcic horizons.
Montwel soils are 20 to 40 inches deep over a paralithic contact.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, very slow, slow, and medium runoff, moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: The major uses are rangeland, wildlife habitat, and recreation. Potential native vegetation is Wyoming big sagebrush, Indian ricegrass, galleta, needleandthread, birchleaf mountainmahogany, Utah juniper and pinyon pine. These soils have been correlated to Semidesert Stony Loam (Utah Juniper-Pinyon) - 034XY247UT, and Semidesert Loam (Wyoming Big Sagebrush) - 034XY212UT range sites in Utah.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Utah. LRR D, MLRA 34. This series is extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Uintah County, Uintah Area Soil Survey, Utah. 1998.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Particle-size control section: The zone from 10 to 40 inches.
Ochric epipedon: The zone from 0 to 3 inches. (A horizon)
Cambic horizon: The zone from 3 to 9 inches. (Bk1 horizon)
Calcic horizon: The zone from 9 to 44 inches. (Bk2, Bk3, Bk4, and Bk5 horizons)
The cation exchange activity class was inferred from laboratory data from similar soils in the Uintah Area Soil Survey.
Taxonomic version: Eighth Edition, 1998.