LOCATION KAIAR                   UT

Established Series
Rev. CSW/JWB
01/2023

KAIAR SERIES

The Kaiar series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in eolian sands and slope alluvium from calcareous sandstone and limestone. Kaiar soils are on structural benches and mesas. Slopes range from 2 to 15 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 25 cm and the mean annual temperature is about 8.5 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Ustic Haplocalcids

TYPICAL PEDON: Kaiar loamy fine sand, on a west-southwest facing, convex, 4 percent slope in rangeland at an elevation of 1,585 meters. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) When described on August 12, 1995 the soil was dry throughout.

A--0 to 10 cm; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) loamy fine sand, brown (7.5YR 4/3), moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few coarse and fine and common very fine roots; very slightly effervescent (2 percent calcium carbonate equivalent), carbonates are finely disseminated throughout; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 32 cm thick)

Bw--10 to 30 cm; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4), moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few coarse and fine and common very fine roots; very slightly effervescent (4 percent calcium carbonate equivalent), carbonates are finely disseminated throughout; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); gradual wavy boundary. (15 to 48 cm thick)

Bk--30 to 70 cm; pink (7.5YR 7/3) fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/3), moist; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and common very fine roots; 2 percent channers and 10 percent gravel; strongly effervescent (12 percent calcium carbonate equivalent), common fine threadlike masses of carbonates, common faint carbonate coats on bottom of rock fragments, carbonates are finely disseminated throughout; moderately alkaline (pH 8.1); clear wavy boundary.

BCk--70 to 88 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) gravelly fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3), moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and common very fine roots; 10 percent channers and 15 percent gravel; violently effervescent (20 percent calcium carbonate equivalent), common fine threadlike masses of carbonates, common distinct carbonate coats on bottom of rock fragments, carbonates are finely disseminated throughout; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (combined thickness of the Bk and/or BCk horizons is 20 to 58 cm)

R--88 to 98 cm; calcareous sandstone bedrock, Curtis formation; common distinct carbonate coats on bedrock.

TYPE LOCATION: Emery County, Utah; about 10.5 kilometers (6.5 miles) west-southwest of Woodside ghost town; located in an unsectionized area about 6,400 feet west and 1,100 feet south of the northwest corner of section 26, Township 18 S., Range 13 E.; Dry Mesa USGS quad; lat. 39 degrees 13 minutes 48 seconds N. and long. 110 degrees 27 minutes 39 seconds W., NAD 83

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture control section is usually dry, but intermittently moist during late summer and early fall. Aridic moisture regime bordering on Ustic.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 11 degrees C.
Depth to lithic contact: 51 to 102 cm to calcareous sandstone bedrock
Depth to calcic horizon: 23 to 62 cm
Depth to cambic horizon: 8 to 28 cm
Thickness of the cambic horizon: 15 to 48 cm
Thickness of the calcic horizon: 34 to 58 cm

Particle-size control section (weighted averages):
Clay content: 5 to 18 percent
Rock fragment content: 10 to 35 percent channers or gravel; 0 to 3 percent cobbles

A horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry; 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4 dry or moist
Texture: loamy fine sand, fine sandy loam, gravelly fine sandy loam
Clay content: 3 to 18 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 33 percent total; 0 to 3 percent cobbles, 0 to 30 percent channers or gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 15 percent
Electrical conductivity: 0 to 4 mmhos/cm
Sodium adsorption ratio: 0 to 2
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

Bw horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry; 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6 dry or moist
Texture: fine sandy loam, gravelly fine sandy loam
Clay content: 5 to 18 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 25 percent total; 0 to 3 percent cobbles, 0 to 20 percent channers or gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 20 percent
Electrical conductivity: 0 to 4 mmhos/cm
Sodium adsorption ratio: 0 to 2
Reaction: slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline

Bk and BCk horizons:
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR; 2.5Y is observed only in BCk
Value: 6 to 8 dry; 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6 dry or moist
Texture: fine sandy loam, gravelly fine sandy loam, channery fine sandy loam, gravelly loam, cobbly very fine sandy loam, very channery fine sandy loam,
Clay content: 5 to 20 percent
Rock fragments: 10 to 35 percent total; 0 to 20 percent cobbles, 0 to 45 percent channers or gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 40 percent
Electrical conductivity: 0 to 8 mmhos/cm
Sodium adsorption ratio: 0 to 2
Reaction: slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Abracon (UT), ThumbRock (UT), Chroder (CO), Chugcity (WY), Chupadera (NM), Cobbra (UT), Harvey (NM), Milok (UT), Mivida (UT), Nala (T)(NM) Sazi (UT), and Yattle (CO) series.
Abracon, Chroder, Cobbra, Harvey, Milok, Mivida, Nala and Yattle soils are deeper than 102 cm to a lithic or paralithic contact.
ThumbRock and Sazi soils have mean annual soil temperature higher than 11 degrees C.
Chugcity soils have paralithic contact.
Chupadera soils have peak periods of precipitation affecting the soil moisture control section in May and June.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: eolian sands, slope alluvium and/or alluvium from calcareous sandstone, commonly of the Entrada, Curtis, and Ferron Formations.
Landform: structural benches, mesas
Slopes: 2 to 15 percent
Elevation: 1,585 to 2,225 meters
Mean annual temperature: 7 to 10 degrees C.
Mean annual precipitation: 203 to 305 mm
Precipitation pattern: Wettest months are July to October and driest months are December and June.
Frost-free period: 110 to 150 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Hideout, Gerst and Walknolls series. The Hideout soils are shallow to a lithic contact, do not have a calcic horizon. The Gerst soils are shallow to a paralithic contact with shale and are on hills. The Walknolls soils are shallow and loamy-skeletal. All of these soils are under Utah juniper and pinyon and are intermixed with the Kaiar soils.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderately rapid permeability; high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. Existing vegetation includes fourwing saltbush, winterfat, Torrey's jointfir, Indian ricegrass, needleandthread, galleta and wooly locoweed.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Emery County, Utah, Emery Area, Utah, 2010, Parts of Emery, Carbon, Grand and Sevier Counties soil survey area. LRR D, MLRA 34B; moderate extent; about 12,200 acres mapped in Emery and Sevier Counties, Utah.
Named for a Paiute woman photographed by John Hillers in the 1872 Powell expedition.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Emery County, Utah, Emery Area, Utah, Parts of Emery, Carbon, Grand, and Sevier Counties, 2011. Named for Paiute woman photographed by John Hillers of the 1872 Powell expedition. The pronunciation is KYE-ar. Prior to 2010 Kaiar soils were included in the ThumbRock series.

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Series control section: The zone from 0 to 88 cm.
Particle-size control section: The zone from 25 to 88 cm. (part of Bw, entire Bk and BCk horizons)
Ochric epipedon: The zone from 0 to 10 cm. (A horizon)
Cambic horizon: The zone from 10 to 30 cm. (Bw horizon)
Calcic horizon: The zone from 30 to 70 cm. (Bk and BCk horizons)
Lithic contact: The contact with sandstone bedrock at 88 cm. (R horizon)

The assignment of the cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.

Taxonomic Version: Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Eleventh Edition, 2010.

---

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.