LOCATION LAVATE             UT
Established Series
Rev: RSJ/MJD
03/2003

LAVATE SERIES


The Lavate series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately slowly or slowly permeable soils. These soils formed in alluvium and colluvium from igneous rocks on alluvial fans and toeslopes of mountains. Slopes are 2 to 30 percent. The average annual precipitation is about 14 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 49 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Argiustolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Lavate sandy loam--nonirrigated cropland. (Colors are for air-dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

Ap--0 to 4 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) sandy loam, very dark brown (7.5YR 2/2) moist; moderate medium and fine subangular blocky structure, the upper 1 inch has moderate medium platy structure parting to moderate very fine subangular blocky; hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few fine and common very fine tubular pores; the upper 1 inch has many very fine and fine vesicular pores; mildly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 9 inches thick)

BA--4 to 9 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) sandy clay loam, very dark brown (7.5YR 2/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate very fine subangular blocky; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few medium and fine, common very fine tubular pores; about 3 percent gravel; mildly alkaline (pH 7.5); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)

Bt1--9 to 19 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) sandy clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate very fine and fine subangular blocky; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few medium, fine, common fine and many very fine roots; few medium, common fine and many very fine tubular pores; many thin clay films on faces of peds; about 5 percent gravel; mildly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 18 inches thick)

Bt2--19 to 33 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine angular blocky; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; few medium, fine, very fine tubular pores; continuous clay films on faces of peds; about 5 percent gravel; mildly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 14 inches thick)

Bt3--33 to 50 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) sandy clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 5/6 and 5/8) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate fine subangular blocky; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few fine, common very fine tubular pores; few thin clay films on faces of peds and bridges between sand grains; 5 to 10 percent fine gravel; mildly alkaline (pH 7.7); gradual wavy boundary.
(0 to 25 inches thick)

C--50 to 60 inches; reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/5) gravelly sandy clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; massive; hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and few fine random tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; mildly alkaline (pH 7.7).

TYPE LOCATION: Washington County, Utah; 2 miles east of New Harmony; 525 feet east and 200 feet north of the southwest corner of sec. 13, T. 38 S., R. 13 W.; Lat. 37 degrees, 38 minutes, 59 seconds N. and Long. 113 degrees, 16 minutes, 9 seconds W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature is 47 to 54 degrees F., and the mean summer soil temperature is 65 to 70 degrees F. The soils are usually dry in some or all parts of the moisture control section in 6 out of 10 years. They are moist in some part of the moisture control section for 30 to 40 days during the summer months.

The mollic epipedon is 10 to 19 inches thick. The combined thickness of the A and B horizons is 25 to 50 inches. The soils are typically noncalcareous throughout, but in some pedons they are slightly calcareous below a depth of 50 inches.

The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist and chroma of 2 or 3. It is neutral to moderately alkaline.

The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 through 6 dry, 2 to 4 moist and chroma of 2 through 4. It ranges from sandy clay loam to clay loam and averages between 27 and 35 percent clay and between 30 and 60 percent fine sand or coarser. It is neutral to mildly alkaline. Rock fragments range from 0 to 15 percent.

The C horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 5YR, value of 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 2 through 5. It ranges from sandy clay loam to loam or sandy loam and contains 5 to 25 percent rock fragments. It is mildly alkaline or moderately alkaline.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ascalon (CO), Asparas (NM), Belfon T(KS), Bresser (CO), Capulin (NM), Cedak (WY), Chacuaco T(CO), Critchell (CO), Dagflat (UT), Datil (NM), Featherlegs (WY), Hargreave (WY), Harlan (WY), Hemingford (NE), Hiarc (NM), Kirtley (WY), Loarc (NM), Moskee (WY), Noden (WY), Palmer Canyon T(WY), Recluse (WY), Rosebud (NE), Ryegate (CO), Satanta (KS), Shalona (CO), Sugardee (WY), Wages (CO), and Wolf (WY) series. Ascalon, Asparas, Capulin, Datil, Featherlegs, Harlan, Hemingford, Kirtley, Satanta, Sugardee, Wages, and Wolf soils are calcareous above a depth of 40 inches and have a calcic horizon. Bresser, Hemingford and Hiarc soils have hue of 10YR in the control section. Critchell soils have 15 to 35 percent gravel in the particle size control section. Cedak, Chacuaco, Dagflat, Hargroave, Hiarc, Kirtley, Rosebud and Ryegate soils are moderately deep over bedrock or a paralithic contact. Harlan, Hemingford, Moskee, Palmer Canyon, Recluse, Satanta, Shalona and Sugardee soils have free carbonates above a depth of 50 inches. Loarc soils are moist in the soil moisture control section for more than 40 days in the 120 days following the summer solstice. Noden soils have less than 30 percent fine or coarser sand in the particle size control section, and the C horizons have hue of 2.5Y or 10YR. The combined thickness of the A and B horizons in the Wages soils is less than 10 to 15 inches.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Lavate soils are on alluvial fans and toeslopes on mountainsides. Elevations range from 4,800 to 6,800 feet in Utah and 6,500 to 7,200 feet in New Mexico and Colorado. These soils formed in mixed alluvium weathered from igneous rocks. Slopes are 2 to 30 percent. Mean annual temperature is 45 to 52 degrees F., mean summer temperature is 70 to 75 degrees F., average annual precipitation is 12 to 16 inches in Utah and 16 to 18 inches in New Mexico. Freeze-free period is 90 to 160 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Naplene and Nehar soils. Naplene soils have an ochric epipedon and do not have argillic horizons. Nehar soils have an ochric epipedon and have a clayey-skeletal particle-size control section.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow or medium runoff; moderately slow or slow permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for cropland of nonirrigated small grains and rangeland. Native vegetation is basin big sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, Nevada bluegrass, galleta Utah juniper, pinyon, Utah serviceberry, antelope bitterbrush, and tall native bluegrass..

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Utah. The series is inextensive.

REMARKS: The diagnostic features recognized in this pedon are:

Mollic epipedon - The dark colored zone from the soil surface to a depth of 19 inches (A, BA and Bt1 horizons).

Argillic horizion - A zone of clay accumulation at a depth of 9 to 33 inches (Bt horizon).

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.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washington County, Utah, 1972.

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.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.