LOCATION LEAPS COEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic Vertic Haplocryolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Leaps clay loam - on a northeast-facing slope at 9,200 feet elevation in rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 10 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
Bw--10 to 18 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; common pressure faces; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.
BC--18 to 35 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; common pressure faces: neutral; gradual wavy boundary.
C--35 to 60 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; very hard, firm, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: San Miguel County Colorado; about 14 miles south of Norwood; about 2,500 feet south and 1,900 feet east of the northwest corner of Sec. 2, T. 42 N., R. 14 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: dry in some part of the moisture control section for greater than 45 cumulative days
Mean annual soil temperature: 37 to 42 degrees F.
Mean summer soil temperature: 53 to 55 degrees F.
Base saturation: 80 to 100 percent throughout
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 7 to 15 inches
Particle-size control section (weighted averages):
Clay content: 35 to 55 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 35 percent, mostly gravel size, but range from 1/8 to 10 inches in diameter.
A horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 3 to 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3, dry or moist
Texture: SIL, SICL, L, CL
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
Bw horizon (cambic horizon):
Hue: 5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: SIC, C, CL
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
BC and C horizons:
Hue: 5YR to 5Y
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: CL, SICL, SIC, C
Clay content: 30 to 60 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
COMPETING SERIES: This is the
Elkhead series.
Elkhead soils: have a calcic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: noncalcareous alluvium, slope alluvium, or colluvium derived mainly from shale, with influence from sandstone in some places.
Landform: alluvial fans, structural benches, mountain slopes, mesas, hills, and valley sides.
Slopes: 3 to 50 percent.
Elevation: 7,600 to 10,500 feet.
Mean annual temperature: 35 to 42 degrees F.
Mean summer temperature: 52 to 54 degrees F.
Average annual precipitation: 18 to 29 inches.
Wettest months: July and August
Driest months: All other months have about the same amount of precipitation.
Frost-free period: 40 to 75 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bucklon and Judy series. Bucklon soils have a paralithic contact at depths of less than 20 inches. Judy soils have an argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to rapid runoff; very slow or slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for livestock grazing and for recreational purposes. Native vegetation is mainly wheatgrass, nodding brome, stipa, and larkspur.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mountain areas of central and southwestern Colorado. MLRA 48A. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Gunnison County, Taylor River Soil Survey Area, Colorado, 1968.
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: from 0 to 10 inches (A horizon).
Cambic horizon: from 10 to 18 inches (Bw horizon)
Particle-size control section: the zone from 10 to 40 inches (Bw, BC, and part of the C horizon).
The field concept of the moisture regime of this soil is an ustic regime, although ustic is not recognized in cryic temperature regimes.
Keys to Soil Taxonomy: Series classified according to Eighth edition, 1998