LOCATION LEIGHCAN                WY+CO UT

Established Series
Rev. PSD/MCS/TWH
01/2023

LEIGHCAN SERIES

The Leighcan series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in till, slope alluvium, or colluvium from acid igneous rocks. Leighcan soils are on mountain slopes and have slopes of 0 to 70 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 45 inches, and the mean annual temperature is about 32 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive Typic Dystrocryepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Leighcan very stony sandy loam-forested. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

Oi--0 to 1 inch; forest duff.

E--1 to 8 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very stony sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many medium and coarse, and few fine roots; 25 percent gneiss gravel, 15 percent cobbles and 10 percent stones and boulders; strongly acid (pH 5.3); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 14 inches thick)

Bw1--8 to 46 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very stony sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many medium and coarse, and few fine roots; 25 percent gneiss gravel, 15 percent cobbles, and 10 percent stones and boulders; moderately acid (pH 5.6); gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 14 inches thick)

Bw2--46 to 61 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very stony sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; very friable, soft, nonsticky and nonplastic; few prominent redox concentrations, and few distinct redox depletions; rock fragments have some remnant patches of reddish brown clay coatings; 25 percent gneiss gravel, 15 percent cobbles, and 10 percent stones and boulders; moderately acid (pH 5.6). (0 to 50 inches thick)

TYPE LOCATION: Teton County, Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park; in an unsectionized area along Death Canyon-Alaska Basin trail. Type location 10, photo 1-156.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
(Depths given are measured from the mineral soil surface)
Soil moisture regime: udic
Mean annual soil temperature: 32 to 36 degrees F.
Base saturation: 20 to 50 percent in the upper 30 inches

Particle-size control section:
Clay content: 8 to 18 percent
Rock fragment content: 35 to 60 percent

E horizon (an albic horizon in most pedons):
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 through 8 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Reaction: very strongly acid through moderately acid

Bw horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 6, dry or moist
Texture (fine earth fraction): sandy loam, loam, or loamy sand
Rock fragment content: 20 to 50 percent gravel, 5 to 15 percent cobbles, 0 to 15 percent stones.
Oxalate extractable Al + 1/2Fe: .20 to .50 percent (estimated) in the upper 4 inches
Reaction: very strongly acid through moderately acid

C horizon (present in some pedons):
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Texture (fine earth fraction): sandy loam or loamy sand
Reaction: moderately acid or slightly acid

COMPETING SERIES: These are Afley, Bracos, Jeru, Klutch, and Marsell series.

Afley, Bracos, and Klutch soils: have a lithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches.
Jeru soils: have mean annual soil temperature greater than 36 degrees.
Marsell soils: have a cambic horizon with illuvial clay accumulations and hue redder than 7.5YR.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform: mountain slopes
Slopes: 0 to 70 percent
Parent material: glacial till, slope alluvium, or colluvium weathered from granite and gneiss. In parts of MLRA 48A, the soils formed in slope alluvium and colluvium from andesite, rhyolite, breccia, and tuff.
Elevation: 7,000 to 12,000 feet
Mean annual precipitation: 25 to 60 inches
Mean annual temperature: 30 to 38 degrees F.
Frost free period in MLRA 48A: 40 to 55 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Moran and Teewinot soils. Moran and Teewinot soils have an umbric epipedon. Teewinot soils also have a lithic contact at a depth of 10 to 20 inches.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderate to rapid runoff; moderately rapid permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for recreation and wildlife habitat. Vegetation is Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, and white bark pine.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: In the mountains of western Wyoming and western Colorado, LRR E, MLRA 43, 48A. The series is of moderate extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Teton County, Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park Area; 1976.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon and albic horizon - from 1 to 8 inches (E horizon)
Cambic horizon - 8 to 61 inches (Bw1 and Bw2 horizons)
Particle-size control section: The zone from 11 to 41 inches (part of the Bw1 horizon)
Redoximorphic features described in the Bw2 horizon are presumed to be relict features.

In some areas of MLRA 48A, the upper Bw horizons may have appreciable amounts of illuvial Al and Fe (Bs horizons), particularly where overlain by an albic horizon. Laboratory data suggests this but is inconclusive. The isotic mineralogy class is a realistic possibility for this series and needs further study.

Keys to Soil Taxonomy: Series classified according to Eighth Edition, 1998

ADDITIONAL DATA: This series was characterized by the National Soil Survey Lab, soil survey sample number S84CO-105-004.

---

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.