LOCATION MIDENT UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, mesic, shallow Ustic Torripsamments
TYPICAL PEDON: Mident fine sand, 19 percent slope at an elevation of 5,600 feet. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The surface is covered by trace gravel.
A--0 to 3 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 7/3) fine sand, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3), moist; single grain; loose, loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine roots; 5 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick)
C--3 to 10 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) fine sand, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3), moist; single grain; loose, loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 15 inches thick)
Cr--10 inches; soft Entrada formation sandstone.
TYPE LOCATION: Garfield County, Utah; Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, about 1 mile east of Cedar Wash Arch; located about 1,700 feet north and 2,400 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 24, T. 36 S., R. 3 E.; Dave Canyon USGS quad; lat. 37 degrees 39 minutes 37.93 seconds N. and long. 111 degrees 31 minutes 31.35 seconds W, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Ustic aridic moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 47 to 54 degrees F
Depth to paralithic contact: 4 to 20 inches to soft Entrada formation sandstone
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 1 to 5 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 10 percent gravel
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 6 or 7 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 5 percent
Effervescence: slightly to strongly effervescent
C horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 5 to 7 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: fine sand or loamy fine sand
Clay content: 1 to 5 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 5 percent eolian recharged lime accumulation
Effervescence: slightly to strongly effervescent
Cr horizon
Other features: Soft Entrada formation sandstone can be dug with minor difficulty with a spade. Depth to hard bedrock Entrada formation sandstone range from 20 to 30 inches.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: alluvium, eolian sand and sandstone residuum derived from the Entrada formation
Landform: hillslopes on structural bench
Slopes: 2 to 40 percent
Elevation: 5,200 to 6,100 feet
Mean annual air temperature: 45 to 52 degrees F
Mean annual precipitation: 9 to 12 inches
Frost-free period: 120 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Arches and Yarts series. The Arches soils have a lithic contact before 20 inches. The Yarts soils are very deep.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained, medium to high runoff, rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for rangeland, wildlife habitat, and recreation. Potential vegetation is Utah juniper, roundleaf buffaloberry, broom snakeweed, Bigelow sagebrush, cliffrose, two-needle pinyon, Indian ricegrass, and galleta. These soils have been correlated to the Semidesert Shallow Sand (Utah Juniper-Pinyon) 035XY227UT ecological site at the type location in Utah.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South central, Utah; MLRA 35; This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Garfield County, Utah, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument soil survey area; 2004. The name is coined.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: The zone from 0 to 3 inches. (A horizon)
Paralithic contact: The contact with soft Entrada sandstone at 10 inches. (Cr horizon)
The assignment of the cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.
Taxonomic Version: Ninth Edition; 2003