LOCATION MOEN CO+UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Argiustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Moen loam, grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 5 inches; grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, very friable; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 9 inches thick)
B21t--5 to 10 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, thin patchy clay films on peds; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (3 to 12 inches thick)
B22t--10 to 23 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; moderate medium and fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm; thin patchy clay films on peds; neutral; up to 35 percent rock fragments in lower 3 to 4 inches; clear wavy boundary. (10 to 25 inches thick)
R--23 inches; granite bedrock that is fractured and weathered in the top 2 to 6 inches.
TYPE LOCATION: Larimer County, Colorado; about 35 miles northwest of Fort Collins; near the center of Sec. 25, T. 12 N., R. 72 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the mollic epipedon ranges from 7 to 18 inches; thickness of solum and depth to bedrock ranges from 20 to 40 inches. The average annual sil temperature at the type location is 46 degrees F. The average summer soil temperature is slightly more the 60 degrees F. Reaction is slightly acid or neutral throughout the profile.
The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR through 10YR, value of 4 to 4.5 dry, 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3.
The B2t horizon typically has subangular blocky structure, but some pedons have weak prismatic and angular blocky structure.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Adiv, Daniels, Dooley, Empedrado, Fairfield, Farnuf, Lefor, Livona, Martinsdale, Reeder, Roundley, Trag, Tachicoma, Vida, Watrous, Wemple, Williams, and Yegen series. Adiv, Daniels, Dooley, Empedrado, Fairfield, Farnuf, Livona, Martinsdale, Trag, Tschicoma, Vida, Wemple, Williams, and Yegan soils lack bedrock above a depth of 40 inches. Lefor, Reeder, and Roundley soils are calcareous and have a paralithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Watrous soils are calcareous in the B3 horizon and have moderate or strong prismatic structure in the B2t horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Moen soils are on valley-filling sideslopes. Slopes range from 5 to 30 percent. The soils formed in moderately fine textured, noncalcareous parent materials weathered mainly from granite or materials locally transported. At the type location the average annual precipitation ragnes from 15 to 18 inches with peak periods of precipitation in the spring and summer.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Boyle, Plome, and Wetmore soils and the competing Trag soils. Boyle and Wetmore soils have bedrock at depths of 10 to 20 inches. Plome soils lack bedrock at depths of less than 40 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mainly for native pastureland and for recreational purposes. Native vegetaton is mainly junegrass, wheatgrasses, fescues, mountain muhly, bitterbrush, mountain mahogany and currant. There are widely spaced stands of ponderosa pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Open parkland areas in the mountainous part of Colorado. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Larimer County Area, Colorado, 1975.
REMARKS: Last updated by the state 5/75.