LOCATION MULT UT+IDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive Typic Argicryolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Mult silt loam - native rangeland, woodland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A11--0 to 4 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) heavy silt loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/3) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, friable, nonsticky, slightly plastic; many fine and common medium roots; slightly acid (pH 6.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (4 to 14 inches thick)
A12--4 to 14 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) heavy silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; strong medium and coarse granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, plastic; many fine and common medium roots; common very fine discontinuous inped and exped interstitial and tubular pores; medium acid (pH 5.9); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 12 inches thick)
B21t--14 to 24 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) silty clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, firm, sticky, plastic; common fine and medium roots; common very fine discontinuous random inped and exped interstitial and tubular pores; thin continuous clay films on peds and moderately thick, continuous in pores; tongues of A12 extend through this horizon; medium acid (pH 6.0); clear broken boundary. (8 to 24 inches thick)
R--24 to 26 inches; fractured limestone rock with material like the B2t horizon in cracks.
TYPE LOCATION: Cache County, Utah; South Cottonwood Canyon, 1,600 feet south and 1,200 feet east of the NW corner of sec. 30, T.10N., R.3E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mollic epipedon ranges from 10 to 16 inches thick. The combined thickness of the A1 and B2t horizons ranges from 20 to 40 inches over fractured limestone bedrock. The soils are relatively free of rock fragments, but have up to 10 percent gravel, cobble, and stone size limestone fragments. The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 36 to 42 degrees F., and the mean summer soil temperature at a depth of about 20 inches ranges from 52 to 58 degrees F.
The A1 horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 through 5 dry, 2 and 3 moist, and chroma of 1 through 3. It has weak to strong, fine to coarse granular structure. This horizon ranges from neutral to medium acid and is 8 to 16 inches thick.
The B2t horizon has hue of 10YR through 5YR, value of 3 through 6 dry, 2 through 4 moist, and chroma of 2 through 5. (Only the upper portion that occurs within a depth of 16 inches has value darker than 3.5 moist and 5.5 dry.) It ranges from silty clay loam or clay loam to heavy silt loam. This horizon has weak to moderate, fine to medium subangular blocky structure. It ranges from medium acid to mildly alkaline. The lower part of the B2t horizon is slightly calcareous in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Amsden, Hourglass, Leavitt, Lymanson, Michelson, Miracle, Newlands, Passcreek, Sponseller, Tingey, Tripit, Wellsville, and Woosley series. Amsden, Hourglass, Leavitt, Michelson, Sponseller, Tingey, and Wellsville soils are deeper than 40 inches to bedrock. Lymanson and Tripit soils have a paralithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Miracle soils have 45 to 70 percent sand in the B2t horizon and more than 35 percent is fine or coarser sand. Newlands soils contain up to 25 percent gravel or cobbles and overlie basic igneous bedrock. Passcreek and Woosley soils have Cca horizons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Mult soils are on strongly sloping to very steep, dominantly north or east facing mountain slopes at elevations of 6,800 to 9,500 feet. Gradients are usually less than 30 percent and range from 9 to 50 percent. The soils formed in colluvium and residuum from limestone with some influences of shale and sandstone parent rocks. The climate is humid. The average annual precipitation is about 25 to 35 inches. The mean annual temperature is 36 to 42 degrees F., and mean summer temperature is about 58 degrees F. The average frost-free season is 70 to 90 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Agassiz and Abes soils and the competing Hourglass soils. Agassiz soils are 10 to 20 inches deep over limestone and have very cobbly control sections. Abes soils have A2 horizons and the argillic horizons contain more than 35 percent clay.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to slow runoff; moderate to slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used primarily for water shed, rangeland, and wildlife habitat. Native plants are aspen, scattered conifers, snowberry, slender wheatgrass, mountain bromegrass, blue wildrye, and western cone flower.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern and central Utah. This series is moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Summit County, Utah, 1972.
REMARKS: The Mult soils were formerly classified as Brunizems.
OSED scanned by SSQA. Last revised by state 9/72.