LOCATION OCEANET WY+MTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic, shallow Typic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Oceanet sandy loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 5 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/3) sandy loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; strongly effervescent, lime disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual smooth boundary. (1 to 3inches thick)
C--5 to 14 inches; light yellowish (2.5Y 6/3) sandy loam, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many partially weathered sandstone fragments easily crushed in the hand; strongly effervescent, lime disseminated and as few threads and filaments on soft rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 16 inches thick)
Cr--14 to 60 inches; soft, calcareous sandstone with thin lenses of siltstone and shale. When roots occur, they plane out on the soil-bedrock interface.
TYPE LOCATION: Fremont County, Wyoming; approximately 550 feet N. and 200 feet E. of the W1/4 corner of sec. 34, T. 3 N., R. 3 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to bedrock and the paralithic contact ranges from 4 to 20 inches. Organic matter content ranges from 0.5 to 2 percent in the upper few inches and decreases rapidly and uniformly with depth. The particle size control section is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or gravelly sandy loam with 5 to 18 percent clay, 5 to 35 percent silt, and 52 to 80 percent sand with more than 35 percent fine sand or coarser excluding any loamy sand textures. Rock fragments are typically less than 15 percent but may range from 0 to 35 percent flat channers or semirounded sandstone fragments. The mean annual soil temperature ranges from about 47 to 52 degrees F. EC is less than 2 mmhos throughout.
The A horizon has hue of 5Y through 10YR, value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. The surface may be covered with a gravel or channery lag from colluvial action upslope. Reaction ranges from mildly through strongly alkaline.
The C horizon has hue of 5Y through 10YR, value of 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. Calcium carbonate ranges from 1 to 5 percent with no continuous horizons of visible secondary accumulation. A thin Bw horizon may be present in some pedons. Reaction ranges from mildly alkaline through strongly alkaline.
The Cr horizon consists of soft, calcareous sandstone interbedded with thin lenses of siltstone and shale. Thin, discontinuous lenses of hard sandstone occur in some pedons. This material is many 10's of feet thick in most areas.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Birdsley,
Celeton,
Persayo,
Roic, and
Shalet series. Birdsley and Persayo soils have more than 18 percent clay in the particle size control section. Celeton soils have 80 to 100 percent diatomaceous earth fragments in the C horizon and a mean annual soil temperature of 53 to 57 degrees F. Roic soils have less than 35 percent fine or coarser sand in the particle size control section and formed in lacustrine sediments. Shalet soils have 27 to 35 percent clay in the particle size control section, mean annual soil temperature of 54 to 59 degrees F., and occur in areas of 10 to 13 inches of precipitation
and 165 to 175 frost-free days.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Oceanet soils are on upland hills and ridge summits. Slopes are typically complex and range from 0 to 60 percent. These soils formed in residuum and local alluvium weathered from soft, calcareous sandstone. Elevations range from 4,800 to 6,500 feet. The mean annual precipitation is about 7 inches and ranges from 5 to 9 inches with about half falling as rain or snow in April, May, and early June. The mean annual air temperature ranges from about 43 to 50 degrees F. Estimated frost-free season is 110 to 140 days depending upon aspect, elevation, and air drainage.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Apron and Worland soils and the competing Persayo soils. Both Apron and Worland soils are deeper than 20 inches to bedrock. Apron has bedrock at greater than 60 inches. Worland soils have bedrock at 20 to 40 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland and wildlife habitat. Native vegetation is needleandthread, western wheatgrass, bluebunch wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, and bottlebrush squirreltail.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Basin areas of north and central Wyoming. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Fremont County, Wyoming, Riverton Irrigated Area; 1969.
REMARKS:
The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Reno MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.