LOCATION PALMER CANYON WYInactive Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Argiustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Palmer Canyon gravelly loam.
A1--0 to 4 inches; grayish-brown (10YR 5/2 dry) gravelly loam, very dark grayish-brown (10YR 3/2 moist); moderate fine granular structure; soft dry, very friable moist; 20 percent gravel and cobble with cobble concentrated on the surface; noncalcareous, pH 7.2; clear smooth boundary. 3 to 4 inches thick.
B2t--4 to 10 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/2 dry) gravelly clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2 moist); moderate fine prismatic structure breaking to moderate to strong fine subangular blocks; hard dry, very friable moist; thin nearly continuous clay films; 20 percent gravel and cobble; noncalcareous; pH 7.2; gradual smooth boundary. 4 to 7 inches thick.
B3--10 to 14 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3 dry) gravelly clay loam, brown or dark brown (7.5YR 4/3 moist); weak to moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard dry, very friable moist; a few thin patchy films on both horizontal and vertical faces of the soil aggregates, and as coatings on the gravel fragments; 30 percent gravel and cobble; noncalcareous, pH 7.4; clear wavy boundary. 0 to 4 inches thick.
Cca--14 to 28 inches; grayish-brown (10YR 5/2 dry) gravelly loam, dark grayish-brown (10YR 4/2 moist); massive; hard dry, very friable moist; 30 percent gravel and cobble; a moderate ca horizon with visible secondary calcium carbonate occurring as concretions, and in thin seams and streaks; calcareous, pH8.2; gradual wavy boundary. 5 to 30 inches thick.
IICca--28 to 60 inches; grayish-brown (10YR 5/2 dry) very gravelly loam, dark grayish-brown (10YR 4/2 moist); massive; hard dry, very friable moist; 70 percent gravel and cobble; a weak ca horizon with visible secondary calcium carbonate occurring mostly as concretions, or as coatings on gravel fragments; calcareous, pH8.2. Several feet thick.
TYPE LOCATION: On the south side of the road leading to Franks Sawmill in the NE1/4 NE1/4 sec. 8, T. 26 N>, R. 70 W., Platte County, Wyoming.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the mollic epipedon ranges from 6 to 20 inches, depth to calcareous material typically ranges from 4 to 15 inches, thickness of the solum ranges from 7 to 20 inches, and there should be no bedrock or strongly contrasting substratums above 40 inches. When solums exceed 15 inches the soil must be consistently calcareous above 15 inches and have secondary calcium carbonate accumulation above 20 inches. Depth to the loamy skeletal substratums ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Content of organic carbon in the mollic epipedon ranges from .8 to 2 percent and decreases uniformly with depth. Conductivity is typically less than 1 millimho, exchangeable sodium percentage is typically less than 1 in the solum but both may increase slightly in the Cca horizon. The soil is 90 to 100 percent base saturated. Content of coarse fragments in the upper 20 inches ranges from 15 to 35 percent, but the soil must rest on a loamy skeletal substratum at some point between 20 and 40 inches. These soils are dry in some parts for more than 90 cumulative days during most years but they are not dry for as much as 60 consecutive days in all parts.
Color of the A1 horizon may range in hue from 2.5Y to 10YR, in chroma from 2 to 3, and in value from 4 to 4 dry and 2 to 3 moist. Reaction of the A horizon typically ranges from pH 7.0 to pH 7.8. The horizon usually has a granular structure but it may be weakly subangular blocky in places. Dry consistence ranges from soft to slightly hard.
Color of the B2t horizon may range in hue from 2.5Y to 7.5YR, in chroma from 2 to 4, and in value from 5 to 6 dry and 3 to 5 moist. Typically the B2t horizon ranges in reaction from pH 7.0 to pH 7.8. Typically the horizon has a prismatic to subangular blocky structure but structure may vary in both grade and class, and the degree of prismatic structure is largely dependent upon the amount of gravel. Texture of the B2t horizon is typically a gravelly loam or clay loam with matrix material having clay ranging from 18 to 35 percent, silt from 25 to 55 percent, and sand from 20 to 55 percent with less than 35 percent being fine sand or coarser.
Hue of the Cca horizon typically ranges from 2.5Y to 10YR. Reaction of this horizon ranges from pH 8.0 to pH 8.6, and calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from approximately 6 to 15 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These include the Ascalon, Carnero, Plateay, Kirtley, Wolf, Red Butte, and Whiting series. They differ from the Ascalon series in having loamy skeletal substratums above 40 inches, and in having solums less than 20 inches thick. They differ from the Carnero series in having loamy skeletal substratums above 40 inches, and in having solums less than 20 inches thick. They differ from the Plateau series in having loamy skeletal substratums, in lacking calcic horizons, and in having solums less than 20 inches thick. They differ from the Plateau series in having loamy skeletal substratums, in lacking calcic horizons, and in having solums less than 20 inches thick. They differ from the Kirtley series in having hues of 7.5YR or yellower, in lacking bedrock above 40 inches, in having loamy skeletal substratums, and in having solums less than 20 inches thick. They differ from the Wolf series in having loamy skeletal substratums above 40 inches, and in lacking a calcic horizon, and in having solums less than 20 inches thick. They differ from the Whiting series in lacking a weakly cemented calcic horizon, and in having solums less then 20 inches thick. They differ from the Whiting series in lacking a weakly cemented calcic horizon, and in having solums less than 20 inches thick.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Palmer Canyon series typically occurs on the margins of old terrace levels. Slope gradient ranges from 0 to 15 percent. The soils are developing in old terrace alluviums that become increasingly gravelly with depth. At the type location the average annual precipitation is 13 inches, 10 inches of which falls during the months of April through September. The average annual soil temperature is 48 degrees F., and the average summer soil temperature is 68 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Nihill, Dugout, and Larimer series.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained. Runoff is medium, and permeability is medium.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are typically used as native pastureland. Principal native vegetation includes blue grams, side-oats grams, cactus, and snakewood.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Present known distribution limited to the eastern part of Wyoming. It is believed that the series will be of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES PROPOSED: The Standard Soil Survey of Platte County, Wyoming (SSA-016), 1967. Series name is taken from the name of Palmer Canyon, a small stream and canyon in Platte County, Wyoming.
OSED scanned by NSSQA. Last revised by state on 01/67.