LOCATION PLEASANT VALE UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Entic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Pleasant Vale loam, cultivated. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
Ap--0 to 6 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak thick platy structure that parts to weak thin platy structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky, plastic; common fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine discontinuous pores; strongly calcareous; disseminated lime; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 11 inches thick)
A--6 to 17 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium granular structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky, plastic; common fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine discontinuous pores; strongly calcareous; disseminated lime; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 9 inches thick)
Cl--17 to 24 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine discontinuous pores; strongly calcareous; disseminated lime; moderately alkaline (pH 8.1); clear smooth boundary. (7 to 15 inches thick)
C2--24 to 40 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) very fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine discontinuous pores; strongly calcareous; disseminated lime; moderately alkaline (pH 8.1); clear smooth boundary. (7 to 16 inches thick)
C3--40 to 48 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) very fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few very fine roots; few very fine discontinuous interstitial pores; strongly calcareous; disseminated lime; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 12 inches thick)
C4--48 to 60 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) very fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/3) moist; single grained; loose, nonsticky, nonplastic; few very fine roots; no visible pores; strongly calcareous; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5).
TYPE LOCATION: Utah County, Utah; 1 mile south and 1/2 mile east of Palmyra; about 1,000 feet north of east-west road; 3,000 feet north and 2,000 feet east of the SW corner of sec. 14, T.8S., R.2E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Mean annual soil temperature range from 49 to 54 degrees F. Mean summer soil temperatures range from 68 to 70 degrees F. The soils are not usually dry, but are dry in the 7 to 20 inches depth for more than 45 consecutive days.
These soils contain 15 to 40 percent calcium carbonate throughout. Mollic epipedons are less than 20 inches thick. Clay minerals are mixed but dominantly montmorillonitic. The soils are moderately or strongly alkaline and moderately or strongly calcareous.
The A horizon has value of 2 or 3 moist, and 4 or 5 dry. It is loam or silty clay loam. The 10 to 40 inch section has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 through 4 moist and 4 through 6 dry. It is silt loam, loam or very fine sandy loam with more than 15 percent sand coarser than very fine sand and less than 18 percent clay.
The C horizon below about 40 inches has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3.5 through 5 moist, 5.5 through 7 dry, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is silty clay loam to loamy sand, but very fine sandy loam or loams are dominant.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Crafton and Rainey series. Crafton and Rainey soils have bedrock at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Also, Crafton soils are medium acid above the schist bedrock.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Pleasant Vale soils are at elevations of 4,500 to 5,200 feet on nearly level to sloping alluvial fans and floodplains with 0 to 6 percent slopes. They formed in alluvium derived from sandstone and shale parent rocks. The climate is dry subhumid having a mean annual temperature of 49 to 52 degrees F., an average summer temperature of 69 to 71 degrees F., and the average annual precipitation of 14 to 16 inches. The frost free period is 130 to 170 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Benjamin, Kirkham, Keigley soils. Benjamin soils have more than 35 percent clay. Kirkham and Keigley soils have more than 18 percent clay in their control sections. Benjamin and Kirkham soils have mottles at some depth between 20 and 40 inches. Keigley soils have mollic epipedons more than 20 inches thick.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow and medium runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Irrigated cropland for alfalfa, small grains, sugar beets, corn, and lima beans. Native vegetation is big sagebrush, perennial bunch grasses, and weeds.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Utah along the Wasatch Front The series is inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Utah County, Utah, 1972.
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.