LOCATION RANION UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Siliceous, mesic Typic Torripsamments
TYPICAL PEDON: Ranion loamy fine sand, 4 percent slope in rangeland at an elevation of 4370 feet. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 5 inches; reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) loamy fine sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak thin platy structure parting to single grain ; loose, loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; noneffervescent; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
C1--5 to 15 inches; reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) loamy fine sand, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; single grain; loose, loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; noneffervescent, neutral (pH 7.0); gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 20 inches thick)
C2--15 to 35 inches; reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) loamy fine sand, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) moist; massive; loose, loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine interstitial pores; noneffervescent, neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary. (12 to 30 inches thick)
C3--35 to 55 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) loamy fine sand, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) moist; massive; loose, loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine interstitial pores; 2 percent gravel; noneffervescent to very slightly effervescent, neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 30 inches thick)
C4--55 to 60 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) sand, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; massive; loose, loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine interstitial pores; 5 percent gravel; very slightly effervescent, slightly alkaline (pH 7.6).
TYPE LOCATION: Kane County, Utah; about 2 miles of Sooner Rocks; located about 3,000 feet south and 1,500 feet east of the northwest corner of sec. 4, T. 40 S., R. 8 E.; Sooner Bench USGS quad; lat. 37 degrees 21 minutes 40 seconds N. and long. 111 degrees 2 minutes 49 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Typic aridic moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 54 to 59 degrees F
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 1 to 8 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent, dominantly gravel sized Navajo sandstone
A horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
C horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: fine sand, sand or loamy fine sand
Clay content: 1 to 8 percent
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Peekaboo (UT) and Spooky (UT) series. Peekaboo soils are 20 to 40 inches deep to Navajo sandstone bedrock. Spooky soils are 40 to 60 inches deep to Navajo sandstone bedrock.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: eolian sands derived from Navajo sandstone
Landform: dunes on structural benches
Slopes: 2 to 30 percent
Elevation: 3,800 to 5,200 feet
Mean annual air temperature: 52 to 57 degrees F
Mean annual precipitation: 6 to 9 inches
Frost-free period: 160 to 190 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Suzipon,
Peekaboo and
Spooky series.
Suzipon soils are less than 20 inches deep over
Navajo sandstone.
Peekaboo soils are 20 to 40 inches deep over Navajo sandstone.
Spooky soils are 40 to 60 inches deep over Navajo sandstone and are on structural benches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained, very low to low runoff, rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mainly for rangeland, wildlife habitat and recreation. Potential native vegetation is blackbrush, Fremonts Indigobush, Indian ricegrass, and galleta. These soils have been correlated to the Desert Sandy Loam (Blackbrush) 035XY121UT ecological site at the type location in Utah.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-Central Utah. The soils of this series are of small extent (less than 10,000 acres). MLRA 35.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kane County, Utah, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument soil survey area, 2004. The name is coined.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: The zone from 0 to 5 inches. (A horizon)
Siliceous mineralogy - soils formed directly from Navajo sandstone contains more than 90 percent silica minerals (dominantly quartz).
Taxonomic Version: Ninth Edition, 2003