LOCATION RAZOR CO+KS MT NE SD WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Ustertic Haplocambids
TYPICAL PEDON: Razor silty clay loam, native rangelands. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 3 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate very fine granular; soft, very friable; neutral (pH 7.2); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
BA--3 to 6 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak fine prismatic structure parting to moderate fine angular blocky; slightly hard, friable; many roots and pores; few faint clay films on some vertical faces of peds; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
Bw--6 to 13 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) silty clay, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky; hard, firm; many roots penetrating peds, few faint clay films on faces of peds; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (7 to 10 inches thick)
BCk--13 to 23 inches; pale olive (5Y 6/3) silty clay, olive (5Y 5/3) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; hard, firm; fewer roots and channels than horizon above; few faint clay films on faces of peds; gypsum concretions are common, medium, and faint; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); gradual boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
Bk--23 to 31 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) silty clay, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; very weak coarse prismatic structure; hard, firm; few roots and channels; slight effervescence in spots; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0) gradual boundary. (5 to 9 inches thick)
Cr--31 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) shale; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Arapahoe County, Colorado; 220 feet north and 2,820 feet east of the southwest corner of Sec. 23, T. 5 S., R. 57 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
The soil moisture control section is moist in some part from April through June for 60 consecutive days when the soil is 41 degrees or greater at 20 inches
Mean annual soil temperature: 48 to 53 degrees F.
Depth to paralithic contact: 20 to 40 inches.
Cation exchange capacity: 20 to 30 millequivalents per 100g of clay.
Depth to secondary calcium carbonate: leached for a few inches in most pedons, but is leached to the lower parts of the Bw horizon in some pedons.
Salinity ranges between 1 and 2 mmhos/cm in the solum and is greater than 8 mmhos/cm below the B horizon.
Exchangeable sodium: 2 to 10 percent in the solum and lower B horizon and is 10 to 14 percent in the Bk horizon. Bedrock has about 14 percent exchangeable sodium.
Particle size control section (weighted average)
Clay content: 35 to 60 percent
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 3 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4
Texture: clay loam, silty clay or silty clay loam.
Reaction: neutral through moderately alkaline
Bw horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 through 6, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4
Texture: clay loam, silty clay or clay, and less commonly a silty clay loam
Clay content: 35 to 60 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline through strongly alkaline.
A BCky horizon is present in some pedons.
It is clay.
Bk horizon: (C horizon in some pedons)
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: of 4 through 8 dry or moist
Chroma: 2 through 4
Texure: clay loam, silty clay, silty clay loam or clay
Clay content: 35 to 60 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline through strongly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are
Heldt (CO),
Littlenan (UT) and
Lockerby (UT) series.
Heldt soils: are very deep
Littlenan soils: have hues of 7.5YR or redder
Lockerby soils: are dry in
May and June and wetter November to April
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform: plains, pediments, hills and side slopes of breaks adjacent to major drainageways
Slopes: 0 to 25 percent
Parent material: alluvium and residuum derived from saline calcareous shales
Elevation: 4,500 to 6,000 feet.
Mean annual precipitation ranges from 10 to 16 inches
Wettest period: April through August.
Mean annual air temperature ranges from 45 to 54 degrees F.
Frost-free season is about 120 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Manzanola, Midway, and Renohill soils. Manzanola soils have an argillic horizon. Midway soils have bedrock above a depth of 20 inches. Renohill soils have an argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium or high runoff; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used primarily for pasture of native grasses. Some areas are used for nonirrigated cropland. Native vegetation consists of blue grama, western wheatgrass, alkaline sacaton, galleta, green needlegrass, and in inland saltgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, and western South Dakota. LRR E and G, MLRA's 49, 67 and 69. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Butte County, South Dakota, 1970.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features indentified in this pedon are:
Cambic horizon: the zone from 6 to 13 inches. (Bw horizon)
Paralithic contact at 31 inches.
Remarks: Typical pedon was sampled and published under the field name Litle in Colorado SSIR No. 10. Last updated by the state 2/94.
Taxonomic Version: Eighth Edition, 1998