LOCATION REDSUN WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Lithic Ustic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Redsun very channery loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 4 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) very channery loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; moderate medium granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine roots; violently effervescent, carbonates disseminated; 45 percent limestone rock fragments, mainly channers; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear wavy boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
Bk--4 to 7 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) extremely flaggy loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; violently effervescent, moderately thick coatings of carbonate on undersides of rock fragments; 75 percent limestone rock fragments, mainly flagstones; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6). (3 to 16 inches thick)
R--7 inches; hard, fractured limestone.
TYPE LOCATION: Natrona County, Wyoming; about two miles WNW of Willow Creek School, 650 feet west and 2,500 feet north of the SE corner of sec. 16, T. 40 N., R. 83 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to lithic contact is commonly less than 15 inches but ranges from 4 to 20 inches. Matrix textures are loam or silt loam with 10 to 18 percent noncarbonate clay, 2 to 9 percent carbonate clay, and less than 15 percent fine sand or coarser. Rock fragments range from 35 to 80 percent and are mainly channers and flagstones. The mean annual soil temperature is 47 to 51 degrees F. Hue is 7.5YR to 2.5YR. The soil is moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
The A horizon has chroma of 4 through 6.
The Bk horizon has value of 4 through 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 4 through 6. It has visible accumulations of carbonate, mainly as coatings on the undersides of rock fragments. Calcium carbonate equivalent averages from 6 to 15 percent. However, some pedons have thin, discontinuous accumulations which exceed 15 percent.
The R is hard limestone or hard, red, calcareous siltstone which is commonly several feet thick and underlain by soft, red sedimentary beds.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Skos and Sunup series. Skos soils have mean annual soil temperatures of 52 to 56 degrees F. Sunup soils have hue of 5Y to 10YR and do not have a horizon with consistent carbonate accumulation.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Redsun soils formed in residuum derived dominantly from red sedimentary bedrock. They are on dipslopes. Slopes range from 3 to 30 percent and are commonly plainer. Elevation is 5,400 to 6,800 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 10 to 14 inches, and the mean annual temperature is 42 to 49 degrees F. The frost-free season is 110 to 130 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Buffcreek, Redbow, Redspear, and Roughlock soils. Buffcreek, Redbow, and Roughlock soils a have calcic horizon and do not have bedrock above a depth of 20 inches. Also, Redbow and Roughlock soils are coarse-silty. Redspear soils have a paralithic contact and are loamy.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; runoff is medium or rapid; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Redsun soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. Native vegetation is mainly bluebunch wheatgrass, prairie junegrass, black sagebrush, and forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Wyoming. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Natrona County, Wyoming; 1985.
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.