LOCATION SALTAIR UT+NVEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Aquisalids
TYPICAL PEDON: Saltair silt loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
Az--0 to 1 inch; gray (5Y 6/1) silt loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak thick platy structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; strongly effervescent; strongly saline (EC 203 mmhos/cm); moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 8 inches thick)
Czg1--1 to 4 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) silty clay loam, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) moist; weak thick platy structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and medium pores; strongly effervescent; strongly saline (EC 93 mmhos/cm); strongly alkaline (pH 8.6) clear smooth boundary. (2 to 20 inches thick)
Czg2--4 to 9 inches; light gray (5Y 7/2) silty clay loam, light olive gray (5Y 6/2) moist; massive; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine and medium pores; few medium distinct brown masses of iron accumulation; strongly effervescent; strongly saline (EC 66 mmhos/cm); strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Czg3--9 to 20 inches; pale yellow (5Y 8/2) silty clay loam, light olive gray (5Y 6/2) moist; massive; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine and medium pores; common fine distinct brown masses of iron accumulation; strongly effervescent; strongly saline (EC 70 mmhos/cm); strongly alkaline (pH 8.9); gradual wavy boundary. (4 to 16 inches thick)
Czg4--20 to 32 inches; light gray (5Y 7/2) silt loam, light olive gray (5Y 6/2) moist; massive; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine and medium pores; few fine distinct brown masses of iron accumulation; strongly effervescent; strongly saline (EC 82 mmhos/cm); strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick)
2Czg5--32 to 44 inches; pinkish gray (7.5YR 7/2) silty clay loam, pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) moist; massive; hard, firm, moderately sticky and very plastic; common fine and medium pores; strongly effervescent; strongly saline (EC 76 mmhos/cm); strongly alkaline (pH 8.7); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 14 inches thick)
2Czg6--44 to 60 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) silty clay loam, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) moist; massive; hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; common fine and medium pores; many coarse prominent reddish yellow masses of iron accumulation; strongly effervescent; strongly saline (EC 74 mmhos/cm); strongly alkaline (pH 8.8).
TYPE LOCATION: Davis County, Utah; about 4.3 miles southwest of Bountiful; near the center of the southwest one quarter of section 3, T. 1 N., R. 1 W.; Salt Lake City North USGS quadrangle; 40 degrees 50 minutes 48 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 56 minutes 40 seconds west longitude, NAD83; UTM zone 12N 420394E, 4522148N, NAD83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: The soils are saturated with water during most of the year within a depth of 40 inches; the upper part of the moisture control section is dry during summer months in normal years; Aquic moisture regime during seasonal periods of saturation and reduction.
Mean annual soil temperature: 47 to 54 degrees F.
Mean summer soil temperature: 65 to 75 degrees F.
Salinity: In many places the soil surface is crusted with a thin layer of salt (mostly sodium chloride). The soil contains 2 to 8 percent salt throughout the profile but more soluble salt has accumulated in the Az and upper Cz horizons and decrease slightly with depth.
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 20 to 35 percent.
Az horizon:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y.
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 3 to 6 moist.
Chroma: 1 to 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Silt loam or loam.
Clay content: 20 to 27 percent.
Structure: Granular or platy.
Consistence: Friable or very friable, slightly sticky or moderately sticky.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 20 percent.
EC (mmhos/cm): 100 to 250.
SAR: 100 to 1000.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Czg horizons:
Hue: 7.5YR to 5Y; some pedons have neutral hue (N).
Value: 6 to 8 dry, 5 to 7 moist.
Chroma: 1 to 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Silty clay loam or silt loam.
Clay content: 20 to 35 percent.
Structure: Platy or massive.
Consistence: Slightly hard to hard, friable to firm, slightly sticky to very sticky, and slightly plastic to very plastic.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 30 percent.
EC (mmhos/cm): 50 to 130.
SAR: 70 to 950.
Reaction: Strongly alkaline or very strongly alkaline.
Other features: Salt crystals and redoximorphic features may be present in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Beariver series. Beariver soils have salic horizons at depths of 20 to 40 inches and do not have seasonal periods of aquic moisture regime.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Saltair soils are on lake plains and basin floors. They formed in lacustrine deposits and some alluvium derived mainly from limestone, shale, and quartzite. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevations range from 4,200 to 4,900 feet. The climate is dry subhumid and semiarid. The mean annual precipitation is 12 to 16 inches, but ranges as long as 6 inches in some survey areas. The mean annual temperature is 45 to 54 degrees F., the mean summer temperature is 68 to 73 degrees F., and the frost-free period is 110 to 180 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Arave, Jordan, Lakeshore, and Payson soils. Arave and Payson soils have natric horizons and do not have salic horizons. Jordan soils are fine textured and have natric horizons. Lakeshore soils are coarse-silty.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained or very poorly drained; negligible surface runoff if ponded, very high surface runoff otherwise; slow or very slow permeability (moderately low or low saturated hydraulic conductivity). Endosaturation is present with an apparent seasonal high water table between the soil surface and 2.5 feet (very shallow to moderately deep free water occurrence classes) year-round. Cumulative annual duration class is Persistent. Some phases are susceptible to occasional ponding for brief duration from March through July with water up to 1 foot deep.
USE AND VEGETATION: Saltair soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The native vegetation is mainly a spare cover of pickleweed, samphire, and scattered inland saltgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Utah and northeastern Nevada. These soils are extensive with about 450,000 acres of the series mapped to date. The series concept and main acreage is in MLRA 28A, while other acreage occurs in MLRA 34B.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Salt Lake Area, Utah, 1941.
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: The zone from the soil surface to 1 inch. (Az horizon)
Salic horizon: The zone from the soil surface to 60 inches. (Az, Czg1, Czg2, Czg3, Czg4, 2Czg5, and 2Czg6 horizons)
Aquic conditions: The conditions of endosaturation, reduction, and redoximorphic features between the soil surface and 60 inches at certain times during normal years. (parts of the Az, Czg1, Czg2, Czg3, Czg4, 2Czg5, and 2Czg6 horizons)
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 40 inches (Czg4 horizon and parts of the Czg3 and 2Czg5 horizons).
ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon at the series type location has partial characterization data by the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Riverside, CA, as soil survey sample number S58UT-011-002 (pedon # 40A0963). Some of this data is published on pages 142-143, Table 11 of the Soil Survey of Davis-Weber Area, Utah. The pH values in the typical pedon are from saturated paste. Another laboratory pedon of Saltair is S58UT-011-001 (pedon # 40A0962) and a very similar soil is S02UT-003-001 (pedon # 02N0154).