LOCATION SHEEPCAN UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, frigid Typic Ustorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Sheepcan gravelly loam ranqeland. (Colors are for air-dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--O to 3 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) gravelly loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; moderate medium and fine subangular blocky structure to moderate very fine subangular blocky; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few medium, common fine and very fine roots; few medium, many very fine random tubular pores; 5 percent cobbles and 45 percent gravel on the surface; 5 percent gravel in the horizon; slightly calcareous, carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 9 inches thick)
A2--3 to 9 inches; light brownish gray (lOYR 6/2) gravelly loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; moderate fine and very fine subanqular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few medium, common fine and very fine roots; few fine, many very fine random tubular pores; 15 percent gravel; slightly calcareous, carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Cl--9 to 19 inches; light gray (lOYR 7/2) gravelly clay loam, pale brown (lOYR 6/3) moist; moderate medium and fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few medium, common fine and very fine roots; few fine, common very fine random tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; moderately calcareous, carbonates are disseminated; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)
C2--19 to 28 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 8/3) cobbly clay loam, pale brown (lOYR 6/3) moist; moderate medium and fine suhangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few medium, common fine and very fine roots; few fine, common very fine random tubular pores; 20 percent cobbles, 20 percent gravel; moderately calcareous, carbonates are disseminated; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick.)
C3--28 to 43 inches; white (lOYR 8/1) very cobbly clay loam, very pale brown (lOYR 7/3) moist; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky, plastic; few medium and fine, common very fine roots; few fine, common very fine random tubular pores; 20 percent cobbles, 20 percent gravel; moderately calcareous, carbonates are disseminated; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6) gradual wavy boundary. (14 to 18 inches thick.)
C4--43 to 60 inches; white (2.5Y 8/2) very cobbly clay loam, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) moist; weak fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky, plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few fine and very fine random tubular pores; 20 percent cobbles, 20 percent gravel; moderately calcareous, carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Duchesne County, Utah; at the head of Big Sulphur Canyon; 400 feet south and 1,600 feet west of the NE corner of Section 36, T. 11 S., R. 12 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. The mean annual soil temperature is 38 to 41 degrees F. The mean summer soil temperature is 60 to 62 degrees F.
The Al horizon has hue of lOYR, 2.5Y, or 5Y and chroma of 2 or 3.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 6 to 8 dry, and 4 to 7 moist. It is predominantly cobbly or gravelly clay loam, or very cobbly clay loam, but ranges to include thin layers of cobbly loam, cobbly silty silty clay loam, stony clay loam, very stony silty clay loam, or silty clay loam. It typically has 15 to 25 percent gravel and 5 to 25 percent cobbles and channers but averages 20 to 35 percent coarse fragments in the control section.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Frandsen, and Zahill series. Frandsen soils average less than 20 percent rock fragments in the 10 to 40 inch control section. Zahill soils average less than 20 percent rock fragments in the 10 to 40 inch control section and are underlain at depths of less than 40 inches by dense till.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sheepcan soils are at elevations of 7,000 to 9,000 feet. Slopes range from 15 to 70 percent. These soils occur on mountainsides and formed in colluvium weathered from sedimentary rocks. The mean annual temperature is 37 to 45 degrees F., and the freeze-free period is 70 to 85 days. The average annual precipitation is 16 to 18 inches.
GEOPRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Adel, Midfork, and Starman soils. Adel soils have a mollic epipedon and a cryic temperature regime. Midfork soils have a mollic epipedon, a cryic temperature regime and contain more than 35 percent rock fragments in the series control section. Starman soils are less than 20 inches deep, a cryic temperature regime, and contain more than 35 percent rock fragments in the series control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for rangeland, wildlife habitat, and recreation. The potential vegetation is salina wildrye, mountain big sagebrush, slender wheatgrass, Utah serviceberry, and antelope bitterbrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Utah, Duchesne and Carbon Counties. The series is inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Carbon County, Utah. 1982.
REMARKS: OSED scanned by NSSQA. Last revised by state 12/82.
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 Lakewood MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.