LOCATION SHEEPROCK UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Xeric Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Sheeprock gravelly coarse sand; rangeland; (Colors are for dry soils unless otherwise noted).
C1--0 to 3 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) gravelly coarse sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; single grain; loose; few fine roots; moderately calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
C2--3 to 7 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable; few fine and coarse, and common medium roots; lime in pockets; 80 percent slightly effervescent; 20 percent strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 6 inches thick)
C3--7 to 40 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very gravelly coarse sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; single grain; loose; few coarse and common fine and medium roots; 80 percent slightly effervescent; 20 percent strongly effervescent; lime in pockets; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual broken boundary. (30 to 36 inches thick)
C4--40 to 49 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) coarse sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3); moist; massive; weakly cemented, firm; few fine and medium roots; few medium and common fine tubular pores; slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 11 inches thick)
C5--49 to 68 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly coarse sand, brown (10YR 4/3) very gravelly coarse sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose; few fine and medium roots; 80 percent slightly effervescent; 20 percent strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Beaver County, Utah; 2.5 miles north and 4 miles west of Manderfield; 0.2 miles north of SW corner sec. 1, T.28S., R.8W. ; Gillies Hill USGS quad; lat. 38 degrees 23 minutes 56.01 seconds N. and long. 112 degrees 42 minutes 8.96 seconds W., NAD83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature: 47 degrees to 5O degrees F
Mean summer soil temperature: 63 degrees to 65 degrees F
Particle-size control section:
Rock Fragments: Most coarse fragments are medium and fine gravel and range from 35 to 70 percent by volume.
Texture: Very gravelly loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, sand and coarse sand.
C horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR.
Value: 5.5 or 6 dry, 3.5 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Other features: Thin subhorizons with coarse sandy loam or sandy loam texture are in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Alderdale (WA), Burbank (WA), Crunkvar (NV), Denio (NV), Doowak (NV), Skaha (WA), Ulymeyer (CA), and Wrango (NV). Alderdale have a lithic contact within 20 to 40 inches. Burbank soils have mean annual soil temperatures of 52 to 56 degrees and are non calcareous in the upper part. Denio and Doowak soils have soil temperature of 50 to 52 degrees. In addition, Denio soils are non-effervescent and Doowak soils are non-effervescent in the top 20 inches. Crunkvar, Skaha, and Ulymeyer soils are non-effervescent throughout. Wrango soils have mean annual soil temperatures of 53 to 59 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sheeprock soils occur on rolling hills and scarp faces or terraces at elevations of 4,800 to 6,300 feet. Slope gradients are 2 to 30 percent. They formed in deep alluvial coarse sand and fine gravel from granitic and acid igneous parent material. The climate is dry subhumid. Mean annual temperature is about 45 to 48 degrees F., mean summer temperature is about 64 to 66 degrees F., and average annual precipitation is 12 to 14 inches. Average frost-free period is 100 to 110 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Blackett, Ushar, and Cokel soils. Blackett soils have less than 35 percent gravel, have sandy loam textures and have calcic horizons. Ushar soils have B horizons with more than 18 percent clay, lack coarse fragments, and have calcic horizons. Cokel soils have sandy loam over very gravelly sand or sand in the control section and have calcic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained, rapid or very rapid permeability, medium and high runoff.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for rangeland, summer grazing for cattle and winter range for big game. Present vegetation is juniper, pinyon, bitterbrush, big sagebrush, desert mallow, phlox, Indian ricegrass, and squirreltail.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern and northeastern Utah.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Beaver County (East Beaver Area), Utah, 1969.
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: The zone from the surface to about 7 inches (A and C1 horizons.)
Particle-size control section: The zone from 10 to 40 inches (part of the C3 horizon.)