LOCATION SIGURD UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, mesic Xeric Torrifluvents
TYPICAL PEDON: Sigurd gravelly loam - rangeland (Colors are for air dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 4 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; weak thick platy structure that parts to moderate fine granular structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine, fine and medium roots; common very fine and fine vesicular pores; 30 percent gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 14 inches thick)
C1--4 to 9 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) very gravelly loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; massive; soft, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine, fine and medium roots; few medium in ped pores; 50 percent gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
C2--9 to 25 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) extremely gravelly fine sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine pores; 65 percent gravel; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (12 to 20 inches thick)
C3--25 to 43 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very gravelly fine sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few fine and very fine pores; 50 percent gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (12 to 20 inches thick)
C4--43 to 60 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; 50 percent gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.3).
TYPE LOCATION: Sanpete County, Utah; 3 miles west and .5 miles south of Gunnison; 2,395 feet north and 1,030 feet east of the southwest corner of sec. 22, T.l9S., R.lW; USGS Hayes Canyon 7.5 minute quadrangle; lat. 39 degrees 8 minutes 26 seconds N., longitude 111 degrees 54 minutes 27 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry; moist in winter and early spring (Aridic bordering on xeric soil moisture regime).
Mean annual soil temperature: 8.5 to 12.0 C.
Organic matter content: decreases irregularly with depth or remains above .35 percent above a depth of 125 cm.
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 12 to 18 percent
Rock fragment content: 35 to 70 percent, mainly gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 40 to 60 percent including coarse fragments smaller than 20 millimeters.
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4.
C horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4
Rock fragments: 35 to 70 percent, mainly gravel
Texture (fine earth): sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Sigurd soils have slopes of 0 to 20 percent on alluvial fans, inset fans, fan skirts, and flood plains at elevations of 1,525 to 1,920 meters. They formed in alluvium dominantly from limestone and sandstone, but includes some shale. The climate is semiarid. Mean annual temperature ranges from 8 to 10.5 degrees C. Average annual precipitation ranges from 200 to 300 mm. Frost free period is 100 to 145 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Penoyer, Genola, and Woodrow soils and the competing Sanpete and Centerfield soils. Penoyer, Genola, and Woodrow soils lack coarse fragments.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; medium runoff; moderately rapid to rapid permeability; Ksat is high to very high.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mainly for range, but some are used for production of small grain, alfalfa, and pasture. Native plants are cheatgrass, shadscale, yellowbrush, big sagebrush, Indian ricegrass and squirreltail. This soil is correlated to semidesert ecological sites in Utah.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Utah. MLRA 28A. The series is moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Richfield Area, Utah, 1947.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to 4 inches (A horizon).
Particle-size control section - the zone from 10 to 40 inches.