LOCATION SPOOKY UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Siliceous, mesic Typic Torripsamments
TYPICAL PEDON: Spooky loamy fine sand, 7 percent slope in rangeland at an elevation of 4710 feet. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 4 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) loamy fine sand, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; weak fine platy structure parting to single grain ; loose, loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 2 percent gravel; noneffervescent, moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
C1--4 to 14 inches; reddish yellow (5YR 6/6) loamy fine sand, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) moist; single grain; loose, loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; noneffervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.1); gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 35 inches thick)
C2--14 to 38 inches; reddish yellow (5YR 6/6) loamy fine sand, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) moist; single grain; loose, loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine interstitial pores; noneffervescent, moderately alkaline (pH 8.1); gradual wavy boundary. (12 to 30 inches thick)
C3--38 to 46 inches; reddish yellow (5YR 6/6) loamy fine sand, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) moist; single grain; loose, loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine interstitial pores; 3 percent gravel; noneffervescent to slightly effervescent, moderately alkaline (pH 8.1); abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 28 inches thick)
R--46 inches; Navajo Formation sandstone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Kane County, Utah; about 2 miles southeast of the Dry Fork Coyote Trailhead to Spooky and Peekaboo Canyons; located about 2300 feet north and 1400 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 32, T. 38 S., R. 7 E.; Big Hollow Wash USGS quad; lat. 37 degrees 27 minutes 47 seconds N. and long. 111 degrees 11 minutes 07 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soil moisture control section is Typic aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature - 54 to 59 degrees F
Depth to Navajo sandstone bedrock - 40 to 60 inches
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 1 to 5 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent, dominantly gravel sized Navajo sandstone
A horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6
C horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: fine sand or loamy fine sand
Clay content: 1 to 5 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent gravel
COMPETING SERIES: This is the
Peekaboo (UT) and
Ranion (UT) series.
Peekaboo soils are 20 to 40 inches deep to
Navajo sandstone bedrock.
Ranion soils are very deep.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: residuum and eolian sand derived from Navajo sandstone
Landform: dunes on structural benches
Slopes: 2 to 15 percent
Elevation: 4,500 to 5,200 feet
Mean annual air temperature: 52 to 57 degrees F
Mean annual precipitation: 6 to 9 inches
Frost-free period: 160 to 190 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Suzipon, Peekaboo and Ranion series. The Suzipon soils are less than 20 inches deep over Navajo sandstone. The Peekaboo soils are 20 to 40 inches deep over Navajo sandstone. The Ranion soils are more than 60 inches deep.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained, very low to low runoff, rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mainly for rangeland, wildlife habitat and recreation. Potential native vegetation is blackbrush, Fremonts Indigobush, Indian ricegrass, and galleta. These soils have been correlated to the Desert Sandy Loam (Blackbrush) 035XY121UT ecological site at the type location in Utah.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-Central Utah. The soils of this series are of small extent (less than 10,000 acres). MLRA 35.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kane County, Utah, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument soil survey area, 2004. The name Spooky is from a nearby slot canyon.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: The zone from 0 to 4 inches. (A horizon)
Lithic contact: The contact with Navajo sandstone at 46 inches. (R horizon)
Siliceous mineralogy - soils formed directly from Navajo sandstone contains more than 90 percent silica minerals (dominantly quartz).
Taxonomic Version: Ninth Edition, 2003