LOCATION STEED UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Entic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Steed fine sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 2 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak medium platy structure parting to weak fine granular; soft, very friable; many fine and medium roots; few fine pores; moderately calcareous; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
A2--2 to 9 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) fine sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium and fine granular structure; soft, slightly hard, very friable; few fine roots; few fine pores; moderately calcareous; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)
C1--9 to 13 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loamy fine sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable; few fine roots; few fine pores; moderately calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8 .0); abrupt smooth boundary. (o to 7 inches thick)
C2--13 to 17 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loamy fine sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose, very friable; few fine roots; slightly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
C3--17 to 40 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly and cobbly coarse sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose; few fine roots; slightly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Weber County, Utah; about 1 mile south of the Riverdale overpass along the Weber River; approximately 1,000 feet south and 100 feet west of the center of section 18, T. 5 N., R. 1 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Steed soils are dry for 60 or more consecutive days in all horizons between depths of 7 and 20 inches for more than 7 out of 10 years. They are slightly to strongly calcareous throughout. They are typically free of mottles, but pedons containing few to common, fine and medium, faint to distinct mottles are within the range of the series if they qualify otherwise. The surface layers are fine sandy loam, gravelly fine sandy loam, gravelly loam, loam, or cobbly loam. The Al horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5 dry, and chroma of 2 or 3. It contains 1.0 to 5.5 percent organic matter. The C horizon is stratified. Average texture of the 10 to 40 inch control section is very gravelly sand or very cobbly sand, very gravelly loamy sand or very gravelly coarse sand and many of the interstices larger than 1 mm. are not filled with fine-earth soil material.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bingham, Martini, Sterling and Utaba series. Bingham soils have argillic horizons of gravelly loam texture and calcic horizons. Martini soils have fine sandy loam control sections that are not gravelly or cobbly. Sterling soils have calcic horizons and their control sections contain enough fine soil material to fill the interstices larger than 1 mm. Utaba soils have frigid temperature regime.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Steed soils are on flood plains, alluvial fans, and stream terraces. Slopes range from 0 to 10 percent. These soils formed in mixed calcareous alluvium dominantly from quartzite, sandstone, limestone and granite. The climate is dry or moist subhumid. The mean annual temperature ranges from 46 to 52 degrees F., the mean summer temperature from 63 to 71 degrees F., and the freeze free season from 100 to 175 days. The mean annual precipitation is 15 to 19 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Martini and Sterling soils and the Eastcan, Parlo, Pringle and Sunset soils. Eastcan soils have mollic epipedons more than 20 inches thick, and less than 35 percent rock fragments in the control section. Parlo soils have an argillic horizon and are not gravelly in the upper part of the control section. Pringle soils have mottles at depths less than 40 inches and are coarse-loamy in the upper part of the control section. Sunset soils have loam control sections that contain less than 50 percent pebbles and cobbles.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained or moderately well drained. Runoff is medium to slow, and permeability is moderate to rapid. In some places, the soil is flooded occasionally.
USE AND VEGETATION: Steed soils are used as rangeland and irrigated cropland. Small grains, alfalfa, and improved pastures are grown on irrigated areas. The native vegetation is mainly big sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, western wheatgrass, cottonwood, boxelder and willow trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Utah. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRAs 28A and 47.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Weber County (Davis Weber Area), Utah, 1967.
REMARKS: This revision of May 2003 updates the taxonomic class from Fragmental, mixed, mesic Entic Haploxerolls. The weighted average of the particle-size control section contains more than 10 percent fine-earth material. The remainder of this document has not been completely updated.
OSED scanned by NSSQA. Last revised by state 11/74.