LOCATION SUBLETTE WY+MTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive Pachic Argicryolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Sublette sandy loam - grassland (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 10 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) light sandy loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist- strong medium granular structure; soft, very friable; 20 percent stones; neutral (pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 12 inches thick)
B1--10 to 15 inches--Dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable; few thin glossy patches on faces of peds; few wax-like bridges between sand grains; 20 percent stones; neutral (pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
B2t--15 to 24 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subanqular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable; thin glossy patches on faces of peds; glossy coatings on sand grains; wax-like bridges between sand grains; 25 percent stones; neutral (pH 6.8); gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 16 inches thick)
B3--24 to 30 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable; few thin glossy patches on some faces of peds, and as coatings on sand grains; 30 percent stones; neutral (pH 7.2); gradual smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
C--30 to 60 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) sandy loam, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable; 30 percent stones; neutral (pH 7.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Sublette County, Wyoming; on the road to Half Moon Lake, northeast of Pinedale, Wyoming; 0.3 mile southwest of the Bridger National Forest Boundary; in approximately the NW1/4 sec. 8, T. 34N., R.108W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mollic epipedon ranges from 16 to 30 inches thick; the solum ranges from 20 to 40 inches thick. Organic carbon in the mollic epipedon ranges from 1 to 3 percent and decreases uniformly with increasing depth. The soils are 80 to 100 percent base saturated. Rock fragments range from 15 to 35 percent and are mostly stones more than 10 inches in diameter. The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 32 degrees to 46 degrees F., and the mean summer soil temperature ranges from 40 degrees to 59 degrees F. The A1 horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. It typically has granular structure but has subangular blocky structure in some pedons. This horizon is neutral or mildly alkaline. The B2t horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. It usually has subangular blocky structure but has weak prismatic structure in some pedons. This horizon is sandy loam, and has 8 to 18 percent clay 5 to 40 percent silt and 50 to 80 percent sand, with more than 35 percent fine or coarser. It generally has 5 to 10 percent more clay than the overlying or underlying horizons and has oriented clay films in some part. It is neutral or mildly alkaline. The C horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR. It is neutral or mildly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Burnt Lake and Poker series. Burnt Lake soils have mollic epipedons less than 16 inches thick, and lack argillic horizons. Poker soils have bedrock at depths of 20 to 40 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Sublette soils are on gently to moderately sloping uplands. Slopes range from 1 to about 12 percent. They formed in moderately coarse textured noncalcareous glacial till deposits or in alluvial fan sediments of similar texture. At the type location the average annual precipitation is 15 inches, with peak periods of precipitation during the spring and early summer. The mean annual temperature is 34 degrees F., and the mean summer temperature is 57 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Pinedale soils and the competing Burnt Lake series. Pinedale soils have mollic epipedons less than 16 inches thick and have fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal control sections.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; slow runoff; rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used primarily as native pastureland. Native vegetation is mainly sage, green needlegrass, foxtail, wheatgrass, and some short grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: High mountain valleys of northern and western Wyoming. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Johnson County (Southern Johnson Area), Wyoming, 1971.
OSED scanned by NSSQA. Last revised by state on 7/73.