LOCATION SYRACUSE UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Oxyaquic Calcixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Syracuse loamy fine sand--urban development. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 11 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loamy fine sand, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist: weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine roots; few fine pores; 1 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick.)
AB--11 to 21 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine granular; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine roots; few fine pores; slightly effervescent; 3 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 18 inches thick.)
Bk1--21 to 30 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; strongly effervescent; 11 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.9); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 14 inches thick.)
Bk2--30 to 60 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) sandy loam, light gray (10YR 7/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; violently effervescent; 18 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.1).
TYPE LOCATION: Davis County, Utah; about 2 miles west of Syracuse; near the north quarter corner of section 17, T. 4 N., R. 2 W.; USGS Clearfield 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 41 degrees 05 minutes 21 seconds north latitude and 112 degrees 05 minutes 37 seconds west longitude, NAD83; UTM zone 12N 408138E, 4549220N, NAD83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soils are usually moist in some part of the moisture control section for more than one-half of the time the soil temperature is above 41 degrees F.; They are dry in all parts of the moisture control section for 60 to 90 consecutive days during the summer months; Xeric moisture regime that borders on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature - 49 to 54 degrees F.
Mollic epipedon thickness - 10 to 16 inches.
Depth to calcic horizon - 16 to 22 inches.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 10 to 16 percent.
A horizon - Chroma: 4 or 5 dry.
Texture: Loamy fine sand or fine sandy loam.
Organic matter content: 1.0 or 2.0 percent.
Effervescence: Noneffervescent or slightly effervescent depending on texture.
Bk horizons - Value: 7 or 8 dry, 5 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Redoximorphic features: None to prominent masses of iron accumulation.
Texture: Sandy loam or fine sandy loam that is marginal to loamy fine sand.
Clay content: 8 to 18 percent.
Salinity (EC): 2 to 16 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 13 to 30.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 30 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Beckstrand, Honeylake, Ironton, and Maplecreek series.
Beckstrand and Honeylake soils have an aridic moisture regime. Ironton soils are dominated by texture of loam or silt loam in the particle-size control section. Maplecreek soils have mean annual soil temperature of 47 to 49 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Syracuse soils are on low lake terraces. These soils have formed in moderately coarse textured alluvium and lake sediments that are derived mainly from quartzite, limestone, and gneiss, but include material from many other kinds of rocks. Slopes are 0 to 3 percent. Elevations range from 4,200 to 4,600 feet. The climate is dry subhumid. The mean annual precipitation is 14 to 18 inches. The mean annual temperature is 47 to 52 degrees F. and the mean summer temperature is 68 to 73 degrees F. The frost-free period is 130 to 170 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Airport, Ford, Payson, and Warm Springs soils. Airport and Payson soils have natric horizons. Ford soils are moderately deep to a petrocalcic horizon. Warm Springs soils are fine-loamy.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained; low or very low surface runoff; moderate or moderately rapid permeability (moderately high or high saturated hydraulic conductivity). Endosaturation is present with an apparent seasonal high water table between 3 and 4 feet (moderately deep or deep free water occurrence classes) April to September. Cumulative annual duration class is Common. One phase has the seasonal high water table at depths of 2 to 3 feet. These soils are generally not susceptible to flooding, but one phase is susceptible to rare flooding for very brief periods year-round.
USE AND VEGETATION: Syracuse soils are used for irrigated cropland, urban development, and rangeland. Drained and reclaimed areas are used for growing tomatoes, corn, alfalfa, sugar beets, and small grains. The native vegetation is mainly inland saltgrass, foxtail, alkali sacaton, and basin wildrye.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Utah. These soils are not extensive with about 8,500 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 28A.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Davis County (Davis-Weber Area), Utah, 1967.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 11 inches (A horizon).
Calcic horizon - The zone from 21 to 60 inches (Bk1 and Bk2 horizons).
Endosaturation feature - The condition of ground water with an upper boundary between 36 and 48 inches at certain times during normal years (part of the Bk2 horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 40 inches (AC and Bk1 horizons and parts of the A and Bk2 horizons).
This revision of February 2006 updates the taxonomic class from Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aquic Haplustolls based on the depth to the seasonal high saturation of more than 30 inches and on the assumed moisture regime being xeric instead of ustic.
The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Reno MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data.
ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon at the series type location has partial characterization data by the Soils Laboratory from Utah State University (USU) Logan, UT and is published on pages 144-145, Table 11 of the Soil Survey of Davis-Weber Area, Utah. The pH values in the typical pedon are from saturated paste.