LOCATION SANDBRANCH WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Natrargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Sandbranch sandy loam-rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 3 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and medium roots; strongly effervescent, lime disseminated; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 8 inches thick)
Btn--3 to 17 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) sandy clay loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; moderate medium columnar structure parting to moderate medium and fine subangular blocky; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common fine roots; many thin clay films on faces of peds; strongly effervescent, lime disseminated; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 19 inches thick)
Bk--17 to 21 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) sandy loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; strongly effervescent, lime disseminated and in filaments and soft masses; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4); gradual wavy boundary. (4 to 18 inches thick)
C--21 to 60 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) sandy loam, olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; strongly effervescent, lime disseminated; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Sweetwater County, Wyoming; center of sec. 4, T. 18 N., R. 109 W., about 2 miles west of Byron.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the base of the natric horizon ranges from 10 to 20 inches. Bedrock is greater than 60 inches. Depth to any contrasting substrata is greater than 40 inches. The mean annual soil temperature is 42 to 47 degrees F., and the mean summer soil temperature is 39 to 64 degrees F. Coarse fragments are typically less than 5 percent throughout but are allowed to range up to 15 percent in the upper 40 inches of the solum.
The A horizon has hue of 5Y through 10YR, value of 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist, and chroma of 2 through 6. EC ranges from 0 to 4 mmhos. Reaction is moderately through very strongly alkaline. A thin E horizon is present in some pedons between the A and Btn horizons.
The Btn horizon has hue of 5Y through 7.5YR, value of 4 through 7 dry, 3 through 6 moist, and chroma of 2 through 5. Texture is clay loam, sandy clay loam, or loam with 18 to 35 percent clay. Secondary accumulation of carbonates, gypsum, and salts more soluble than gypsum are present in the lower part of many natric horizons. EC ranges from 4 to 16 mmhos. Exchangeable sodium ranges from 15 to 30 percent. Reaction, unless buffered by gypsum, ranges from strongly alkaline through very strongly alkaline.
The Bk horizon has hue of 5Y through 10YR, value of 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. Texture is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam with 15 to 30 percent clay. Secondary accumulation of sodium, gypsum, and salts more soluble than gypsum are also common in this horizon in many pedons; thus, y, z, and n are common additional subordinate suffixes. EC ranges from 2 to 16 mmhos. Exchangeable sodium ranges to 30 percent. Reaction is moderately alkaline through very strongly alkaline.
The C horizon has hue of 5Y through 10YR, value of 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. Texture is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, sandy clay loam, loam, or clay loam with 15 to 30 percent clay. EC is 2 to 16 mmhos and exchangeable sodium ranges from 5 to 20 percent. Reaction is moderately alkaline through very strongly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Westvaco series, which has shale at 20 to 40 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sandbranch soils are on alluvial fans, fan aprons, terraces, and at the margins of basins. These soils formed in alluvium derived from sodic sandstone and interbedded sandy shale. Slopes range from 0 to 8 percent. Elevation is 6,000 to 7,400 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 7 to 9 inches, and the mean annual air temperature is 39 to 45 degrees F. The frost-free season is estimated to be 80 to 110 days depending upon aspect, elevation, and air drainage.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Horsley, Kandaly, Monte, Ryan Park, and Youjay soils and the competing Westvaco soils. Horsley soils are shallow to bedrock and have no diagnostic subhorizons. Kandaly soils are sandy. Monte soils have less than 15 percent exchangeable sodium and have no diagnostic subhorizons. Ryan Park soils have less than 18 percent clay in the control section, more organic carbon in the upper 15 inches, and less than 15 percent exchangeable sodium. Youjay soils are shallow and have over 35 percent clay throughout.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow or medium runoff depending upon slope; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mainly for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The native vegetation consists predominantly of Gardner saltbush, bud sagewort, greasewood, greenmolly, summer cypress, Indian ricegrass, and bottlebrush squirreltail.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Wyoming and adjacent Colorado. These soils are moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Fremont County, Wyoming, East Part; 1985
REMARKS:
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. The remainder of this document has not been updated.