LOCATION TRENTON UT+IDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Natrixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Trenton silty clay loam, 0 to 1 percent slopes - dry-farmed (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted).
Ap--0 to 8 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; hard, friable, sticky, plastic; common medium and fine pores; slightly calcareous, slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick.)
Btn--8 to 15 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure breaking to strong medium blocky structure, very hard, firm, very sticky, very plastic; many fine roots; few fine pores; common thin clay films; slightly calcareous, slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick.)
Btnk1--15 to 26 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silty clay, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium prismatic structure breaking to moderate medium blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky, very plastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; few thin clay films in pores; very strongly calcareous, moderately alkaline (pH 8.1); clear wavy boundary. (9 to 11 inches thick.)
Btnk2--26 to 34 inches; pink (7.5YR 7/4) silty clay, light brown (7.5YR 6/4) moist, common coarse faint pinkish white (7.5YR 8/2) mottles; moderate coarse prismatic structure breaking to moderate medium blocky structure; extremely hard, extremely firm, very sticky, very plastic; few fine roots; thick patchy clay films; very strongly calcareous, lime is soft, laminar and veined, strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick.)
Btnk3--34 to 60 inches; pink (5YR 7/4) silty clay, reddish brown (5YR 5/3) moist, common fine faint pinkish white (7.5YR 8/2) mottles; weak coarse prismatic structure breaking to moderate coarse blocky structure; extremely hard, extremely firm, very sticky, very plastic; few fine roots; thin patchy organic films; thin patchy clay films; strongly calcareous, moderately alkaline (pH 8.3).
TYPE LOCATION: Cache County, Utah; 2 miles west of Richmond Sego Milk plant, east side of Quinton Peart reservoir on north side of Richmond-Trenton highway, 600 feet west and 200 feet north of the southeast corner of the northeast 1/4 of sec. 29, T. 14 N., R. 1 E.; Trenton USGS quad; lat. 41 degrees 55 minutes 35 seconds N. long. 111 degrees 51 minutes 32 seconds W. NAD 83
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist, moist winter, spring and fall, dry in all parts for 45 consecutive days or longer between July and October. Xeric soil moisture regime. Seasonal high water table - dominantly at depths below 30 inches.
Soil temperature: 47 to 53 degrees F.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 8 to 16 inches, may include the upper part of the natric horizon.
Depth to secondary carbonate: 12 to 40 inches, most commonly in the lower Bt horizon.
Depth to the base of the natric horizon: 24 to 46 inches.
Control section:
Texture: Silty clay or silty clay loam.
Clay content: Averages 35 to 60 percent.
A horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR.
Value: 2.5 to 3.5 moist and 4 to 5.5 dry.
Chroma: 1.5 to 3.
Organic matter content: 1.5 to 3.5 percent.
Effervescence: Slightly effervescent to strongly effervescent.
Btn and Btnk horizons:
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR.
Value: 3 to 6 moist and 4 to 8 dry.
Chroma: 2 to 4.
Texture: Silty clay or silty clay loam.
Clay content: Averages 35 to 60 percent in the upper 20 inches or the entire horizon if less than 20 inches thick; subhorizons range from 27 to 35 percent in some pedons.
Effervescence: Moderately to strongly calcareous.
Exchangeable sodium: 14 to 50 percent.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 3 to 40 percent.
C horizon (when present):
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 to 8 dry and 3 to 6 moist.
Chroma: 2 to 4.
Texture: Silty clay to sandy loam.
COMPETING SERIES:
Spofmor (WA) soils lack mottles and aren't effervescent to the surface.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Trenton soils occur on smooth to strongly undulating, nearly level to steep alluvial flats, lake plains, and lake terraces. Dominant slopes are 0 to 3 percent, but slopes range from 0 to 30 percent. These soils have formed in fine textured lacustrine sediments derived mainly from limestone, sandstone, and quartzite, but include materials from many other kinds of rock. The climate is dry subhumid; winters are cold and summers warm. The mean annual air temperature ranges from 45 to 51 degrees F., the average summer temperature from 65 to 72 degrees F., and the freeze-free season from 120 to 160 days. The average annual precipitation ranges from 14 to 18 inches. Elevation is 4200 to 4800 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are in the Airport, Payson, Leland, Warm Springs, Harrisville, and Parleys series. Both Warm Springs and Parleys soils lack natric horizons. The other associated soils are listed as competing series.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly and moderately well drained. Runoff is medium to rapid. Permeability is slow or very slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for dryland alfalfa and small grains. Some areas are used for irrigated sugar beets, alfalfa, small grains, and improved pastures. The native vegetation is dominantly big sagebrush, alkali sacaton, western wheatgrass, Great Basin wildrye grass, salt grass, and gumweed.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North central Utah. The Trenton soils are of moderate extent. They are locally important to agriculture. MLRA 28A.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Cache County, Utah, 1913.
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: The zone from the surface to 15 inches. (Ap and Btn horizons)
Natric horizon: The zone from 8 to 60 inches. (Btn, Btnk1, Btnk2, and Btnk3 horizons)
The classification is based on "Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006".
The superactive cation exchange activity class is based on NSSL data. Additional investigation is needed to determine if the Trenton series should be in the Vertic subgroup. There are 2 chroma mottles in the 26 to 34 inch layer, however, the saturation is at 30 inches or deeper so the soil doesn't meet the aquic subgroup criteria. Depth to aquic conditions also needs additional investigation for classification and drainage class assignment.