LOCATION UTLEY OR
Established Series
Rev. DMK/KMS
12/2023
UTLEY SERIES
Landscape--hills
Landform--footslopes, toeslopes, base slopes, drainageways
Slope--0 to 40 percent
Parent material--colluvium and residuum derived from shale, sandstone, limestone, and conglomerate with an influence of volcanic ash in upper part
Mean annual precipitation--about 360 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 6 degrees C
Depth class--deep, very deep
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--xeric
Soil temperature regime--frigid
Soil moisture subclass--typic
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Vitrandic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Utley ashy loam, cultivated and rangeland
A1--0 to 30 cm; ashy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2), very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; weak thick platy structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, fine, and medium roots; many very fine irregular and common very fine dendritic tubular pores; 7 percent channers; neutral (pH 6.8); clear wavy boundary
A2--30 to 58 cm; ashy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2), very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine granular; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, fine, and medium roots; many very fine irregular and common very fine dendritic tubular pores; 7 percent channers; neutral (pH 6.7); clear wavy boundary
A3--58 to 102 cm; ashy sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine, medium, and coarse roots; common fine irregular and many fine dendritic tubular pores; 5 percent channers; neutral (pH 6.7); clear wavy boundary
A4--102 to 130 cm; ashy sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and common medium roots; common fine dendritic tubular and common very fine irregular pores; 3 percent channers; neutral (pH 6.7); clear wavy boundary
2Bw--130 to 150 cm; sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) dry, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine subangular blocky; hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; many fine irregular pores; 10 percent channers; neutral (pH 7.0)
TYPE LOCATION: Grant County, Oregon, 595 m south and 30 m west of the northeast corner of section 8, T.18 S, R. 27 E., latitude 44.025500, longitude -119.497139, datum WGS 84 (coordinates determined with a GPS)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--7 to 8 degrees C
Soil moisture--dry 60 to 90 consecutive days following summer solstice
Depth to paralithic contact--100 to 150 cm or more
Thickness of mollic epipedon--50 to 150 cm or more
Particle-size control section
*Content of clay (weighted average)--18 to 27 percent
*Content of rock fragments (weighted average)--0 to 30 percent
Layers influenced by volcanic ash
*Thickness--50 to 150 cm
*Content of volcanic glass in 0.02- to 2.0-mm fraction--5 to 20 percent
*Ammonium oxalate Al plus 1/2 Fe--0.4 to 1.0 percent
A horizon
Value--2 or 3 moist, 3 to 5 dry
Chroma--1 to 3 moist, 2 or 3 dry
Fine-earth texture--ashy clay loam, ashy loam, ashy sandy loam
Clay content--15 to 27 percent
Channer content--0 to 30 percent
Flagstone content--0 to 10 percent
Total rock fragment content--0 to 30 percent
Combined thickness--89 to 170 cm
2Bw horizon (where present)
Value--2 or 3 moist, 4 to 5 dry
Chroma--1 to 3 moist, 2 or 3 dry
Fine-earth textures--loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam
Clay content--15 to 30 percent
Channers content--0 to 30 percent
Flagstone content--0 to 10 percent
Total rock fragment content--0 to 30 percent
COMPETING SERIES:
Albee,
Wallowa,
Wrightman--moderately deep to lithic basalt; no channers
Chug--organic carbon decreases irregularly as depth increases; no channers
Goodalfs--somewhat poorly drained
Izee--moderately deep
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--1050 to 1500 m
Climate--cold, wet winters; hot, dry summers
Mean annual precipitation--310 to 410 mm
Mean annual air temperature--4 to less than 8 degrees C
Frost-free period--30 to 110 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Gerow--very deep; somewhat poorly drained; drainageways
Izee--moderately deep; north-facing backslopes, footslopes, side slopes, and head slopes
Keerins--shallow or very shallow; convex crests, nose slopes, and side slopes
Logdell--shallow; convex nose slopes and crests; base saturation less than 75 percent in one horizon or more
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage class--well drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--moderately high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--hay production, livestock grazing, wildlife habitat
Potential natural vegetation--basin wildrye, bluebunch wheatgrass, Idaho fescue, basin big sagebrush, mountain big sagebrush
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: East-central Oregon; MLRA 10; moderate extent
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: PORTLAND, OREGON
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Grant County, Oregon; 1970
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features in this pedon
*Mollic (pachic) epipedon--zone from surface to a depth of 150 cm
*Vitrandic feature--zone from surface to a depth of 130 cm
*Particle size control section--zone from 25 to 100 cm
4/2010--The classification was changed from fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Pachic Haploxerolls to fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Vitrandic Haploxerolls.
12/2015--This official series description was updated according to SSR01 Technical Note--Content and Format of Official Series Descriptions (revised 12/2015). Most of the changes were in formatting; no major technical changes were made.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.