LOCATION VAN WAGONER UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, frigid Lithic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Van Wagoner cobbly sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for air-dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 1 inch; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) cobbly sandy loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; loose, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine roots; slightly acid (pH 6.5); abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
A2--1 to 15 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) cobbly sandy
loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine medium roots; neutral (pH 6.8); clear irregular boundary. (5 to 14 inches thick)
C--15 to 20 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very cobbly sandy
loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine and medium roots; 60 percent weathering quartz diorite porphyry bedrock; neutral (pH 6.6); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 11 inches)
R--20 inches; weathering quartz diorite porphyry.
TYPE LOCATION: Wasatch County, Utah; 1.8 miles north of Midway, up Dutch Canyon, 2.5 miles to gold mine, 1/2 mile west, 2,160 feet west and 480 feet north of the southeast corner, sec. 11, T. 3 S., R. 4 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The soil is 10 to 20 inches deep over bedrock. The mean annual soil temperature is 43 to 47 degrees F, and the mean summer temperature is about 63 degrees F. The soil is usually moist, but is dry for more than 45 consecutive days in all parts between a depth of 8 inches and the lithic contact in 6 or more years out of 10.
The A horizon has value of 3 to 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist and chroma of 2 or 3. It has weak or moderate fine and medium granular structure. This horizon is neutral or slightly acid.
The C horizon has value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist and chroma of 2 or 3. It is very cobbly sandy loam or very gravelly sandy loam. This horizon is neutral to medium acid.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Agassiz, Alomax (T), Anatone, Bocker, Cedaran, Falula, Foxol, Gando, Grink(T), Little Pole, Nayrib (T), Rexmont and Swanner series. Agassiz soils have greater than 20 percent clay throughout. Alomax soils are not dry for at least 45 consecutive days and have 60 to 80 percent rock fragments in the lower horizon. Anatone, Cedaron and Little Pole soils have cambic horizons that lack sandy loam textures. Bocker and Foxol soils have cambic horizons with 5YR or 7.5YR hue. Bocker and Nayrib soils are less than 10 inches deep. Falula, Gando and Swanner soils have Bk horizons that are mildly alkaline or moderately alkaline. Grink soils are moderately alkaline and calcareous throughout. Rexmont soils are moderately alkaline to strongly alkaline and have mean annual soil temperature of 37 to 41 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Van Wagoner soils are on steep and very steep mountain slopes at elevations of 4,600 to 7,500 feet. Slopes range from 20 to 70 percent. These soils formed in residuum derived from coarse grained igneous parent rocks. The climate is moist subhumid with mean annual temperature of 41 to 45 degrees F, mean annual summer temperature of about 63 degrees F, and average annual precipitation of 18 to 25 inches falling mostly as snow. The freeze-free period ranges from 70 to 90 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Lake Janee and McPhie soils and the competing Agassiz soils. Lake Janee and McPhie soils lack a lithic contact within 20 inches of the surface. McPhie soils have albic and argillic horizons that have less than 35 percent rock fragments. Lake Janee soils lack a mollic epipedon and have a mean summer temperature less than 59 degrees F.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to very rapid runoff; rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for watershed and spring and fall range for livestock and wildlife. The native vegetation is oakbrush, big sagebrush, spiked wheatgrass and in Idaho, mountainmahogany.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mountainous area of northern Utah and southwestern Idaho. This series is inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Heber Valley Area, Utah, 1972.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon -The zone from the surface to 20 inches. (A1, A2
and C horizons)
Lithic feature -Bedrock at 20 inches. (R horizon)
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.