LOCATION VICKEL                  UT

Established Series
Rev. LDS/CSW/JWB
04/2011

VICKEL SERIES

The Vickel series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in slope alluvium and colluvium over residuum derived from calcareous shale and sandstone. Vickel soils are on shale hills and dissected pediments. Slopes range from 2 to 50 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 18 cm and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Haplocambids

TYPICAL PEDON: Vickel gravelly loam, on an east-southeast facing, convex, 4 percent slope in rangeland at an elevation of 1,700 meters. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) When described on October 23, 1992 the soil was dry. The surface is covered by about 1 percent cobbles and 15 percent gravel.

A--0 to 12 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium and fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few coarse and medium and common fine and very fine roots; common very fine interstitial pores; 1 percent cobbles, 15 percent gravel; slightly effervescent, carbonates are finely disseminated (7 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 18 cm thick)

Bk1--12 to 34 cm; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few coarse and medium and common fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular pores; 1 percent cobbles, 12 percent gravel; strongly effervescent (9 percent calcium carbonate equivalent), carbonates are finely disseminated, few very thin carbonate coats on bottom surfaces of rock fragments; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); clear wavy boundary. (9 to 25 cm thick)

Bk2--34 to 53 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay loam, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; few medium and common fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular pores; 10 percent gravel; strongly effervescent (10 percent calcium carbonate equivalent), carbonates are finely disseminated, few very thin carbonate coats on bottom of rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 25 cm thick)

BC--53 to 88 cm; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; few medium and common fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular pores; 2 percent paragravel; strongly effervescent (8 percent calcium carbonate equivalent), carbonates are finely disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 65 cm thick)

BCy--88 to 99 cm; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) parachannery clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak thin platy structure; hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular pores; few gypsum crystals and threadlike gypsum masses; 15 percent parachanners, 5 percent angular gravel; slightly effervescent (6 percent calcium carbonate equivalent), carbonates are finely disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 25 cm thick)

Cr--99 to 124 cm; weathered shale.

TYPE LOCATION: Emery County, Utah; about 5 miles east of Elmo near the Victor cemetery; located about 600 feet north and 2,100 feet west of the SE corner of sec. 36, T. 16 S., R. 10 E.; Olsen Reservoir USGS quad; lat. 39 degrees 23 minutes 1 seconds N. and long. 110 degrees 44 minutes 49 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Soil moisture control section is usually dry, but intermittently moist during late summer and early fall; aridic moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8.3 to 12.8 degrees C
Depth to paralithic contact: 51 to 102 cm to weathered calcareous shale interbedded with sandstone
Depth to cambic horizon: 5 to 18 cm
Depth to gypsum accumulations: 26 to 88 cm. These may be geogenic or pedogenic. They contain less than 5 percent gypsum.
Thickness of cambic horizon: 15 to 51 cm
Thickness of gypsum accumulations: 11 to 34 cm

Particle-size control section (weighted averages):
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Fine sand and coarser sand content: 15 to 45 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent sedimentary gravel and cobbles and 0 to 35 percent shale parafragments

A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4 dry or moist
Texture: loam, fine sandy loam, very cobbly loam, gravelly loam
Clay content: 10 to 27 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 60 percent total; 0 to 5 percent boulders and/or stones, 0 to 35 percent cobbles, 0 to 15 percent channers, 0 to 35 percent gravel.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 15 percent
EC (mmhos/cm): 0 to 4
Gypsum: 0 to 5 percent
SAR: 0 to 5
Reaction: moderately or strongly alkaline

Bk horizons (Bw horizons are present in some pedons):
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4 dry or moist
Texture: loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent total; 0 to 5 percent cobbles, 0 to 15 percent channers, 0 to 15 percent gravel
Pararock fragments: 0 to 15 percent parachanners
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 15 percent
EC (mmhos/cm): 0 to 4
Gypsum: 0 to 5 percent
SAR: 0 to 10
Reaction: moderately or strongly alkaline

BC horizons:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y
Value: 6 to 8 dry, 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3 dry or moist
Texture: silty clay loam, loam, clay loam
Clay content: 25 to 38 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent total; 0 to 5 percent cobbles, 0 to 10 percent channers, 0 to 15 percent gravel
Pararock fragments: 0 to 10 percent parachanners
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 4 to 15 percent
EC (mmhos/cm): 0 to 4
Gypsum: 0 to 5 percent
SAR: 0 to 5
Reaction: moderately or strongly alkaline

C or Cy horizons:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y
Value: 6 to 8 dry, 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3 dry or moist
Texture: parachannery loam, loam, parachannery clay loam, clay loam, channery loam, very parachannery clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 40 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 60 percent total; 0 to 30 percent channers, 0 to 15 percent gravel
Pararock fragments: 0 to 60 percent parachanners, 0 to 15 percent paragravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 4 to 15 percent
EC (mmhos/cm): 2 to 8
Gypsum: 0 to 8 percent
SAR: 0 to 12
Reaction: slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Camac series. The Camac series has mean annual soil temperature of 12 to 14 degrees C. and are formed in alluvium derived from quartzite over siltstone and shale residuum.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: These soils formed in slope alluvium and colluvium derived from calcareous sandstone and shale over residuum weathered from calcareous shale and interbedded sandstone.
Landform: shale hills and dissected pediments
Slopes: 2 to 50 percent
Elevation: 1,219 to 1,951 meters
Mean annual temperature: 7.2 to 11.7 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation: 15 to 23 cm
Precipitation pattern: Wettest months are July to October and driest months are December and June.
Frost-free period: 120 to 160 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Casmos, Chipeta, Persayo, Ravola, Sagers and Utaline series. The Casmos soils have a lithic contact with sandstone at less than 50 cm and occur on caps of shale hills and on dissected structural benches under black sagebrush. The Chipeta and Persayo soils are shallow to weathered bedrock on adjacent hillslopes. Ravola soils are very deep, stratified, and occur on alluvial flats or terraces downslope of the Vickel soils. Sagers and Utaline soils are very deep and are on toeslopes of shale hills and fan remnants.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to very high runoff; moderately slow permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Irrigated and cultivated areas are used for grain, alfalfa hay, and irrigated pasture. Other areas are used for rangeland. Potential vegetation is shadscale, Indian ricegrass, greasewood, galleta, and Gardner's saltbush.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Utah; LRR D, MLRA 34B; moderate extent; about 15,600 hectares (38,700 acres) in Emery County, Utah.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Emery County, Utah, Emery Area, Utah, 2011, Parts of Emery, Carbon, Grand and Sevier Counties soil survey area. The name Vickel is coined.

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Series control section: The zone from 0 to 124 cm.
Particle-size control section: The zone from 25 to 99 cm. (Bk, BC and Cy horizons)
Ochric epipedon: The zone from 0 to 12 cm. (A horizon)
Cambic horizon: The zone from 12 to 53 cm. (Bk1 and Bk2 horizons)
Paralithic contact: The contact with weathered shale at 99 cm. (Cr horizon)
Other features: Some pedons have salt accumulations below a depth of 56 cm that are up to 8 cm thick.

The assignment of the cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.

Taxonomic Version: Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Eleventh Edition, 2010.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.