LOCATION WHEELERVILLE IDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, calcareous, frigid Xeric Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Wheelerville silt loam, native grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A11--0 to 5 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium platy parting to weak fine granular structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and common medium and coarse roots; common fine and very fine interstitial pores; moderately calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick)
A12--5 to 8 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and few medium and coarse roots; common very fine tubular pores; moderately calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
C1ca--8 to 35 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; moderate medium and fine angular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine roots; few very fine discontinuous random tubular pores; many lime coated krotovinas; moderately calcareous, moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt irregular boundary. (15 to 30 inches thick)
C2--35 to 44 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) silt loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and few medium and coarse roots; common fine and very fine interstitial pores; moderately calcareous; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); gradual wavy boundary. (7 to 10 inches thick)
C3--44 to 63 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) silt loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and few coarse roots; common very fine tubular pores; moderately calcareous; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8).
TYPE LOCATION: Power County, Idaho; 280 feet and 80 feet south of the northeast corner of section 36, T.10S., R.33E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 43 to 47 degrees F. The soils are usually moist, but are dry for 60 to 90 consecutive days in late summer. No bedrock or contrasting layer is above depth of 40 inches. The 10 to 40 inch control section is silt or silt loam and contains much coarse silt, 12 to 18 percent clay, and less than 15 percent particles coarser than very fine sand. The sola are 5 to 11 inches thick. The entire soil is moderately calcareous with no or only minor distribution of the carbonates except on exterior surfaces of nodules. The uppr part of the soils range from mildly to moderately alkaline, and the lower part ranges from moderately to strongly alkaline.
The Ap horizon, or upper 7 inches when mixed, has value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. It has 0.2 to 1.2 percent organic matter. In most pedons, the A horizon is moderately calcareous, but in some undisturbed pedons the upper few inches are slightly calcareous.
The C1 horizon has value of 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. It has more than 20 percent hard or very hard rounded nodules of soil material or krotovinas.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Gallagher, Pocatello, Potell, and Wheeler series. Gallagher soils lack krotovinas. Pocatello and Wheeler soils have mean annual soil temperature warmer than 47 degrees F. Potell soils have less than 20 percent krotovinas and are strongly calcareous below depths of 8 to 20 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The soils are on hills and terraces at elevations of 5,000 to 6,500 feet. Slopes range from 4 to 75 percent and usually have southerly exposures. The soils formed in loess. The climate is semiarid with dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 11 to 13 inches and the average annual temperature is about 41 to 45 degrees F. The frost free season is 80 to 100 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Kucera, Lanoak and Newdale soils. All have mollic epipedons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to rapid runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mostly for dryland wheat and barley and for rangeland. Some areas are irrigated and used for wheat, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, and alfalfa. The principal native plants are big sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, cheatgrass, and Sandberg bluegrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The series is moderately extensive in southeastern Idaho.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Power County, Idaho, 1976.
REMARKS: This series was previously classified as Haploduridic Xeric subgroup. Series needs review for amount of durinodes. There is also a question as to whether a calcic horizon exists.