LOCATION WIX                     CO+WY

Established Series
Rev. RCS/MBM/KLS
09/2022

WIX SERIES

The Wix series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in material weathered from granite. Wix soils are on hill tops and side slopes and have slopes of 3 to 35 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 460 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 4 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive Ustic Haplocryalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Wix sandy loam - forested. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

Oe--0 to 3 cm; partially decomposed needles and twigs. (0 to 5 cm thick)

A--3 to 16 cm; gray (10YR 5/1) sandy loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; moderate very fine granular structure; soft, very friable; slightly acid (pH 6.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 20 cm thick)

E--16 to 24 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) sandy loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; neutral (pH 6.8) clear smooth boundary. (0 to 15 cm thick)

Bt--24 to 47 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) sandy clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, very sticky and plastic; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; neutral (pH 6.8); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 23 cm thick)

CBt--47 to 60 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) sandy clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few faint clay films on faces of peds; neutral (pH 6.8); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 36 cm thick)

C--60 to 80 cm; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) gravelly sandy loam, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) moist; massive; hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; 20 percent fine pebbles; neutral (pH 7.2); gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 25 cm thick)

Cr--80 to 156 cm; rippable granite grading to lithic bedrock below a depth of more than 100 cm.

TYPE LOCATION: Custer County, Colorado about 380 meters south and 75 meters east of the northwest corner of sec. 15, T. 23 S., R. 71 W.; U.S.G.S. quad Rosita; lat. 38 degrees, 3 minutes, 7 seconds N, long. 105 degrees, 17 minutes, 44 seconds W

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--4 to 7 degrees C
Mean summer soil temperature--7 to 8 degrees C
Depth to paralithic contact--50 to 100 cm
Base saturation--60 to 100 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 15 percent in the A and Bt horizons and from 15 to 35 percent in the C horizon

A horizon
Hue--2.5Y or 10YR
Value--4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma--1 through 3
Reaction--pH 6.1 to 7.8

E horizon
Hue--2.5Y or 10YR
Value--6 through 8 dry, 4 through 7 moist
Chroma--2 through 6
Reaction--pH 6.1 or 7.3

Bt horizon
Hue--2.5Y or 10YR
Value--4 through 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma--2 through 6
Texture--sandy clay loam
Clay content--18 to 35 percent in the fine earth fraction
Silt content--5 to 35 percent
Sand content--40 to 75 percent, with more than 35 percent being fine or coarser sand
Reaction--pH 6.1 or 7.3

C horizon
Hue--2.5Y or 10YR
Texture--sandy loam to clay loam

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Amesmont (WY), Beardall (UT), Bramard (ID), Dunlatop (CO), Hub (WY), Nisula (ID), Rimton (WY), Stringam (ID), Swapps (UT), Telcher (ID), and Ula (CO) series. Bramard, Dunlatop, Hub, Nisula, Stringam, and Telcher soils are deeper than 100 cm to bedrock. Beardall soils have a mixed E and B horizon, a k horizon, and have a lithic contact at a depth of 50 to 100 cm. Rimton soils have a mixed E and B horizon. Ula soils have hue of 5YR or redder in the Bt horizon. Amesmont soils have hues in the Bt of 7.5YR and redder, and have mean summer soil temperatures colder than 8 degrees C. Swapps soils have a lithic contact above 100 cm.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform--hills and mountain sides
Elevations--2375 to 2750 meters
Slope--3 to 35 percent
Parent material--material weathered from granite
Mean annual precipitation--430 to 510 mm
Mean annual air temperature--3 to 6 degrees C
Frost-free period--50 to 75 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: None listed

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderate permeability

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mainly for timber production, wildlife habitat and limited grazing. Vegetation is mainly ponderosa pine, with some Douglas fir and oakbrush with an understory of Arizona fescue, mountain muhly and native bluegrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Wix soils are moderately extensive in southcentral Colorado and southern and western Wyoming; MLRAs 43B and 48A

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Custer County Area, Colorado, 1979

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this soil include:
Modified mollic epipedon--3 to 16 cm (A horizon)
Argillic horizon--24 to 60 cm (Bt and CBt horizons)
Paralithic contact--80 to rippable granite (Cr horizon)
Particle size control section--24 to 60 cm (Bt and CBt horizons)

Converted to metric, updated formatting, and O horizons were updated to start at zero. Competing series section was not updated. 9/2022

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.