LOCATION WORMSER CO+MT WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Aridic Argiustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Wormser fine sandy loam-grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 5 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) fine sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
B21t--5 to 10 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; hard, very firm; common moderately thick clay films on faces of peds; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
B22t--10 to 15 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) clay loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine subangular blocky; very hard, very firm; thin clay films on faces of peds; slight effervescence; mildly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
B3ca--15 to 19 inches, pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine subangular blocky; hard, firm; disseminated lime throughout horizon; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary.
Clca--19 to 24 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) sandy clay loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable; lime disseminated throughout horizon; violent effervescence; strongly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
C2ca--24 to 38 inches, very pale brown (10YR 7/4) sandy loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable; lime disseminated throughout horizon; violent effervescence; strongly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary.
R--38 inches; indurated limy sandstone.
TYpe LOCATION: Weld County, Colorado; 2,400 feet west and 2,200 ft. north of the southeast corner of Sec. 19, T. 12 N., R. 59 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature is 47 to 54 degrees F. The mollic epipedon ranges from 7 to 12 inches thick and the solum ranges from 12 to 24 inches thick. The noncalcareous part of the solum is 10 to 20 inches thick. Depth to bedrock is 20 to 40 inches.
The A horizon has hue of 2.5Y through 7.5YR, value of 3 through 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is neutral or mildly alkaline.
The B2t horizon has hue of 2.5Y through 7.5YR, value of 4 through 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. It is 35 to 40 percent clay, and has 15 to 25 percent more clay than the Al horizon. This horizon has weak or moderate fine or medium subangular blocky structure. It is neutral or mildly alkaline.
The Cca horizon has hue of 2.5Y through 7.5YR. It has lime disseminated throughout with many soft nodular segregations of lime. Fractured lense-like strata of angular fragments of limy sandstone are common in this horizon. It is moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Blackpipe, Boneek, Chapin, Collbran, Emigrant, Huggins, Kube, Loma, Nunn, Querc, Rednun, Richfield, Ryus, Savo, Sofia, Thunderbird, and Torreon series. Blackpipe, Huggins, Loma, Richfield, and Savo soils lack bedrock above a depth of 40 inches. Boneek, Collbran, Kube, Nunn, Rednun, Ryus, Sofia and Torreon soils lack a lithic contact above a depth of 40 inches. Emigrant and Querc soils have a paraiithic rather than lithic contact. Chapin soils have hue in the Bt horizon redder than 7.5YR. Thunderbird soils have a component of pyroclastic materials and lack a Cca horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: These soils are on dissected high plains. Slope gradients range from 0 to 9 percent. The soils formed in calcareous loamy residuum weathered from sandstone. The average annual temperature at the type location is about 49 degrees F. The average annual precipitation is about 15 inches with a range of 12 to 16 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Ascalon, Nucla, and Platner soils. Ascalon and Nucla soils have a fine loamy particle-size control section. Platner soils have an abrupt textural change between the A and Bt horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow or medium runoff; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used primarily for rangeland. Native range consists of bluegrama, western wheatgrass, sedges, and buffalo grass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Wormser series is moderately extensive in northeastern Colorado and in Wyoming.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Southern Johnson County Area, Wyoming, 1971.
REMARKS: This draft documents the change in type location from Montana to Colorado. OSED scanned by NSSQA and cleaned up by Colorado. Last revised by state 2/80.