LOCATION WYE UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, mesic Typic Calcixerepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Wye gravelly loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 4 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) very gravelly loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moist; moderate very fine granular structure; soft, friable, sticky and plastic; few medium and fine and common very fine roots; common fine and many very fine interstitial pores; 10 percent cobbles and 25 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
A2--4 to 12 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) gravelly clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure that parts to moderate very fine subangular blocky; slightly hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few medium and common fine and very fine roots; few medium and coarse, common fine and many very fine tubular pores; 5 percent cobbles and 15 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4) clear wavy boundary (6 to 13 inches thick)
Bk1--12 to 20 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) very gravelly silty clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure that parts to moderate very fine subangular blocky; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few medium, fine and very fine roots; few medium and coarse and common fine and very fine tubular pores; 5 percent cobbles and 35 percent gravel; violently effervescent, carbonates are disseminated and coating ped faces and rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 13 inches thick)
Bk2--20 to 34 inches; reddish yellow (5YR 6/6) very gravelly clay loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/8) moist; moderate medium and fine subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few fine and very fine roots: few medium and coarse and common fine and very fine pores; 5 percent cobbles and 30 percent gravel; violently effervescent, carbonates are disseminated and coating ped faces and rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual smooth boundary. (9 to 14 inches thick)
Bk3--34 to 42 inches, reddish yellow (5YR 6/4) very gravelly clay loam, yellowish red (5YR 5/7) moist; moderate medium and fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few fine and common very fine tubular pores; 35 percent gravel; violently effervescent, carbonates are disseminated and coating ped faces and rock fragments; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 15 inches thick)
Ck--42 to 54 inches; pink (5YR 7/4) very gravelly loam, reddish yellow (5YR 6/6) moist; massive; very hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few fine and common very fine tubular pores; 35 percent gravel; violently effervescent, carbonates are disseminated and coating ped faces and rock fragments; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); gradual irregular boundary.
R--54 inches; limestone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Iron County, Utah; about 3 miles southeast of the summit of Iron Mountain; 580 feet west and 2,600 feet north of the southeast corner of section 32, T.36S., R.13W.
RANGE OF CHARACTERISTICS: The soil moisture regime is xeric bordering on aridic. The mean annual soil temperature of depth of 20 inches ranges from 47 to 50 F., and the mean summer soil temperature ranges from 65 to 70 F.
Depth to bedrock ranges from 40 inches to more than 60 inches. The organic matter content decreases regularly with increasing depth and is 0.2 percent or less above the bedrock. The 10 to 40 inch series control section averages 35 to 50 percent rock fragments and 27 to 35 percent clay. These soils are moderately or strongly alkaline and average more than 40 percent calcium carbonate equivalent in the whole soil smaller than 20 millimeter in diameter.
The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6 dry, chroma 3 or 4. It ranges from gravelly loam or clay loam to very gravelly loam. Rock fragments range from 15 to 65 percent gravel and cobbles. This horizon is strongly effervescent.
The C horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value is 5 through 8 dry, 3 through 6 moist and chroma is 3 through 8. This horizon ranges from gravelly silty clay loam, gravelly clay loam or gravelly loam to gravelly sandy clay loam, very gravelly clay loam, very gravelly silty clay loam, loam or clay loam and has 5 to 55 percent rock fragments.
COMPETING SERIES: This is is the Phage (UT) series. Phage soils contain more than 50 percent rock fragments and less than 27 percent clay in the particle size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Wye soils are at elevations of 6,000 to 6,700 feet. They occur on all aspects of low mountain slopes and formed in residuum from limestone. Slopes range from 15 to 40 percent. The climate is dry subhumid. Average annual precipitation is 14 to 16 inches. Mean annual temperature is 45 to 48 F. and the mean summer temperature is 65 to 70 F. The frost-free period is 90 to 110 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Ashdown, Hiko Peak, Ironco, Motoqua, and Tolman soils. All of these soils have less than 40 percent carbonate in the series control section. Ashdown soils have 0 to 15 percent rock fragments. Ironco soils have gravelly clay loam argillic horizons. Motoqua and Tolman soils are 15 to 20 inches deep over bedrock and have argillic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, medium runoff, moderately slow and slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used from rangeland and wildlife habitat. Present native vegetation is pinyon pine, juniper, serviceberry, birchleaf mountain mahogany, Gambel oak, owl clover and tall native bluegrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Utah. MLRA 28A. These soils are inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Iron-Washington Area Soil Survey, Iron County, Utah 1997.
REMARKS: The diagnostic horizons and features that are recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to 12 inches.
Calcic horizon - the zone of calcium carbonate accumulation from 12 to 54 inches.
The classification is based on the "Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Eighth Edition, 1998".