LOCATION YOUJAY WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, smectitic, frigid, shallow Typic Natrargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Youjay sandy loam-rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
E--0 to 1 inch; light gray (10YR 7/1) sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive porous crust; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and very fine roots; mildly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (1/2 to 3 inches thick)
Btn--1 to 5 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) heavy clay loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine columnar structure parting to strong fine angular blocky; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few fine and very fine roots; continuous thin clay films on all faces of peds; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
Btnk1--5 to 8 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) heavy clay loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; moderate fine prismatic structure parting to moderate fine angular blocky; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; very few very fine roots; common thin clay films on faces of peds; violently effervescent, many fine seams and soft masses of pedogenetic carbonate; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4); clear smooth boundary.
Btnk2--8 to 14 inches; olive (5Y 5/3) heavy clay loam, olive (5Y 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium angular blocky structure; slightly hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few thin clay films on faces of peds; violently effervescent, many fine and medium soft masses and seams of pedogenetic carbonate; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of Btnk horizon is 3 to 10 inches.)
Cr--14 to 60 inches; soft, calcareous, olive sodic shale.
TYPE LOCATION: Sublette County, Wyoming; center of the SW1/4, NE1/4 of sec. 32, T. 31 N., R. 108 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to bedrock and the paralithic contact ranges from 8 to 20 inches. The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 36 to 47 degrees F., and the mean summer soil temperature ranges from 59 to 62 degrees F. Rock fragments range from 0 to 5 percent throughout the soil and are small channers. Soft shale chips occur in many pedons in the lower horizons but break down upon wetting or pretreatment. EC ranges from 2 to 4 mmhos throughout.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist, and chroma of 1 or 2. Some pedons have lag gravel on the surface. Reaction is mildly through strongly alkaline.
The Btn horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. Texture is heavy clay loam, clay, silty clay, or heavy silty clay loam with 35 to 60 percent clay. Exchangeable sodium ranges from 15 to 30 percent. Reaction is strongly or very strongly alkaline.
The Btnk horizon has hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. Texture is clay, heavy clay loam, silty clay, and heavy silty clay loam with 35 to 60 percent clay. Exchangeable sodium ranges from 15 to 30 percent. Secondary carbonates are common in soft masses and seams and tend to coat the outside of peds in some places. The interior of peds in some pedons lacks secondary carbonate. Reaction is strongly or very strongly alkaline.
A Bk or C horizon is present in some pedons and has the same basic ranges as the Btnk horizon in color and reaction. Total clay may drop off in these horizons with loams or clay loams predominating. Exchangeable sodium ranges from 10 to 25 percent in these horizons.
The Cr horizon consists of olive or olive sodic shale. These shale beds are calcareous and some contain thin lenses of gypsum or salts more soluble than gypsum between shale plates. Siltstone lenses are common in some strata. These beds are 10 to over 100 feet in thickness.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other soil series in this class. Rallod soils are similar but have more organic carbon in the upper 15 inches of the profile and normally occur in areas receiving more moisture.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Youjay soils are on upland parts of hillslopes and ridges and rock-controlled pediments. These soils formed in residuum and colluvial slopewash derived from sodic shale. Slopes are 0 to 60 percent. Elevation is 6,000 to 7,200 feet. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 6 to 9 inches, and the mean annual temperature is 36 to 42 degrees F. The frost-free season is estimated to range from 60 to 90 days depending upon aspect, elevation, and local air drainage but frost can occur in any month.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Debone, Fraddle, Haterton, and Kandaly soils. Debone soils are deep and occur more in depressions and alluvial fill positions. Fraddle soils have less clay and less than 15 percent exchangeable sodium and occur on contiguous nonsodic deposits. Haterton soils do not have pedogenetic natric horizons and contain less than 35 percent clay. They occur in contiguous areas of nonsodic shale. Kandaly soils are psamments and occur as dunes scattered about.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderate to rapid runoff depending upon slope; very slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland and wildlife habitat. Native vegetation consists of thickspike wheatgrass, bottlebrush squirreltail, bud sage, needleleaf sedge, and Gardner saltbush
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Intermountain basins and plains of southwestern Wyoming. The series is of moderate extent but is expected to become extensive when large blocks of public land are mapped.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Fremont County, Wyoming, East Part; 1985.