LOCATION BEETVILLE IDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Fluventic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Beetville loam, cultivated. (Colors are for air dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 13 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine roots; common very fine and fine pores; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); abrupt wavy boundary. (7 to 19 inches thick)
2C--13 to 33 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; few fine faint reddish brown mottles below depth of 25 inches; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few very fine and fine pores; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (15 to 25 inches thick)
3Ck1--33 to 49 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and very fine roots; many very fine and fine pores; slightly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 20 inches thick)
4Ck2--49 to 60 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) loamy sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; loose, very friable; common fine interstitial pores; slightly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Cassia County, Idaho; 500 feet east and 165 feet south of the NW corner of the NE1/4, sec. 16, T. 16 S., R. 22 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Average annual soil temperature - 49 to 53 degrees F.
Particle-size control section stratified textures - L, SIL, SL, or LS with 0 to 25 percent coarse fragments and 8 to 18 percent clay Effervescence - none to slight below 30 inches
Reaction (pH) - neutral through moderately alkaline
Mottles - distinct or prominent occasionally below 40 inches
A horizon
Hue - 10YR or 2.5Y
Value - 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma - 1 or 2 dry or moist
C horizon
Hue - 10YR or 2.5Y
Value - 5 to 7 dry
Chroma - 2 or 3 dry or moist
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Kodak, Malo, Martini, and Newberg series. Kodak and Martini soils are calcareous in all parts. Malo soils lack mottles in the profile. Newberg soils are medium acid throughout.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Beetville soils are on low terraces and bottomlands, mainly along old stream channels, and have slopes of 0 to 2 percent. They formed in stratified, moderately coarse textured alluvium from mixed rock sources, mainly quartzite and rhyolite. Elevations range from 2,500 to 4,800 feet. Average annual precipitation is 8 to 12 inches. Average annual temperature is 47 to 51 degrees F. Frost-free period is 100 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Babbington, Drax, and Goose Creek soils. These soils have fine-loamy control sections.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; very slow runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Beetville soils are used mainly for irrigated cropland. Beans, corn, potatoes, sugar beets, small grains, hay, and pasture are the principal crops. Native vegetation was mainly willows and basin wildrye. Noncultivated areas now have dominantly big sagebrush, cheatgrass, and basin wildrye vegetation.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Idaho. The soils are inextensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Cassia County, Idaho, 1975.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon:
Mollic epipedon - zone 0 to 13 inches (A horizon)
Stratified irregular decrease of O.M. - lithologic discontinuities at 13, 33, and 46 inches