LOCATION STRYCH UT+AZ NM CO WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Ustic Haplocalcids
TYPICAL PEDON: Strych stony fine sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for air-dry soil unless otherwise stated)
A--0 to 1 inch; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) stony fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak thin platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky, and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine and fine interstitial pores; 10 percent gravel and 5 percent stones on soil surface; slightly calcareous; carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
Bw--1 to 6 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine, few medium interstitial pores; 10 percent gravel; slightly calcareous; carbonates are disseminated; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bk1--6 to 11 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine, fine, and medium tubular pores; 15 percent gravel; 5 percent stones and 5 percent cobbles; moderately calcareous; carbonates are disseminated and as thin coatings on undersides of rock fragments; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 7 inches thick)
Bk2--11 to 25 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very stony loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; very hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine, fine, medium and coarse roots; few very fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel, 15 percent stones, and 5 percent cobbles; strongly calcareous; carbonates are in common fine veins and as coatings on rock fragments; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 16 inches thick)
Bk3--25 to 48 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very stony loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; very hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine, medium, and coarse roots; common very fine tubular pores; 20 percent cobbles; 20 percent stones and 5 percent boulders; strongly calcareous, carbonates are in few fine veins and as coatings on rock fragments; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear smooth boundary. (13 to 25 inches thick)
C--48 to 60 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) stony sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and medium roots; 10 percent stone and 5 percent gravel; strongly calcareous, carbonates are disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Grand County, Utah, about 2 miles northeast of the mouth of Nash Wash Canyon in the Book Cliffs, about 500 feet south and 2,500 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 11, T. 20 S., R. 21 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: soils are dry 50 to 65 percent of the time cumulative when the soil temperature is greater than 41 degrees F. but are not moist for 90 consecutive days when the soil temperature is greater than 47 degrees F. The moist period occurs during the first 4 months following the summer solstice. Ustic aridic moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature is about - 47 to 54 degrees F.
Depth to calcic horizon ranges from - 11 to 39 inches
Particle-size control section contains 35 to 75 percent rock fragments.
Clay content: ranges from 8 to 18 percent.
A horizon
Hue: 5YR to 10YR.
Value: 4 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist,
Chroma: 3 to 6 dry or moist.
Reaction: slightly alkaline, to strongly alkaline.
Bw horizon
Hue: 5YR to 10YR.
Value: 4 to 6 dry or moist
Chroma: 3 to 6 dry or moist.
Texture: fine sandy loam, gravelly fine sandy loam, cobbly fine sandy loam, stony fine sandy loam, very stony loam, and very cobbly fine sandy loam.
Reaction: moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Bk horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 to 8 dry
Chroma: 2 to 8 dry or moist
Texture: very stony loam, very gravelly fine sandy loam, very gravelly sandy loam, very cobbly loam, very cobbly fine sandy loam, cobbly fine sandy loam, very stony fine sandy loam, extremely cobbly fine sandy loam, very cobbly sandy loam, gravelly loam and very stony sandy loam.
Reaction: slightly alkaline to very strongly alkaline
Calcium carbonates equivalents: 8 to 40 percent
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Buffcreek (WY),
Clapper (UT),
Claprych (WY),
Ildefonso (NM),
Placitas (NM),
Raydawn (NM) and
Seis (NM) series.
Buffcreek soils have calcic horizon at 3 to 9 inches.
Clapper soils have 18 to 27 percent clay in the particle-size control section.
Calprych soils have a different moisture pattern moist during
May and late June dry during July August and September.
Ildefonso soils are moist in some part at least 25 percent of the time the soil temperature exceeds 41 degrees F. The driest month is November and contain Bw horizon.
Placitas and Seis soils are less than 40 inches deep to bedrock or paralithic contact.
Raydawn soils overlie shale-derived residuum and have hue 2.5YR in the substratum.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Strych soils are on sloping to moderately steep slopes on fan piedmonts, toeslopes and terraces. These soils formed in mixed alluvium and colluvium from sandstone, shale, and conglomerate. Elevations range from 4,500 to 9,000 feet. Mean annual air temperature is 45 to 53 degrees F. and the average annual precipitation is 8 to 15 inches. The precipitation is distributed evenly throughout the year with a slight bulge in July, August, September, and October. The driest months are April, May and June. The freeze-free period is about 100 to 180 days. At elevations above 7,000 feet Strych soils are mainly on south facing slopes.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Barx and
Shalako soils.
Barx soils have an argillic horizon and lack rock fragments in the particle-size control section.
Shalako soils have bedrock within 20 inches of the surface.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderate to moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for rangeland. The potential vegetation is Utah juniper, Salina wildrye, Indian ricegrass, and needleandthread.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Utah, Northern Arizona, Northwest New Mexico, and Western Colorado and Southwestern Wyoming. The series is of moderate extent. MLRAs 34A, 34B, 35 & 36.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Henry Mountains Area, Utah, 1985.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to 1 inch. (A horizon)
Cambic horizon - the zone from 1 to 6 inches. (Bw horizon)
Calcic horizon - the zone from 6 to 48 inches. (Bk1, Bk2, Bk3 horizons)
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy Ninth Edition, 2003.