LOCATION CHECKETT UT+NVEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Lithic Xeric Haplargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Checkett very cobbly loam--rangeland. (Colors are for air-dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 5 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very cobbly loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; very thin platy structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; common fine vesicular pores; 3 percent stones, 23 percent cobbles, 20 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 cm thick)
Bk--5 to 15 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) very cobbly clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; few fine and medium roots; few fine tubular pores; common thin clay films as bridges; 3 percent stones, 23 percent cobbles, 20 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, carbonates are in threadlike soft masses; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 18 cm thick)
Bt--15 to 41 cm; brown (7.5YR 5/3) very cobbly clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; common thin clay films; 3 percent stones, 23 percent cobbles, 20 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 38 cm thick)
BC--41 to 48 cm; pinkish gray (7.5YR 7/2) very cobbly loam, brown (7.5YR 5/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and very fine roots; 3 percent stones, 23 percent cobbles, 20 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); abrupt irregular boundary. (0 to 10 cm thick)
R--48 cm; fractured quartzite bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Millard County, Utah; 2 miles south and 1/2 mile east of microwave tower; west slope of ridge about 1,750 feet north and 2,000 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 29, T. 20 S., R. 9 W.; Red Pass USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 02 minutes 37 seconds N. and longitude 112 degrees 53 minutes 8 seconds W.; NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry; moist in winter and spring and for brief periods in late summer due to convection storms (aridic bordering on xeric soil moisture regime).
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 12 degrees C
Mean summer soil temperature: 21 to 22 degrees C
Depth to lithic contact: 36 to 50 cm
Particle-size control section (weighted averages):
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent, mainly cobbles
A horizons:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Reaction: slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline
Bt horizon, BC and Bk horizons (when present):
Hue: 10YR to 5YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: loam, sandy clay loam or clay loam
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent, mainly cobbles
Reaction: slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Atlow (NV),
Boomstick (NV),
Chubard (NV),
Cottle (ID),
Doorkiss (NV),
Fortyday (WA),
Gabbvally (NV),
Hooplite (NV),
Nevo (WA),
Olac (NV),
Old Camp (NV),
Phliss (NV),
Richinde (NV),
Rowel (NV),
Soughe (NV),
Stewval (NV) and
Thike (NV) series.
Atlow, Cottle, Doorkiss, Fortyday, Gabbvally, Olac, Old Camp and Soughe: noncalcareous throughout.
Atlow and Stewval: dominated by gravel.
Boomstick and Phliss: have mainly channers throughout.
Chubard, Gabbvally, Hooplite, Olac, Rowel and Stewval: less than 36 cm to bedrock.
Chubard: contain 15 to 30 percent volcanic glass in the .02 to 2mm fraction.
Nevo: 13 to 25 cm deep to a lithic contact.
Thike: less than 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section.
Richinde: have less than 50 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section and contain 15 to 30 percent volcanic glass in the .02 to 2mm fraction.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: residuum derived from igneous, quartzite and metamorphic rocks
Landform: mountains, hills and ridgetops
Slopes: 2 to 50 percent
Elevation: 1,340 to 2,330 meters
Mean annual temperature: 7 to 11 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation: 200 to 300 mm
Frost-free period: 90 to 140 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Berent, Heist, Hiko Peak, Hiko Springs and Penoyer soils. All these soils do not have a lithic contact within a depth of 100 cm and do not have argillic horizons. Goldrun soils are sandy throughout the particle-size control section. Hiko Peak soils and Hiko Springs soils are gravelly and have calcic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to very high runoff; moderate or moderately slow permeability; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mainly for rangeland by cattle and sheep. The native vegetation is big sagebrush, black sagebrush, Indian ricegrass, galleta, shadscale, horsebrush and squirreltail. These soils are correlated to semidesert ecological sites in Utah.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mountain ranges of western Utah and eastern Nevada. This series is extensive. MLRA 28A and 28B.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Reno, Nevada
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Millard County, (Delta Area Soil Survey), Utah, 1970.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and feature recognized in this pedon are:
Particle-size control section: The zone from 15 to 41 cm (Bt horizon)
Ochric epipedon: The zone from the soil surface to a depth of 15 cm (A and Bk horizons)
Secondary carbonates: In the zone from a depth of 5 to 15 cm (Bk horizon)
Argillic horizon: The zone of clay accumulation from a depth of 15 to 41 cm (Bt horizon)
Lithic contact: The contact with quartzite bedrock at 48 cm. (R horizon)
The assignment of the cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.
Keys to Soil Taxonomy: Tenth Edition, 2006.