LOCATION RAGPIE IDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Lithic Ultic Argixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Ragpie very gravelly loam--on a slope of 5 percent under native vegetation at 5,050 feet elevation. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.) When described on September 9, l977, the soil was slightly moist throughout.
A--0 to 3 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine to medium roots; many very fine tubular pores; 35 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones, neutral (pH 6.7); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick
Bt1--3 to 9 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly clay loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine to medium roots; many very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on the faces of peds; 25 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bt2--9 to 16 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few very fine to fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; common distinct clay films on the faces of peds and in pores; 30 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles; slightly effervescent in places; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
R--16 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) fractured welded tuff, dark gray (10YR 4/1) moist; gray (10YR 6/1) lime pendants on the underside of welded tuff, dark gray (10YR 4/1) moist; pendants 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter.
TYPE LOCATION: Twin Falls County, Idaho; about 8 miles east of Hollister, Idaho; in the northeast 1/4, northeast 1/4, southeast 1/4, section 25, T. 12 S., R. 17 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the bedrock - 10 to 20 inches
Average clay content in control section - 26 to 34 percent
Mollic Epipedon thickness - 8 to 13 inches
Base saturation average - 65 to 75 percent
Average coarse fragments in control section - 35 to 45 percent Average annual soil temperature - 47 to 50 degrees F.
A horizon
Chroma - 2 or 3 dry or moist
Bt horizon
Value - 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma - 2 or 3 dry or moist
Structure - subangular blocky or angular blocky
Texture - GRV-CL, GR-L, GRV-L, orGR-CL
Gravel - 25 to 40 percent
Cobbles - 5 to 10 percent
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Lacy and Riggins series. Lacy soils have 50 to 80 percent coarse fragments in the Bt horizon, and are slightly acid through strongly acid. Riggins soils have a frost free season of 110 to 140 days, an average annual precipitation of 16 to 22 inches, and lack lime coatings at the contact between the argillic horizon and the bedrock.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ragpie soils are on ridges and dipslopes. The slope ranges from 2 to 20 percent. The soils formed in residuum from welded tuff. Elevations are 5,000 to 5,700 feet. The average annual precipitation ranges from 14 to 16 inches. The average annual temperature is 45 to 48 degrees F. The frost free season is 100 to 110 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Flatron, Nawt, and Stricker soils. Flatron soils occur on the same landscape, and are clayey-skeletal. Nawt and Stricker soils occur on breaks. Nawt soils are deep, and fine textured. Stricker soils are very deep.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, medium runoff;
moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Ragpie soils are used for rangeland. Native vegetation is bluebunch wheatgrass, Sandberg bluegrass, and Wyoming big sagebrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Ragpie soils are of small extent in south central Idaho.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Reno, Nevada
SERIES PROPOSED: Twin Falls County, Idaho, 1983. The name is coined.
REMARKS: Base saturation: 0-3 inches - 60 percent; 3-9 inches - 66 percent; 9-16 inches - 73 percent.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipeon - 0 to 9 inches (A and Bt1 horizon)
Argillic horizon - 3 to 16 inches (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)
Ultic feature - 0 to 16 inches (A, Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)
Lithic contact - 16 inches (R horizon)
The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Reno MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.