Gypsic Soils on the

Kane Alluvial Fans,

Big Horn County, Wyoming

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1590-C

Gypsic Soils on the

Kane Alluvial Fans,

Big Horn County, Wyoming

By MARITH C. REHEIS

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1590-C

SOIL CHRONOSEQUENCES IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

DONALD PAUL MODEL, Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Dallas L. Peck, Director

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1987

For sale by the

Books and Open-File Reports Section

U.S. Geological Survey

Federal Center, Box 25425

Denver, CO 80225

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Reheis, Marith C.

Gypsic soils on the Kane alluvial fans, Big Horn County,

Wyoming.

(Soil chronosequences in the western United States)

(U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1590-C)

Bibliography

Supt. of Docs. No.: I 19.3:1590-C

1. Soils Wyoming Big Horn County Gypsum content.

2. Soils Gypsum content. 3. Soil formation Wyoming 

Big Horn County. 4. Soil chronosequences Wyoming 

Big Horn County. 5. Geology Wyoming Big Horn 

County. I. Title. II. Title: Kane alluvial fans, Big Horn 

County, Wyoming. III. Series. IV. Series: U.S. Geological 

Survey Bulletin 1590-C.

QE75.B9 No. 1590-C 557.3 86-600172 

[S599.W8] [631.4778733]
FOREWORD

This series of reports, "Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States," attempts to 

integrate studies of different earth-science disciplines, including pedology, geomorphology, 

stratigraphy, and Quaternary geology in general. Each discipline provides information important 

to the others. From geomorphic relations we can determine the relative ages of deposits and soils; 

from stratigraphy we can place age constraints on the soils. Field investigations and mineralogic 

and sedimentologic studies provide information on the nature and types of deposits in which soils 

form. As a result of our work, we have estimated rates of soil formation, inferred processes of 

soil formation from trends in soil development with increasing age, and obtained information on 

the types of weathering that occur in various areas. In return, soil development and soil genesis 

have provided data on the age of landforms, the timing and duration of sedimentation, and, in some 

cases, the history of climatic fluctuations.

Between 1978 and 1983, a coordinated and systematic study was conducted on soil development in different types of geologic deposits in the Western United States. The goals of this 

project, led by the late D.E. Marchand and subsequently by M.N. Machette, were to learn whether 

rates of chemical, physical, and mineralogic transformations could be determined from soil 

Chronosequences; how these rates vary in different mineralogic and climatic environments; and 

how accurately soils can be used for such problems as estimating the ages of deposits, periods of 

landscape stability, and timing of fault movements. This series of reports presents data from 

several soil Chronosequences of that project.

More than 100 analyses on more than 1,000 samples were performed on soils collected in the 

Western United States. Some results have appeared in various books, journals, and maps (for 

example, Harden and Marchand, 1977, 1980; Burke and Birkeland, 1979; Dethier and Bethel, 1981; 

Marchand and Allwardt, 1981; Meixner and Singer, 1981; Busacca, 1982; Harden, 1982a, b; Harden 

and Taylor, 1983; Machette, 1983; Machette and Steven, 1983; Busacca and others, 1984; Machette 

and others, 1984; Reheis, 1984). In the reports in this series, the basic field information, geologic 

background, and analytical data are presented for each chronosequence, as well as some results 

additional to the previous publications.

One of the most significant aspects of these chronosequence studies is that in every study 

area, many soil parameters change systematically over time, or with the age of deposits. As 

Deming (1943) emphasized, it is this recurrence of correlation in such different conditions that is 

most significant to geologic and pedologic studies. In relatively moist areas, such as coastal and 

central California, such soil properties as percent clay or reddening of soil colors change most 

systematically over time. In more arid regions, such as in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming, calcium 

carbonate and gypsum contents best reflect the relative ages of the deposits. A few parameters 

for example, elemental composition of sands or clays appear to be comparable between areas so 

diverse in climatic setting.

Numeric age control has enabled us to estimate rates of soil development. In some places, 

we have been able to compare rates between different areas. For example, in central California, 

rates of clay accumulation were found to be most rapid during the initial stages of soil development; these rates declined with increasing age. The straightest lines for regression were on a loglog scale. In coastal California, rates of clay accumulation appeared to be much higher than in 

central California. This difference in rates could be due to parent material (the coastal soils that 

we studied were formed on reworked shale and sandstone, whereas central California soils were 

developed in granitic alluvium), and (or) the differences In rates could be due to eolian additions of 

clay. In the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming, rates of clay accumulation, as well as most other soil 

properties, increased linearly over time, with no apparent decrease in initial rates.

The data we present here suggest many opportunities for further interpretation. For example, we may learn how climate, vegetation, and mineralogy affect the rates of clay formation or 

organic-matter accumulation. In some study areas, we present data for rare-earth elements, 

which could be used to examine how each element reacts in different weathering environments. 

These examples are only a fraction of the possible future studies that could be conducted on the 

data presented here.

J.W. Harden 

Editor

m

CONTENTS

Foreword in 

Abstract Cl 

Introduction 1

Acknowledgments 1 

Geomorphic and climatic setting 2

Geomorphic setting

Modern climate and vegetation 2

Paleoclimate 3 

Geologic setting and chronology 4

Previous work 4

Source of deposits 4

Parent material nature and variability 5

Stratigraphic units 7

Geochronology 8 

Soil development in the chronosequence 10

Profile indices 10

Calcium carbonate and gypsum 13

Effects of gypsum on other soil properties 15 

Depression of CaCOg solubility 15 

Effects on other soil-forming processes 16

Possible climatic implications 17 

Summary 18 

References cited 19 

Field methods and calculations 21

Sampling and description 21

Index of soil development 22

Dust traps 22

Water movement 22

Depression of CaCOg solubility by gypsum 22

Supplementary tables 23

FIGURES

1. Location of study area in the northern Bighorn Basin C2

2. Generalized map of the Kane alluvial fan gravels 3

3. Modern and last-glacial climate and soil-water balance 4

4. Schematic cross section showing relationships of Quaternary deposits 7

5. Graph estimating fan surface ages from incision rates 9

6. Typical appearance in soil profiles of gypsum stages 11

7. Values of pH, total-texture, and rubification 12

8. Regression of total-texture with soil age 12

9. Regression of rubification with soil age 12

10. Regression of pH with soil age 13

11. Regression of profile index with soil age 13

12. Regression of profile weights of pedogenic gypsum with soil age 15

13. Average yearly water movement and relationship to gypsic and calcic horizons 16

TABLES

1. Climatic data for Lovell, Wyoming C4

2. Field description of Kane fan deposits 6

3. Parent material variability within and among soils 7

4. Stratigraphic units and ages 8

5. Data from dust traps 14

6. Estimated depth to saturation of leaching water with gypsum 17
SUPPLEMENTARY TABLES

1. Sample locations and field descriptions C24

2. Physical properties 28

3. Extractive chemical analysis 30

4. Clay mineralogy by X-ray diffraction 31

5. Total chemical analysis of the fine fraction by induction-coupled plasma spectroscopy 32

6. Total chemical analysis of the less-than-2-mm fraction by induction-coupled plasma spectroscopy 34

7. Horizon weights 36

VI
SOIL CHRONOSEQUENCES IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Cypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, 

Big Horn County, Wyoming

By Marith C. Reheis

ABSTRACT

Soils on the Kane alluvial fans, in the 

northeastern Bighorn Basin near Lovell, Wyo., 

accumulate gypsum (CaSO^'ZH^O) over time. This 

gypsum is added chiefly as eolian dust derived from 

both local and long-range sources. The arid but cool 

climate has permitted gypsum to accumulate 

continuously for the past 600 ka (thousands of years). 

The linear increase in pedogenic gypsum with time 

suggests that effective moisture in the Kane area has 

never increased substantially in the past 600 ka. The 

dates when the fan surfaces stabilized and, thus, the 

times when the soils began to form are estimated by 

various dating methods, including tephrochronology, 

paleontology, and stream-incision rates.

The gypsum content influences the development 

of other soil properties. At the Kane fans, pedogenic 

or secondary gypsum has accumulated at annual rates 

of 1.1 X 10~6 to 120 X 10~6 g/cm2 ; modern aerosolic 

gypsum measured m dust traps is being added at annual 

rates of 26 X 10~6 to 60 X 10~6 g/cm2 . Secondary 

calcium carbonate (CaCO-j) does not increase in soils 

older than 100 ka, despite the availability of CaCO-j in 

eolian dust and in the parent material, probably 

because gypsum suppresses the solubility of CaCO-,. 

Total texture (a measure of pedogenic silt and clay) 

and pH increase over time in soils younger than 300 ka, 

but decrease or show irregular trends in older soils 

because of large accumulations of pedogenic gypsum. 

In contrast to soils in most environments, rubification 

(reddening and brightening of soil colors) in the study 

area increases with depth. Gypsum also causes 

physical disintegration of gravel clasts in the soils by 

crystallizing in cracks and along grain boundaries.

Depth to gypsum in soils on the Kane fans is 

controlled by climate, soil age, and the hygroscopic 

properties of gypsum. The youngest soil containing 

visible gypsum and those soils older than 100 ka have 

their maximum gypsum accumulations at the average 

depth (2.6 cm) to which the modern precipitation 

moistens the soil. The 100-ka-old soils have their 

maximum gypsum accumulations at a greater depth 

(more than 5.5 cm). This disparity between gypsum 

depths probably reflects both differences in climate 

and the near-surface accumulation of gypsum during 

interglacial periods. Buildup of pedogenic gypsum at 

shallower depth during interglacials may have hindered 

subsequent leaching and reprecipitation of gypsum at 

greater depth during glacial periods of increased soil 

moisture, because the gypsum can hygroscopically hold 

the increased moisture. Thus, the near-surface 

accumulations of gypsum in soils older than 100 ka 

mainly reflect interglacial wetting depths.

INTRODUCTION

Studies of soils formed on the Kane alluvial 

fans1 , on the northeastern margin of the Bighorn 

Basin, yield valuable information on the processes and 

rates of soil development in a cool, arid climate. This 

study assesses the effects of time on soil development 

in a chronologic sequence of soils. To ascribe the 

characteristics of soils to their ages, it is necessary to 

demonstrate conclusively that the other four 

important soil-forming factors parent material, 

topography, vegetation, and modern climate, as 

defined by Jenny (1941) are constant or have little 

effect on these characteristics.

Many studies of aridic soils in the southwestern 

United States (for example, Gile and others, 1966; 

Gardner, 1972; Bachman and Machette, 1977; Shlemon, 

1978; Machette, 1985) have demonstrated that the 

dominant pedogenic process in that region is the 

accumulation of calcium carbonate (CaCOo), most of 

which is derived from dust and rainfall, m contrast, 

gypsum (CaSO,*2H2 O) accumulates in soils in the arid 

environment of the Kane fans, and secondary CaCO3 is 

negligible. Accumulation of soluble salts 

characterizes hot desert soils (Watson, 1979) and polar 

desert soils (Bockheim, 1980a), but gypsic soils have 

been little studied in the United States (Nettleton and 

others, 1982). There are few studies of soils in arid 

parts of the intermontane basins of the northern Rocky 

Mountains (for example, Reider and others, 1974, in 

the Laramie Basin, Wyo.). Information on the soils 

formed on the Kane fan may help to link soil-forming 

processes in warm deserts and polar deserts.

Interpretations in this paper rely chiefly on field 

data and gypsum analyses. Some particle-size and 

chemical data are used to discuss the parent 

material. Reheis (1984) discussed other laboratory 

data, including particle size and chemical and 

mineralogic analyses.

Acknowledgments. My greatest appreciation 

goes to P. W. Birkeland, who critically read most of 

this manuscript, for discussion and thoughtful 

evaluation of many ideas. K. L. Pierce, D. W. Moore, 

and L. D. McFadden also contributed valuable 

perspectives. The late D. E. Marchand coerced me 

into studying gypsic soils. Able field assistance was 

provided by Kim Jones.

*The Kane alluvial fans are informally named for 

an abandoned railway station across the Bighorn River, 

which also gives its name to the Kane, Wyo., 7 1/2- 

minute quadrangle within which the fans lie.

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming Cl
GEOMORPHIC AND CLIMATIC SETTING

Geomorphic Setting

The Kane fans are alluvial fan deposits of 

Cottonwood Creek, an ephemeral stream draining a 

45-km2 catchment basin on the west front of the 

Bighorn Mountains. The fans are sandwiched between 

the mountain front and the confluence of the Bighorn 

and Shoshone Rivers (figs. 1, 2). Lovell, the nearest 

town, is situated on the Shoshone River about 20 km 

upstream from the fans.

The relation of fan deposition to fluvial-terrace 

deposition in the study area must be understood in 

order to constrain the ages of the fan surfaces. Only 

two dates have been obtained from materials within 

the fan deposits. However, the fan and underlying 

Bighorn River deposits are related to regional glacialinterglacial climatic fluctuations that provide a 

chronologic framework for these deposits. The 

gradient and depositional regime of the unglaciated 

Cottonwood Creek has been controlled by the positions 

of the Bighorn and Shoshone Rivers. The Bighorn 

River is the master stream in the Bighorn basin. It 

drains the glaciated Wind River Range southwest of 

the study area, and is fed by streams draining the west 

flank of the Bighorn Mountains and glaciated areas of 

the Absaroka Range. The Shoshone River heads in the 

Absaroka Mountains to the west (fig. 1).

The formation of the Shoshone River terraces 

has long been argued. Mackin (1937) believed that the 

terraces were formed by lateral planation of the 

Shoshone River and were not of glaciofluvial origin. 

On the Shoshone River, John Moss (Moss and Bonini, 

1961; Moss and Whitney, 1971; Moss, 1974) later 

demonstrated that deposits of the lowest major 

terrace (Cody terrace of Mackin, 1937), and possibly 

the next higher terrace (Powell terrace of Mackin, 

1937), can be traced upvalley into moraines and 

constitute fill terraces near the front of the Absaroka 

Range. Downstream, these are strath terraces 

comprised of about 5 m of gravel overlying bedrock 

surfaces. Moss (1974) believed that the spreading of 

gravel into the basin, whether deposited as fill or as 

strath terraces, accompanied or slightly postdated a 

maximum glacial advance in the Absaroka Range, and 

that subsequent incision was associated with 

deglaciation and interglacial conditions. Palmquist 

(1983) suggested, however, that incision episodes of 

the Bighorn River are out of phase with episodes on its 

tributaries; for example, the Bighorn may incise 

during glaciations even as the Shoshone River 

aggrades. Some terraces may have formed by 

capture. Recently, Ritter and Kaufman (1983) 

demonstrated that the Powell terrace as previously 

mapped below the town of Powell is younger than the 

Powell terrace above the town, and was formed by 

capture.

The regime of the Bighorn River is probably 

controlled by climate. Near the headwaters area of 

the Bighorn (Wind) River, an outwash terrace sequence 

suggests eight major glacial advances (Richmond, 

1976).

110° 109° 108° 107°

m $/ Powe» \ vlk

Figure 1. Location of study area in the northern 

Bighorn Basin (modified from Mackin, 1937).

Modern Climate and Vegetation

Climate is one of the most important factors 

that govern soil development. Weather data from 

Lovell, Wyo. (National Climatic Center, 1976), and 

data from soil temperature probes planted at the study 

site, represent the present climatic regime near the 

Kane fans (table 1). Although the fans are about 20 

km from Lovell, the climate of the study area is 

probably similar to that of Lovell because the 

vegetation is similar. At the Kane fans, sagebrush, 

pricklypear cactus, and bunchgrass are the dominant 

species. Scrub juniper occurs on the mountain 

footslopes above the fans, and cottonwoods grow along 

the Bighorn and Shoshone Rivers.

Judging from the vegetation, all soil sites have 

about the same climate. Rainfall generally increases 

with elevation (orographic effect), but the distribution 

of deposits and limited land access did not permit all 

sample sites to be at the same elevation. Soil sites on 

the younger fans (fig. 2) are lower and farther from 

the mountain front, and these sites, therefore, may be 

slightly drier than those on the older, higher fans 

(lowest soil site is 3-5 on fan 2 at 1,117 m; highest site 

is B-19 on fan 7 at 1,275 m).

The Lovell area (table 1) has an aridic soilmoisture regime and a mesic soil-temperature

C2 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
108° 07'30" 108° 05* 00" 

 I 

44° 

52' 

30"

44° 

52'

44° 

51' 

30"

44° 

5T 00"

Age (ka)

5

65

100

£®

F2

F3

Fanl

Fan 2

Fan 3

Age (ka)

315 

410 

505

F4

F5

e F6 £

Fan 4 

Fan 5 

Fan 6

EXPLANATION

Age (ka) 

585

Bighorn /Shoshone 

river gravel

Gypsum Spring 

Formation

Soil sample site 

Dust trap

Soil temperature 

probe

Figure 2. Generalized map of the Kane alluvial fan gravels of Cottonwood Creek and fluvial deposits of the 

Bighorn and Shoshone Rivers. Outcrop of gypsum beds of the Middle Jurassic Gypsum Spring Formation is also 

shown. Map unit Fl includes the modern channel and flood plain of Cottonwood Creek. Fluvial gravels under fan 3 

not shown because they are exposed in vertical cliffs. Soil site numbers correspond to those preceded by "B-" in 

text.

regime. Soil temperature was estimated from the 

mean annual temperature (Soil Survey Staff, 1975, p. 

61) and also measured by soil temperature probes. The 

estimated soil temperature of 8.2° C is near the 

boundary between the mesic and frigid temperature 

regimes. The soil temperature probes, probably 

affected by local conditions,2 recorded temperatures 

about 4° C warmer than the estimated soil 

temperature (Trembour and others, 1986).

Near Lovell, much of the moisture falls in late 

spring and early summer and is ineffective in 

weathering or solution of salts, because 

evapotranspiration rates are high at these times. 

Using Arkley's (1963) leaching index for Lovell, only 26 

mm of water is available to wet the soil from 

November to March (fig. 3). Thus, in the average year, 

only the surface of the soil is ever wet; insufficient 

water percolates through the soils to remove soluble 

salts and other weathering products.

^Temperatures measured by soil - temperature 

probes can be affected by local conditions, such as the 

yearly range of temperatures, or air pockets left along 

the probe when refilling the probe hole.

Paleoclimate

Characterization of the modern climate 

adequately describes the general climate of the 

Holocene but fails to describe the climate during 

glacial periods. More moist glacial periods probably 

had important effects on soil development at the Kane 

fans, so it is important to discuss the available 

evidence concerning paleoclimate.

Sediments at Natural Trap Cave, 10 km north of 

and 350 m higher than the Kane fans (fig. 1), contain 

opal phytoliths of tall prairie grass (Gilbert and others, 

1980). The modern vegetation around Natural Trap 

Cave consists of short grasses and cactus; tall prairie 

grass commonly occurs at elevations 300 m higher than 

the cave. The tall-grass phytoliths span the period 

from 110 thousand to 12 thousand years before present 

(ka) and indicate increased moisture during that time. 

Tundra phytoliths near the top of the sedimentary 

section suggest an episode of cold dry climate from 17 

to 14 ka. Environmental reconstructions based on 

faunas from several Wisconsin-aged sites in Wyoming 

(summarized in Walker, 1982) and the presence of a 

musk-ox vertebra (discussed below) in the Kane fans 

indicate that a cold, dry arctic steppe/savannah biome 

existed on the basin floor.

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C3
Table 1. Climatic data for Lovell, Wyo., for 1951 to 

1974, and postulated climatic parameters for the last 

glaciation

Madern Glacial

Mean annual precipitation 16.5 cm 16.5 cm 

Msan annual air temperature 7.2°C -2.8°C 

Mean July air temperature 22.1°C 9.1°C 

Msan January air temperature -7.9°C -12.9°C 

Mean annual soil temperature

from probes at Kane fans, 1980-82:

at 0.5 m depth 12.1°C 

at 1.0 m depth 12.6°C 

Mean annual soil temperature,

Soil Survey Staff calculation: 8.2°C 

Leaching index 2.6 cm 8.2 cm

This climatic reconstruction is supported by 

other work. Recent studies of relict ice and sand 

wedges in Quaternary deposits in the inter montane 

basins of Wyoming (Mears, 1981) indicate that the 

climate during the last glaciation was dry and cold; 

mean annual temperatures may have been 10-13° C 

colder than at present. This estimate of cooler 

temperature is compatible with glacial to present 

snowline changes if the effect of altitudinal gradients 

of precipitation is considered (Pierce, 1982). Gates's 

(1976) model of global ice-age climate suggests that 

mean July temperature decreased by 13°C near the 

Bighorn Basin, and that precipitable moisture 

decreased 35 percent in the northern hemisphere.

A plausible reconstruction of climate during the 

last glaciation can be made for the Lovell area, 

assuming that (1) the mean annual temperature was 

10° C lower than present, (2) the mean July 

temperature was 13° C lower, and (3) the mean 

January temperature was 5° C lower (table 1). No 

evidence is available concerning glacial winter 

temperature, but some lowering probably occurred. 

For the reconstruction, temperatures for other months 

are adjusted to fit the postulated changes of mean 

annual, July, and January temperatures. No moisture 

decrease is postulated in this reconstruction, in order 

to avoid extrapolation of hypothetical moisture 

changes in the northern hemisphere (Gates, 1976) to 

the study area. Evapotranspiration is calculated from 

monthly temperature data using van Hylckama's (1959) 

method. Diagrams of soil-temperature and soilmoisture balance compare glacial with modern 

conditions (fig. 3).

In the climate reconstruction (table 1 and fig. 3), 

the glacial soil-moisture regime probably was aridic 

and the soil-temperature regime pergelic (modern 

pergelic regimes correspond to permafrost zones; 

terms defined in Soil Survey Staff, 1975). The 

estimated glacial leaching index (method of Arkley, 

1963) increases to 8.2 cm from the modern level of 2.6 

cm because evapotranspiration is lower. Some of the 

additional available moisture may not have been 

utilized in leaching because more precipitation would 

have fallen as snow. If snowfall from November to 

March did not contribute to soil moisture, the glacial 

leaching index was 5.3 cm. Gates's (1976) climatic 

model also suggests that the glacial leaching index was

lower than 8.2 cm. The presence of a large stable 

high-pressure zone over the continental ice sheet 350 

km northwest of the study area probably would have 

caused a year-round dominance of dry northerly air 

flow, whereas the present southerly air flow in spring 

and summer delivers moisture from the Gulf of 

Mexico.

GEOLOGIC SETTING AND CHRONOLOGY 

Previous Work

Andrews and others (1947) were the first to map 

the Kane fans, but called them pediment surfaces. 

Birdseye (1980, 1983) described the alluvial fans of 

Five Springs Creek, 5 km south of the Kane fans, and 

has mapped the Kane fans as well (written commun., 

1982). Palmquist (1978, 1983) used the Lava Creek ash 

bed (Izett and Wilcox, 1982) that underlies the Kane 

fan gravels to date terraces along the Bighorn River. 

Bedrock geology near the Kane fans was described by 

Barton (1906) and later by Rioux (1958) and Pierce 

(1978).

Source of Deposits

Bedrock units in the Cottonwood Creek drainage 

basin range in age from Cambrian to Cretaceous and 

include marine shale and sandstone, evaporites,

LJJ 100 -

< 100

I I I I I 

GLACIAL

0 Q_ ^

0 e i i i i i < i i i i i ' i " -i-« _ 20

JFMAMJJASOND

MONTH

Figure 3. Modern (24-year record) and last-glacial 

climate and soil - water balance for Lovell, Wyo. 

Reconstruction of glacial temperature described in 

text. No surplus water available during either period. 

Large dots are air temperatures, small dots are 

precipitation, and X's are inferred evapotranspiration. Soil AWC (available water-holding capacity) 

of 110 mm is average for Kane fan soils; young soils 

have lower AWCs, older soils have higher AWCs. R 

denotes period of recharge of soil water when 

precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration; U denotes 

period of utilization of stored soil water when soil is 

dry in some part, because evapotranspiration exceeds 

precipitation; D denotes deficit period when soilmoisture control section is dry.

C4 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
redbeds, limestone, and dolomite (Pierce, 1978). The 

Kane fan deposits overlie Cretaceous sandstone and 

shale but contain little debris from these formations. 

Continental redbed and evaporite deposits of Mesozoic 

age constitute 40 percent of the local sedimentary 

section. The Middle Jurassic Gypsum Spring 

Formation has up to 50 percent by volume of lenticular 

gypsum beds and crops out just upslope from the fan 

deposits (fig. 2). Little or no gypsum was deposited in 

the fans, however (table 2 and supplementary table 

3). Paleozoic limestone and dolomite account for 

another 40 percent of the section. Because these 

latter rocks are resistant to weathering and 

mechanical abrasion, they constitute the majority of 

the fan material.

A second component of the fan deposits is 

andesitic sand and gravel, which was deposited by the 

Bighorn and (or) Shoshone Rivers and was incorporated 

into the fans by reworking.

Parent Material Nature and Variability

The parent material is another important factor 

in soil development. If the parent materials of the 

soils on the Kane fans are different, then differences 

in the soils cannot be ascribed to either time or 

climate. Thus, it is critical to compare stable 

chemical and physical properties of the various alluvia.

The parent material among all soils examined on 

the Kane fans is compositionally similar (table 2). By 

visual estimate, the gravel consists of about 90 

percent limestone and dolomite, 5 percent andesite, 

and 5 percent sandstone, siltstone, and chert. 

Carbonates usually compose about 50 percent of the 

unweathered <2-mm fraction (supplementary table 

3). Soils on fan 5 deposits have slightly greater 

proportions of igneous detritus, because they contain 

more reworked river gravel and volcanic ash.

Fresh fan deposits in the Kane area typically 

have 80 percent gravel, but the upper 20-75 cm of the 

soils is less gravelly. Deposits in the youngest fan are 

very gravelly up to 5 cm below the surface. The 

thickness of the less gravelly layer roughly increases 

with fan age (supplementary tables 1 and 2). This 

trend suggests that the finer material at the surface is 

a result of soil-forming processes rather than 

deposition.

Chemical uniformity of parent material both 

within and between soil profiles was examined using 

titanium-oxide to zirconium-oxide ratios of the siltplus-clay fraction (TiO2 /ZrO2 ; data in supplementary 

table 5). Titanium and zirconium are primarily 

contained within the minerals rutile and zircon, which 

are very resistant to weathering (zircon is most 

resistant). Generally, the proportion of TiO2 to ZrG> 2 

should reflect the composition of the parent material; 

thus abrupt changes in the TiO2 /ZrO2 ratio with depth 

probably reflect changes in the parent material 

chemistry rather than changes due to weathering 

(Chapman and Horn, 1968; Smeck and Wilding, 1980).

TiO2 /ZrO2 ratios for all horizons of four profiles 

(B-21, B-14, B-17, and B-19; fans 1, 3, 5, and 7 

respectively) range from 5.1 to 11.9, with a mean 

(x) of 8.9 and standard deviation (s) of 2.0 (table 3). 

No ratios exceed 2s_ from the mean, and only six ratios

(_N = 24) exceed ls_. Relative variability among 

different groups is examined by the coefficient of 

variability (s/x), which for TiO2 /ZrO2 ratios of all 

horizons is 23 percent. Because Ti does weather, some 

of this variation may be caused by soil-forming 

processes (Chapman and Horn, 1968; Wilding and 

others, 1971). If only C-horizon TiO2 /ZrO2 ratios are 

considered, the mean ratio is 10.1 and the standard 

deviation is 1.6, for a between-profile variability of 16 

percent. Within-profile variability ranges from 11 to 

25 percent, averaging 19 percent. These ratios show 

that the between-profile variability is similar to the 

within-profile variability. TiO2 /ZrO2 ratios tend to be 

larger at depth, but the increase is not uniform and the 

changes are gradual. Because ratios for all horizons 

fall within 2s_ of the mean ratio, the variation is 

considered normal for the population, which suggests 

that the soils are chemically similar.

Textural variability is estimated by calculating 

ratios of coarse to very coarse sand (C/VC) and 

medium to coarse plus very coarse sand (M/C+VC) for 

C horizons. Near-surface sand fractions of Kane fan 

soils tend to be distinctly coarser than sands in the B 

and upper C horizons, especially in older soils (data not 

shown). In contrast to the sand fractions, the gravel 

clasts do not increase in size in the near-surface 

horizons. Deflation of surface fines is an unlikely 

cause of the near-surface coarseness of the sand 

fractions, because the thickness of the less gravelly 

surface layer increases with time (supplementary 

tables 1 and 2), suggesting that fines are 

accumulating. Because the inverse grading of sand 

grains seems most marked in older soils, the surface 

material may be more coarse than deeper sediments 

due to the breakdown of sand grains by gypsum 

accumulation at depth (discussed below). Because the 

B-horizon sand fractions appear to have been affected 

by weathering, only sand fractions from C horizons are 

compared.

The sand-fraction ratios in most cases are based 

on measurements after removal of carbonates 

(including parent material) and gypsum. This step 

should result in greater uniformity in the ratios than in 

untreated soils (table 3). Sand-fraction ratios for four 

profiles (B-5, B-7, B-3, and B-4) are more variable 

among C horizons with carbonates (80 percent for 

C/VC and 76 percent for M/C+VC) than among C 

horizons without carbonates (38 percent and 53 

percent respectively, table 3). Remarkably, withinprofile variability is the same for both sets of profiles.

Of the 39 C horizons in 13 profiles examined, 

none have C/VC or M/C+VC ratios that exceed 2s_ from 

the mean ratio; eight horizons exceed Is from the 

mean ratio for either C/VC or M/C+VC, but not both. 

These horizons are considered to lie within the range 

of normal variability for this population. Considering 

the textural variation that is possible on alluvial fans, 

the sand fractions are unusually uniform both with 

depth and with distance from the mountain front 

(variability about 40-80 percent). For comparison, 

Merced River soils (Harden, 1982a) average 44 percent 

for within-profile variability of both sand-fraction 

ratios, whereas between-profile variability is 114 

percent for M/C+VC and 96 percent for C/VC ratios.

In summary, the fan alluvia are chemically and 

lithologically similar, but do vary somewhat in grain

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C5
Table 2. Field description of Kane fan deposits relative to distance from fan head

[Proximal is nearest remnant to fan head, distal is farthest remnant from fan head. Refer to figure 2 and to U.S.G.S. 

7-1/2-minute Kane and Cottonwood Canyon, Wyo., quadrangles for approximate locations. Percent lithologies and mean 

clast diameters were visually estimated; maximum clast diameters were measured. Mean diameters are not given for poorly 

exposed sites. No proximal exposures are available for fans 2, 3, and 4]

Fan Description Estimated Mean clast Maximum clast Gypsum 

number of exposure thickness (m) diameter (cm) diameter (cm) stage

Proximal deposits

1 Arroyo, NW/4SW/4SW/4 sec. 6, T. 56 N., R. 93 W; poor exposure. 2 10 70 0 

Crude bedding, poorly sorted. 95 percent carbonates 

(carb.), 5 percent other sedimentary (sed.) rocks.

5 SE/4NE/4NE/4 sec. 2, T. 56 N., R. 94 W.; poor exposure. Gravel 3 60 II-III 

overlies shale. No bedding visible; poorly sorted, gravelly, 

90 percent carb., 10 percent other sed. rocks. Gypsum 

decreases with depth.

6 SW/4SE/4SW/4 sec. 6, T. 56 N., R. 93 W.; poor exposure. No 15 100 0-IV 

bedding visible; poorly sorted, gravelly. 95 percent carb., 

5 percent other sed. rocks. No visible gypsum at base of 

gravel.

7 Poor exposure, at soil site B-19. Gravel overlies shale. 10 150 0-IV 

No bedding visible; poorly sorted, gravelly. 95 percent 

carb., 5 percent other sed. rocks. No visible gypsum at 

base of gravel.

Distal deposits

1 0.2 km north of Kane highway bridge. Crudely bedded; some >3 15 45 0 

10-cm-thick lenses of sand and silt intercalated with poorly 

sorted, imbricated gravel. 85 percent carb., 10 percent 

other sed. rocks, 5 percent andesites (and.).

2 Low river bluff 0.1 km north of bridge; gravel overlies shale. 5 10 45 0 

Crudely bedded; discontinuous 5-cm-thick lenses of sand and 

silt intercalated with poorly sorted imbricated gravel lenses. 

85 percent carb., 10 percent other sed. rocks, 5 percent and.

3 High river bluff 0.8 km north of bridge; fan gravel overlies 1 m 5 5 25 0-1 

of fluvial gravel above shale. Crudely bedded; lenses of 

finer material up to 50 cm thick intercalated with poorly 

sorted imbricated gravel. 85 percent carb, 10 percent other 

sed. rocks, 5 percent and. Gypsum decreases with depth.

4 Poor exposure, NW/4NW/4 sec. 3, T. 56 N., R. 94 W.; gravel 4 80 O-II 

overlies shale. No bedding visible; poorly sorted, gravelly. 

90 percent carb., 10 percent and. Gypsum decreases with depth.

5 Poor exposure, NE/4NW/4 sec. 3, T. 56 N., R.94 W.; gravel 4 O-III 

overlies shale. No bedding visible; poorly sorted, gravelly 

90 percent carb., 10 percent and. Gypsum decreases with depth.

6 Poor exposure, NE/4NW/4 sec. 3, T. 56 N., R. 94 W.; fan gravel 4 0-IV 

overlies thin fluvial gravel over shale. No bedding 

visible; poorly sorted, gravelly. 90 percent carb., 10 percent 

and. Gypsum decreases with depth.

7 Corner sees. 2, 3, 10, 11, T. 56 N., R. 94 W.; fan gravel 15 15 50 0-IV 

overlies 30 m of ash. Crudely bedded; 25-cm-thick lenses 

of fine material intercalated with poorly sorted imbricated 

gravel. 90 percent carb., 10 percent and. Gypsum decreases 

with depth.

size. Textural variability is greater than chemical chemical compositions. Hence, differences among the

variability due to the nature of fluvial processes, soils developed on the Kane fan surfaces reflect

assuming that different size fractions have similar differences in age and paleoclimate.

C6 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
Table 3. Parent-material variability within and among soils of the Kane 

fans

[N, number of cases; x, mean; s, standard deviation; s/x, relative variability in 

percent. M, medium sand; C, coarse sand; VC, very coarse sand. Sand ratios are 

given both for samples with carbonate and without carbonate (gypsum was removed from 

all samples)]

Variability j3/5^(percent)

Samples without carbonates

Among profiles:

C/VC, C horizons 39 

M/C+VC, C horizons 38

Within profiles:

mean of _s/£ for C/VC 13 

mean of s/x for M/C+VC 13

1.2 0.5 

.5

38

53

A7±25 (Is) 

51±21 (Is)

Samples with carbonates

Among profiles:

Ti0 2 /Zr02 , all horizons 2A 

Ti02 /Zr02 , C horizons 12

C/VC, C horizons 12 

M/C+VC, C horizons 12

Within profiles:

mean of js/x for Ti02/Zr02 4

mean of _s/T for C/VC A

mean of s/x for M/C+VC A

8.9 

10.1

1.9 

.77

2.0 

1.6

1.5 

.59

23

16

80

76

19± 6 (la) 

A8±1A (Is) 

A9±2A (Is)

Stratigraphic Units

I recognize seven prominent surfaces that are 

developed on the Kane fans (figs. 2 and 4). The 

surfaces are numbered 1 to 7 from youngest to 

oldest. For brevity, these surfaces will henceforth be 

referred to as fan 1, fan 2, and so forth. Other minor 

surfaces and deposits occur in the area but are omitted 

from this study. Correlation of discontinuous deposits 

was based on both height above Cottonwood Creek and 

stratigraphic relations. Each fan surface overlies 

gravel beds resting either on a bedrock surface or on 

pre-existing fan or other fluvial deposits. Because the 

Bighorn River is the local base level for Cottonwood 

Creek, the fan surfaces probably are graded to former 

levels of the Bighorn-Shoshone river system.

A schematic cross section (fig. 4) sketches the 

relations of the fan deposits. The fan deposits are 5- 

15 m thick near the Bighorn River; exposures on fans 6 

and 7 nearest the mountain front indicate little 

thinning toward the mountains (table 2). The deposits 

underlying fans 2, 4, and probably 1 rest on cut 

surfaces of Cretaceous shale and sandstone. The 

deposits underlying fans 3, 6, and 7 grade into the 

underlying fluvial deposits of the Bighorn-Shoshone 

river system. Where exposed, andesitic river gravel 

grades upward, over a 1- to 3-m interval, into 

calcareous fan deposits. The oldest fan deposits

EXPLANATION

Fan gravel 

Bighorn River gravel 

Silty sand

Lava Creek ash

Shale

Musk ox fossil

Figure 4. Schematic cross section showing 

relationships of Quaternary deposits. Thickness of 

deposits not to scale; maximum thickness of 

Quaternary deposits under fan 7 is 55 m, including 15 

m fan gravel, 35 m ash, and 5 m river gravel. 

Cottonwood Creek is presently incised about 13 m 

below the base of the ash.

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C7
conformably overlie fluvially deposited Lava Creek 

volcanic ash that was erupted from the Yellowstone 

National Park area (Izett and Wilcox. 1982). The 

crossbedded ash and pumice deposits, as much as 35 m 

thick, overlie and are interbedded with andesitic riverchannel gravel (Birdseye, 1983). Remnants of the 

channel gravel and overlying ash extend north from fan 

7 to fan 5 but pinch out toward the mountain front 

(fig. 2), suggesting that the Bighorn River formerly 

flowed about 2-3 km east of its present course. Fan 5 

gravel unconformably overlies the fluvial ash and 

gravel on the north side of the study area, hence this 

fan gravel postdates the deposition of the material 

composing fans 6 and 7.

The Kane fan gravels consist of crudely bedded 

lenses of sand and silt intercalated with imbricated, 

poorly sorted gravel lenses (table 2). Vertical 

exposures of fans 1, 2, 3, and 7, near the Bighorn 

River, reveal that visible gypsum decreases from the 

surface downward and does not occur at the base of 

the gravels. Gypsum does occur at the base of the thin 

(3-5 m) gravel deposits of fans 4 and 5 but is less

abundant in the lower parts. Maximum clast size is 

greater toward the head of each fan (table 2), but 

little change occurs in gravel thickness, bedding, or 

sorting.

Geochronology

The difference in age of the fan surfaces, and to 

some extent paleoclimate, have determined the 

differences observed among the Kane fan soils. In 

order to study time-dependent changes in soils on the 

Kane fans, estimates of the time of stabilization of 

each surface must be obtained. Tephrochronology, 

paleontology, and incision rates have been used to 

estimate the age of the deposits and their surfaces 

(table 4). The ages of fans 1, 3, and 7 are discussed 

first because these ages are most closely constrained. 

From these ages, incision rates are calculated in order 

to estimate the ages of fans 2, 4, 5, and 6.

Fan 1 is the most recently abandoned surface 

(figs. 2 and 4) and still exhibits bar-and-swale

Table 4. Stratigraphic units and ages of the Kane fan soil chronosequence

[Height column gives mean and standard deviation (_N = 4-7) of height of fan 

surface above Cottonwood Creek used in figure 5]

Geologic 

unit

Fan 1

Fan 2

Fan 3

Fan 4

Fan 5

Fan 6

Fan 7

Best estimate 

Age con- and range for 

trol (ka) surface age (ka)

0 5 (0-10)

ho

2 20 3 65 (20-100) 

2 100

^70 100 (70-150) 

5 100 

6 175

2 230 3 315 (230-400) 

2 400

2 320 3410 (320-480) 

2 480

2415 3 505 (415-570) 

2 570 

7610

8 542 585 (540-600) 

7610

Height 

(m) Comments

3.0±0.6 Post-last glaciation.

6.6±0.6 Younger than fan 3, 

older than fan 1.

8.4±2.0 Correlated with Yellowstonetype volcanic ash; musk-ox 

vertebra in basal fan gravel.

20.8±1.3 Older than fan 3, younger than 

fan 5.

25.9±1.3 Older than fan 4, younger than 

fan 6.

31.4±1.3 Overlies Lava Creek ash; younger 

than fan 7.

35.8±1.6 Overlies Lava Creek ash; 

older than fan 6.

*Date from obsidian hydration on Pinedale-age deglacial deposits, West 

Yellowstone, Montana (Pierce and others, 1976).

^Estimated incision rate of Cottonwood Creek, calibrated from fan surfaces 1, 3, 

and 7 (fig. 5 and text discussion).

Best estimate age derived from incision rate calculations as described in text; 

5-ka accuracy of the ages is not implied.

Youngest possible ash eruption from Yellowstone area (K.L. Pierce, oral 

commun., 1984); ash contained in colluvial deposits overlying alluvium correlated to 

that which underlies fan 3.

Superhydratlon of volcanic ash (described in 4 above) on Shell Creek, Wyo. 

(Palmquist, 1983).

Earliest possible arrival of musk ox in North America (C.A. Repennlng, written 

commun., 1982).

Lava Creek ash erupted from Yellowstone Park area (Izett, 1981).

End of interglacial stage following eruption of Lava Creek ash, as determined 

from marine oxygen-isotope curves (Shackleton and Opdyke, 1976).

C8 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
morphology. The surface is 3 m above the modern 

Bighorn River channel. Moss (1974) believed that the 

Cody terrace of Wisconsin age merges with the 

Shoshone River floodplain 25 km above its junction 

with the Bighorn River, but small remnants of this 

terrace occur 10 km above the junction and are 6 m 

higher than the river (Mackin, 1937; Ritter and 

Kauffman, 1983). Because fan 1 is graded to a level 

only 3 m above the Bighorn River, it probably 

postdates the last glaciation; hence this surface is of 

Holocene age, or 5 ± 5 ka (table 4).

The lower age limit of the fan 3 surface is 

constrained by a musk-ox vertebra (found by Lucy 

Piety) at the contact between the fan 3 deposits and 

the underlying river gravel (figs. 2 and 4). C. A. 

Repenning (U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 

1982) noted that modern musk oxen (genus Ovibos) did 

not appear in North America before the peak of the 

Illinoian glaciation (between 130 and 175 ka). Most 

modern musk-ox fossils (genus Qvibos) in the 

conterminous United States are considered to be of 

Wisconsin age, but in two localities, the fossils may be 

of Illinoian age (Walker, 1982). Thus, the vertebra at 

Kane constrains the lower age limit of fan 3 to 175 ka.

The lower age limit of the fan 3 surface is also 

post-Bull Lake glaciation, based on mapping, and on 

correlation by height above stream level of the 

underlying river gravel with that along the Bighorn and 

Shoshone Rivers. The underlying river gravel extends 

up the Shoshone River to Powell, where it constitutes 

the sub-Powell terrace of Ritter and Kauffman (1983) 

(also called the "Intermediate Terrace" by Mackin, 

1937). The slightly higher Powell terrace has been 

traced upstream from Powell to possible moraines 

west of Cody (Moss, 1974) that are considered to be of 

Bull Lake age, dated at no younger than 125 ka in West 

Yellowstone (Pierce and others, 1976).

Fan 3 must be younger than the river gravel on 

which it lies. Palmquist (1983) estimated the age of 

the Bighorn River terrace that underlies fan 3 at about 

90 ka, using the average incision rate of the Bighorn 

River for the past 600,000 years.

The upper age limit of fan 3 is further 

constrained by an ash deposit in sheetwash and 

colluvium overlying fluvial deposits on Shell Creek 

(fig. 1). These fluvial deposits were correlated to 

those underlying the fan 3 gravel by Palmquist (1978, 

1983), based on similar heights above the Bighorn 

River. He assigned a tentative date of 100 ka, based 

on superhydration of the ash (dated by V. SteenMclntyre). The ash is not younger than 70 ka, which is 

the age of the youngest ash eruption from the 

Yellowstone Park area, and it is probably not older 

than 150 ka, the inferred age of one of the more 

widespread young ash eruptions from Yellowstone (K. 

L. Pierce, oral commun., 1984).

These age constraints indicate that the fan 3 

deposits are about 100 ka old, and that the river gravel 

underlying fan 3 probably is of Bull Lake age. Hence, 

deposition of the fan gravel may have required about 

25,000 years, which is the time interval between the 

probable youngest age of Bull Lake outwash (Pierce 

and others, 1976) and the age of the ash on Shell Creek 

in colluvium that overlies Bull Lake(?) outwash. I 

estimate th^ time of stabilization of the fan 3 surface 

to be 100 + ka (table 4).

Deposits of fan 7 overlie the 610-ka Lava Creek 

ash (Izett, 1981; Izett and Wilcox, 1982). As neither 

unconformities nor buried soils were found at this ashfan gravel contact or within the fan material, the 

surface of fan 7 is probably not much younger than 600 

ka. If aggradation is associated with glacial episodes 

and incision with deglaciation and interglacials. as 

Moss (1974) believed, then the fan gravel overlying the 

ash at Kane must have accumulated rapidly just prior 

to downcutting by the Bighorn-Shoshone river system. 

If accumulation of the fan 7 gravel took as long as that 

of fan 3 gravel, the surface of fan 7 may have been 

abandoned about 585 ka. Alternatively, if Palmquist's 

(1983) views are accepted, that the Bighorn River is 

stable or aggrades during interglacials and incises 

during glacials, then the fan gravel may have been 

deposited during an interglacial period. From the 

marine oxygen-isotope record (Shackleton and Opdyke, 

1976), the interglacial that followed 610 ka ended 

about 540 ka. The fan 7 surface dates from about 585 

!|f ka (table 4).

Age estimates for fans 1, 3, and 7 can be used to 

estimate ages of stabilization for the remaining fan 

surfaces (fig. 5 and table 4). The means and standard 

deviations of the heights above Cottonwood Creek of 

the three dated fans are plotted against age. The 

dashed line connecting the three points of known age 

yields an average stream-incision rate of 5.6 cm/1,000 

yr for the past 585,000 years. When the means and 

standard deviations of heights above the creek of the 

remaining fan surfaces are plotted on the resultant 

line, approximate ages and age errors can be derived 

for the undated surfaces (method from Palmquist, 

1979, 1983). The ages are as follows: fan 2, 65±10 ka; 

fan 4, 315±25 ka; fan 5, 410±25 ka; and fan 6, 505±25 

ka. These are minimum age errors because they only

EXPLANATION

3. Fan surface

 » Age control for fan surface

AGE, IN YEARS (x10s )

Figure 5. Graph for estimating fan surface ages from 

average heights above Cottonwood Creek and incision 

rates (dashed line) derived from ages for fans 1, 3, and 

7. Boxes around points for fans 1. 3. and 7 show error 

limits of age (horizontal) and height (±1 standard 

deviation, vertical). Lines connecting outermost 

points of the boxes show the error envelope. 

Parallelograms show the age errors for other fans, 

derived by projecting their height errors (±1 standard 

deviation) horizontally to meet the lines of the error 

envelope.

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C9
include uncertainties in the fan heights above stream 

level.

The maximum age errors also include 

uncertainties in the heights and ages of the dated 

surfaces. The error envelope (fig. 5) permits 

estimation of the maximum errors on the ages of the 

undated surfaces. From figure 5, for example, the age 

of fan 2 is estimated to be 65 ka and to range from 20 

ka to 175 ka. However, fan 2 is younger than fan 3, so 

the lower age limit is prooably about 100 ka. The 

upper age limit of 20 ka for fan 2 is reasonable, 

because this fan surface is roughly the same height 

above the Bighorn River as the Cody (Pinedale-aged) 

terrace is above the Shoshone River. Age errors for 

fans 4, 5, and 6 can only be evaluated from their 

relative age order. For example, if the lower age limit 

of 400 ka for fan 4 is the true age, then the age of fan 

5 is older.

Estimates of age based on incision rates involve 

two major assumptions: first is that the long-term 

incision rate has remained constant. In the short term, 

this assumption is false, because terraces and fans are 

formed during stable or aggrading fluvial conditions 

and isolated by later incision. The second assumption 

is that the lateral position of the Bighorn River has 

either remained stable or has moved in the same 

direction at a steady rate. If the river has moved 

irregularly, the fan surface slopes and elevations may 

vary unpredictably. Fluvial gravels underlying fans 7 

and 3 indicate that the Bighorn River has shifted to 

the west, but whether the shift was gradual or episodic 

is not known.

SOIL DEVELOPMENT IN THE CHRONOSEQUENCE

The physical appearance or morphology of soils 

commonly reflects time-dependent soil properties. 

The Kane fan soils have light-colored, ochric A 

horizons with vesicular pores and desert pavements; in 

age sequence the soils progress from having only 

traces of gypsum, to having gypsic horizons, to having 

petrogypsic horizons (fig. 6). Soil morphology is 

commonly described with reference to the U.S. soil 

classification system (Soil Survey Staff, 1975). 

Unfortunately, this system does not discriminate the 

Kane fan soils with respect to their age. These soils 

have argillic (clay-rich) horizons, and possession of 

such horizons overrides differences in gypsum content 

in the process of classification. Translocated clay in 

Kane fan soils cannot be seen with a hand lens, but 

such clay surrounds calcite, dolomite, and quartz 

grains in petrographic thin sections of B horizons. 

Observations (Nettleton and others, 1969; Holliday, 

1982) and experiments (Goss and others, 1973) have 

shown that clay can be translocated in calcareous soils 

if pore spaces or cracks are large enough. Thus, all 

the Kane fan soils are classified as Typic Haplargids 

(aridic soils with argillic horizons), regardless of their 

CaCO3 or gypsum content.

Profile Indices

Some soil properties that change with soil age 

include texture (in this study, determined in the field

by hand), rubification (reddening and brightening), and 

pH. These properties can be described, but in this 

study they were converted to numerical quantities 

using Harden's (1982b) soil development index (see 

"Field Methods and Calculations" section). Some other 

soil properties did not show consistent age trends. 

Structure tends to be poorly developed in gravelly 

desert soils, and in the Kane fan soils is disrupted by 

gypsum. Organic matter content does not increase 

consistently with time in desert climates, where 

organic material is rapidly oxidized. The gradual 

accumulation of CaCO3 causes soils to whiten with 

age. Gypsum, rather than CaCOo,, increases with age 

on the Kane fans, and indices tor color-paling and 

color-lightening poorly reflect gypsum accumulation.

This study extrapolates or limits all soil depths 

to 250 cm when calculating property values using the 

Harden (1982b) index, in order to minimize the 

variability caused by different sampling depths in the 

different excavations. However, total-texture 

(texture plus wet consistence), pH, and rubification 

vary with depth (fig. 7). Because these three 

properties reflect weathering and additions to the soil, 

they should be most pronounced near the surface, 

where weathering is most intense. Thus, limiting the 

calculations to 250 cm should not seriously affect the 

value of a given property summed for a soil profile. 

Index values for total-texture are indeed largest in the 

B horizons, but those for pH increase and rubification 

are often greatest at depth. Hence, index values for 

these properties summed over the profile may be 

minimum values for soil development, especially in the 

older soils.

Total-texture consistently increases with age for 

soils on fans 1-4, and is significant at the 0.01 level in 

distinguishing between these soils (fig. 8). The 

texture-age correlation is also significant (at the 0.025 

level) for all soils, but the r value (coefficient of 

determination) for this correlation is quite low. 

Laboratory textural data for these soils cannot be used 

because in most cases, carbonate parent material was 

removed along with the gypsum before particle size 

was determined. Hence texture was determined in the 

field by hand. Expectably, such a technique reflects 

the high gypsum content of older soils, for gypsum 

crystals impart a sandy feel to the soil.

Rubification (both moist and dry colors used) 

increases consistently with age (fig. 9); the r_ value is 

significant at the 0.01 level. If extrapolated values 

are not used, the correlation is improved from £ =0.69 

to £ =0.86. This trend reflects reddening at depth in 

the profiles, rather than mainly in the B horizons (fig. 

7). The most reddened horizons occur at or just below 

gypsic horizons; this suggests a connection between 

rubification and gypsum content. This association also 

appears in gypsic soils developed on similar parent 

materials in southern Israel (Dan and others, 1981, p. 

268-296; Dan and others, 1982).

The patterns of pH change are complex (figs. 7 

and 10). Values of pH become more alkaline with 

depth. When pH index values are extrapolated to 

depths of 250 cm, anomalously high values of pH 

change for the young soils are derived (fig. 10). The 

young soils, especially B-21, B-5, and B-15, were 

sampled shallowly because they showed no visible 

evidence of pedogenic alteration at shallow depths. It

CIO Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
is unrealistic to extrapolate pH values measured at 

depths of only 100-150 cm to 250 cm (supplementary 

table 1).

The minimum index values for pH (calculated to 

the sampling depth for each soil) increase with time 

for fans 1-4 but decrease in the older fans (fig. 10). 

This pattern is consistent with probable changes in soil 

chemistry as interpreted from soil morphology and 

soluble salts. The amount of secondary CaCO3 

increases with time in the young soils (supplementary 

table 1), which causes an increase in pH. The 

accumulation of secondary gypsum in older soils (fig. 

6) causes a decrease in pH, because the pH of gypsum 

is 6, as opposed to 8 for CaCOo (Stevens and Carron, 

1948).

The profile index is calculated in two ways. The 

first (fig. 11A) combined texture, rubification, and pH 

increase; the second (fig. 11B) used texture and 

rubification, in order to eliminate the uncertainties in 

the calculation of index values for pH. Using three 

properties, correlation of the profile index with age is 

not significant when the extrapolated maximum values 

of the index for young soils are used. If the minimum 

values are used, the correlation is significant at the 

0.01 level. The r_ value of the regression increases 

from 0.57 to 0.86 by deleting the soils on fan 7 that 

appear eroded. When pH is excluded, the correlation 

of the profile index with time is significant at the 0.01 

level, and the r_ value again increases from 0.69 to 

0.86 if the soils on fan 7 are deleted. Comparing these 

methods, correlation using all the soils is better if pH

Figure 6. Typical appearance in soil profiles of 

gypsum stages (see "Field Methods and Calculations" 

section). Gypsum pebble coats and small masses shown 

by arrows, larger masses indicated by "g." _A, Stage I, 

from the 2C4cs horizon in soil B-17; note gypsumcracked clast in center. B, Stage II, from the 2C3cs 

horizon in soil B-17. C^, Stage IV, from the 2Clcsca 

horizon in soil B-17; note clasts floating in gypsum 

matrix. I), Soil B-18B, with stage IV gypsum from 20 

to 50 cm, stage II-III gypsum from 50 to 75 cm, and 

stage II gypsum below 75 cm.

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming Cll
values are excluded, but there is no difference 

between the results when soils on fan 7 are excluded.

Linear rates of soil development (figs. 8-11) are 

contrary to results obtained by workers in warmer, 

more moist climates (Colman and Pierce, 1981; 

Harden, 1982a, b; Birkeland, 1984, p. 204 and 225), 

where rates were found to be logarithmic or 

exponential in character. Bockheim (1980b) obtained 

logarithmic trends with time for soils formed in 

climates ranging from tropical rainy to cold desert; his

HARDEN INDEX VALUE OF PROPERTY 

0.5 0 0.5 0 0.5 0 0.5

1 -

2 -

5; in:

B-21 

F1

IP

B-15 

F2

B-14 

F3

B-16 

F4

c 

°~l

1 -

2-

)

JL

0.5 (

i i i

'";

-

-

D

i

T

i

i

i

0.5 C

I I

"

-

-

)

|

-J

|

r1

0.5

i i i

B-17 

F5

B-18B 

F6

EXPLANATION

 Rubification

 ------- Total-texture

 pH increase

B-19 

F7

Figure 7. Values of pH, total-texture, and rubification 

in selected soils (B-numbers) on each fan surface. 

Note increase of rubification and pH at depth in soils. 

F1-F7, fan numbers. Horizontal dashes separate A, B, 

and C horizons.

study, however, used maximum values in each profile, 

rather than summations over the total profile depth. 

Muhs (1982) expressed soil properties in an arid xeric 

climate as profile summations and found linear trends 

with time; these soils probably received considerable

80

60

F1 F2 F3

FAN NUMBER 

F4 F5 F6 F7

40

18B

19

 14

01 23456 

AGE. IN YEARS (x105 )

Figure 8. Regression of total-texture (texture + wet 

consistence) with soil age. Dots are index values for 

each soil; circled dots are values derived by large 

extrapolations to 250-cm depth. Numbers correspond 

to profile numbers without prefix "B-". The r_ value is 

for linear regression based on index values for fans 1- 

4. Index for older soils is nonsystematic in part 

because of effect of gypsum on field determination of 

texture and consistence (see text).

160

120

80

F1 F2 F3

FAN NUMBER 

F4 F5 F6 F7

O 40

Regressions:

N r2 Significance 

All values 13 0.69 <0.01 

No extrapolated values 8 0.86 <0.01

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 

AGE, IN YEARS (x10b )

Figure 9. Regression of rubification (based on dry and 

moist colors) with soil age. Dots are index values for 

each soil; circled dots represent values derived by 

large extrapolations to 250-cm depth. Numbers 

correspond to profile numbers without prefix "B-". 

The r_ values are for linear regression based on all 

index values, and on values excluding those 

extrapolated. Values for older soils are minimum 

because calculations are limited to 250-cm depth.

C12 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
dust influx. Therefore, linear trends with soil age of 

index values based on field criteria for the Kane fan 

soils may best be explained, not by weathering 

phenomena, but by cumulative additions from 

atmospheric sources to the soil profiles, and by 

secondary effects of these additions.

Calcium Carbonate and Gypsum

Early in soil development on the Kane fans, 

CaCOo is dissolved from the calcareous parent 

material and from eolian additions, and is 

reprecipitated lower in the profile mainly as coats and 

pendants under clasts (supplementary table 1). The 

depth to and the amount of secondary CaCOg increase 

with age in soils on fans 1-3. However, CaCO-j does 

not increase beyond stage II and, in fact, appears in 

lesser proportions in the oldest soils, despite the 

availability of CaCO-j in the parent material and 

aerosolic dust.

Gypsum first appears in trace amounts in soils on 

fan 2 and steadily increases in concentration and in 

thickness with age (fig. 6 and supplementary tables 1 

and 3). Petrogypsic horizons first appear in fan 5 

soils. Expectably, gypsum accumulates below the first 

appearance of secondary CaCO-j because gypsum is 

more soluble. I was not able to find the maximum 

depth of gypsum accumulation in backhoe pits up to 3 

m deep, but observations (table 2) indicate that 

gypsum amounts decrease with depth and that gypsum 

does not occur in most of the basal fan gravels.

The composition and amount of dust collected in 

traps (table 5) suggest that atmospheric additions of 

silicates, CaCOg, and gypsum determine the

160

120

F1 F2 F3

FAN NUMBER 

F4 F5 F6 F7

r so

40

Regressions:

N r2 Significance 

Fans 1-4 6 093 <0.01 

Fans 4-7 8 0.80 <0.01

0 1 23456 

AGE, IN YEARS (x105)

Figure 10. Regression of pH with soil age. Dots are 

index values for each soil; circled dots are values 

derived by large extrapolations to 250-cm depth; 

arrows extend down to minimum index values for 

young soils. Numbers correspond to profile numbers 

without prefix "B-". The r2 value for fans 1-4 is for 

regression using minimum index values for young 

soils. Values for older soils are minimum because 

calculations are limited to 250-cm depth.

development of soils on the Kane fans. The annual 

infall of mineral particles (non-salt, non-organic 

fraction) is about 5 X 10"4 g/cmz (based on one year of 

data). CaCO3 is added at the annual rate of 2 X 10~4 

g/cm , whereas the gypsum rate is about 0.4 X 10 

g/cm2 .

Eolian silt and clay may compose a large part of 

the silt and clay in the upper parts of the soils. 

Continual input of silt and clay through time can 

account for the linear textural increase seen in the 

younger soils (fig. 8). Gravelly material makes an 

effective long-term sediment trap, especially where a 

desert pavement helps protect the surface from 

deflation. Eolian dust influx also helps to account for

- so

e+ 6°

6 * 

LU 2

3 + 

< g

x S LU <->

QE 

Si 20

F1 F2 F3

FAN NUMBERS

F4 F5 F6 F7

40

Regressions:

N r2 Significance

All fans 13 0.57 <0.01

Fans 1-6 11 0.86 <0.01

0 

F1

1 

F2 F3 F4

4 

F5

5 

F6

6 

F7

100

80

60

X- 40 

|1 

 SE.

* 20

B

Regressions: 

N r2 Significance 

All fans 13 0.64 <0.01 

Fans 1-6 11 0.87 <0.01

0123456 

AGE, IN YEARS (xlO5 )

Figure 11. Regression of profile index with soil age. 

(A_, Combined pH, total-texture, and rubification. B, 

Total-texture and rubification). Dots are index values 

for each soil; circled dots represent values derived by 

large extrapolations to 250-cm depth; arrows extend 

down to minimum index values for young soils. 

Numbers correspond to profile numbers without prefix 

"B-". The r_ values in _A are for linear regression using 

minimum values for young soils. Values for older soils 

are minimum because calculations are limited to 250- 

cm depth.

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C13
Table 5. Data from dust traps

[Analytical methods are described in text. The 

first major oxides column gives percent as 

measured on the nonsalt silt-plus-clay fraction. 

The second column gives recalculated percent 

oxides assuming that all CaCOo and gypsum in the 

traps were contained in the s111-plus-c1 ay 

fraction. Oxides were determined on combined 

samples from D-l and D-2]

Trap D-l Trap D-2

Air-dry weight---- 0.6818 

Percent of total sample:

0.9360 g

Organics---------- 19.3 15.6

CaC0 3 --- -- ---- 16.6 22.9

Gypsum------------ 3.3 5.6

Mineral matter---- 60.8 55.9

Percent of mineral matter fraction:

Sand-------------- 4.0 12.0

Silt--- 59.6 54.2

Clay -- --- - 36.3 33.8

Annual flux rates (10 g/cm 2 ):

Mineral matter---- 4.8 6.0

CaC03 -- __------ 1.3 2.5

Gypsum------------ .26 .60

Percent major oxides of si 11-p1 us-c1 ay fraction, 

combined samples:

	With CaC0 3 

Nons a 11 and gypsum

Si0 2 - 67. 59.

A1 2 0 3 - -- --- 11.7 10.3

Fe 2 0 3 - --- -- - 4.4 3.9

MgO- - -- --- 2.0 1.8

CaO -- - 2.0 14.0

Na 2 0--- --- --- 3.2 2.8

K 2 0 ----- ---- 3.0 2.6

Ti0 2 - .53 .46

MnO -- -- - .038 .033

Zr0 2 ----- - -026 .023

the presence of illuvial clay in B horizons of soils that 

show few signs of weathering (Holliday, 1982).

The CaCOo dust rate is similar to the Holocene 

rate calculated oy McFadden and Tinsley (1985) for 

soils in southern California and is slightly higher than 

modern dustfall rates in the area of Las Cruces, N. 

Mex. (Gile and Grossman, 1979). Machette (1985) 

calculated that annual Pleistocene rates of carbonate 

accumulation were 1.4, 2.2-2.6, and 5.1 X 10~4 g/cmz 

for the respective areas of Beaver, Utah, AlbuquerqueLas Cruces, N. Mex., and Roswell-Carlsbad, N. Mex. 

Formation of calcic soils in the United States is 

commonly attributed to atmospheric additions of 

CaCO3 , including calcareous dust and calcium ions 

contained in precipitation (for example, Gardner, 1972; 

Bachman and Machette, 1977; Gile and Grossman, 

1979).

If CaCO3 is being added to the Kane fan soils at 

the rate indicated, the amount of secondary CaCO3 in 

the older soils should be much greater than the amount 

actually observed. For example, soils at Las Cruces as 

young as 25-75 ka have stage III CaCO3 horizons (Gile 

and others, 1981). At Silesia, Mont., in a climate

C14 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States

moister than the Kane area with a smaller carbonate 

dust flux, 400-ka soils in granitic alluvium have stage 

III CaCO3 (Reheis, 1984). Some mechanism that 

diluted or prevented eolian CaCO3 from being added 

to the older Kane fan soils appears to be required. 

One possible answer is that CaCO3 , much less soluble 

than gypsum, could have been removed from the fan 

surfaces by wind before it could be dissolved and 

moved into the soils.

Potential sources of gypsum in the study area 

include: (1) local evaporite fragments in the fan 

detritus, (2) ground water from nearby springs, (3) the 

past and present base-flow component of runoff within 

the fan gravels, and (4) upwind dust sources.

Incorporation of gypsum into the fan debris from 

local bedrock sources is not significant. Analyses of 

relatively unaltered fan debris from the base of 

profiles developed on fans 1-3 and from the base of fan 

3 deposits (supplementary table 4), plus field 

observations at depth (table 2), show only trace 

amounts of gypsum (about 0.07 percent). The bulk 

density of unweathered fan gravels is about 2.0 g/cm 

(supplementary table 2). Hence, only 0.0014 g of 

gypsum can be obtained from a cubic centimeter of 

parent material. The profile weight of gypsum in a 

250-cm thickness of soil on fan 7 is about 43 g/cm 

(fig. 12). In order to derive all the gypsum in the 

uppermost 250 cm of fan 7 soils from weathering and 

solution of the carbonate parent material, about 305 m 

of deposits above the present land surface would be 

required. This is extremely unlikely because the fan 

surfaces are quite well preserved.

A ground water source for the secondary gypsum 

cannot be dismissed, but several facts argue against 

it. (1) Analyses (supplementary table 3) and 

observations (table 2) show that gypsum is 

concentrated about 0.25-1.0 m below fan surfaces. It 

decreases with depth and does not visibly occur in 

basal gravel in most cases, even where the gravel 

overlies relatively impermeable shale bedrock. Ground 

water flow would concentrate above such aquacludes, 

so if the gypsum precipitated out of ground water, it 

should also concentrate near the base of the gravel. 

(2) If ground water were the main contributor of 

gypsum, the observed increase of gypsum with time 

should not occur. Gypsum would be added only as long 

as the soil remained within reach of the ground water 

table. After incision and isolation of the fan surface, 

gypsum should not continue to accumulate. (3) The 

vertical distribution of gypsum and carbonate argues 

against ground water origin. Precipitation of salts 

from solutions of upward-moving capillary water 

should result in more soluble salts occurring closer to 

the surface than less soluble ones, but gypsum-rich 

horizons in the Kane soils always occur beneath 

horizons that contain secondary CaCO3 . Additionally, 

with a ground water source, gypsum should occur 

closer to the surface in younger soils that are near the 

ground water table; the reverse is true in the study 

area.

Eolian-derived gypsum (Page, 1972; Watson, 

1979) appears to account for most of the observed 

increase in gypsum content. Profile weights (g/cm in 

a column of soil) of gypsum (calculated to a depth of 

250 cm) increase at a linear rate (fig. 12), and the £ 

value based on nine soils is significant at the 0.01 level
when ages are estimated from the stream-incision rate 

(table 4 and fig. 5). The r2 value increases from 0.90 

to 0.93 when the soil on fan 7 that appears eroded is 

excluded from the regression. Annual rates of gypsum 

accumulation calculated from the profile weights and 

estimated soil ages vary3 between 1.1 and 120 X 10~6 

g/cm . Addition of eolian gypsum (table 5) now occurs 

at annual rates between 26 and 60 X 10~6 g/cm2 . 

Thus, the observed accumulation rate of aerosolic 

gypsum is enough to account for most of the pedogenic 

gypsum.

Local and long-range sources of eolian gypsum 

are abundant. Presently stabilized clay and gypsum 

dunes (up to 90 percent gypsum) 4 km south of the 

Kane fans indicate eolian gypsum transport (Birdseye, 

1983), and may be a gypsum source for the Kane fan 

soils. Cretaceous rocks underlying the central part of 

the Bighorn basin commonly contain gypsum. Gypsum 

deposits are exposed in the Sheep Mountain anticline 

to the southwest, on the slopes of the Pryor Mountains 

to the northwest (Pierce, 1978), and in the Cody area 

on the west side of the Bighorn Basin (Bullock and 

Wilson, 1969). At present, prevailing winds in the 

study area are westerly.

Effects of Gypsum on Other Soil Properties

Depression of CaCOg solubility

Mobility of CaCO3 in gypsic soils is restricted 

because of the common ion effect (Krauskopf, 1967, 

p.17): the solubility of any salt (CaCO3 ) in equilibrium 

with a saturated solution is less if an excess of one of 

its ions (Ca ) is present. Calculations indicate that 

the solubility of CaCO3 is depressed by a factor of 64 

in the presence of a solution saturated with gypsum at 

25°C, assuming that equilibrium conditions are 

maintained and that the partial pressure of CO2 is 

constant (see "Field Methods and Calculations" 

section). The solubility of CaCO3 may be even further 

reduced by the low partial pressure of CO2 in arid soils 

(modeled growing-season £CO2 is less than 0.1 percent 

in arid climates, 0.6-4 percent in semiarid climates; 

Brook and others, 1983). The reverse is not true; 

because CaCOo is much less soluble than gypsum, 

gypsum solubility remains nearly constant in a CaCO3 - 

saturated solution.

Although trace amounts of gypsum occur in the 

uppermost soil horizons, gypsum accumulates in 

horizons lower than the first occurrence of secondary 

CaC03 (supplementary table 1). The depths to 

accumulations of secondary CaCO3 and gypsum in the 

soils can be compared best by calculating these depths 

in units of yearly water penetration (Arkley, 1963) 

based on the estimated available water-holding 

capacity (AWC) of each horizon (fig. 13). The depths 

then are plotted on a curve that represents the 

movement of water calculated for 24 years of Lovell

o

The variation in rates of gypsum accumulation 

calculated from the soils may be due to episodic 

solution of gypsum, or to variation in the gypsum dust 

flux with time.

weather data (National Climatic Center, 1976). 

Theoretically, rainfall will dissolve gypsum and CaCO«j 

either from eolian dust or parent material and carry 

the ions downward. As soon as this solution contacts a 

significant amount of gypsum, the addition of Ca+2 

and SO4~2 ions to the solution will depress the 

solubility of CaCO3 and it will precipitate. Thus, the 

more gypsum that accumulates, the less movement of 

CaCOo will occur.

The following method permits estimation of the 

depth at which gypsum saturation occurs and CaCO^ 

precipitates for the Kane fan soils (table 6). The 

amount of water per vear that is available to dissolve 

the gypsum in a 1-cnr column through a soil horizon is 

equal to the yearly amount of water passing through 

the soil at the base of that horizon (fig. 13), plus the 

water held within the horizon (AWC, table 6). Finely 

powdered gypsum is soluble at the rate of 19 X 10~* 

g/mL H2 O (distilled) at 10°C (Hardie, 1967). The 

potential amount of gypsum that can be dissolved 

yearly in a horizon is equal to the gypsum solubility 

multiplied by the total amount of water held in and 

passing through that horizon. The amount of gypsum 

present in a 1-cm2 horizon column is known (table 6). 

The percent saturation with gypsum of water 

percolating down from the base of the soil horizon is 

equal to the amount of gypsum actually present 

divided by the amount that could be dissolved, 

assuming that if sufficient unsaturated water is 

present, all the gypsum in the horizon will dissolve. 

The calculation is repeated for each successively lower 

horizon, except that the capacity of water to dissolve 

gypsum in each lower horizon is decreased by the 

percent saturation of the water when it enters that 

horizon.

50

QC 

LU

-I

1340 

cc O

(D O

30

F1 F2 F3

FAN NUMBER 

F4 F5 F6 F7

U. LU

05

20

LU

LU 

CC 

LU <

-3 10 

U-O

O t/3

Regressions:

N r2 Significance 

All fans 9 0.90 <0.01 

Fans 1 -6 8 0.93 <0.01

01 23456 

AGE, IN YEARS (xlO5)

Figure 12. Regression of profile weights of pedogenic 

gypsum with soil age. Dots are values for each soil; 

circled dots represent values derived by large 

extrapolations to 250-cm depth. Numbers correspond 

to profile numbers without prefix "B-". The r_z values 

are for linear regression based on soils for which bulk 

density is known.

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming CIS
The gypsum-saturation depth of the normal 

yearly amount of water occurs within 10 cm of the 

surface in all the Kane fan soils except B-21 on fan 1 

(table 6). In most of the soils, the water becomes 

saturated with gypsum at or just above the uppermost 

level of accumulation of CaCOg (B-14 and B-19, table 

6). This observation supports the above hypothesis 

concerning the inhibition of CaCOg dissolution by 

gypsum. In profile B-19, the water percolating through 

the soil is not saturated with gypsum until it enters the 

uppermost gypsic horizon, implying ongoing dissolution 

of gypsum. Field observations of this soil indicate that 

dissolution is occurring, for the gypsum distribution in

WATER FLUX, IN CENTIMETERS PER YEAR 

1 2 3 .. 16

Wetting depth in modern 

average year (leaching index)

F4 7* 

 7*-- F2 

F5 / 

F7, dissolving

F3 F6 

F5

Wetting depth of largest single 

storm in past 28 years

Wetting depth in postulated 

glacial year (leaching index)

EXPLANATION

Observed upper limit of CaCC>3 

accumulation on fan 6

Observed upper limit of 

gypsum accumulation 

on fan 5

Figure 13. Average yearly water movement (24-year 

record at Lovell, Wyo.) and relationship to gypsic and 

calcic horizons using Arkley's (1963) method. Upper 

limits of gypsum (solid line) and CaCO3 (dashed line) 

horizons for soils on fans F1-F7; units of depth were 

calculated by estimating AWC for each horizon from 

textural data. Fl has no gypsum accumulation in the 

depth sampled. "F3. eroded" denotes top of carbonate 

horizon of a stripped soil (there are two F3 soils); "F7. 

dissolving" is top of gypsic horizon that shows signs of 

ongoing dissolution. Soil profiles used include: Fl = B21, F2 = B-14 and B-15, F3 = B-6A. F4 = B-16. F5 = B17, F6 = B-18A, F-7 = B-19.

the B horizon is patchy and irregular. This is shown by 

two different lines representing the depths to gypsum 

accumulation for the soil on fan 7 in figure 13.

Several assumptions are involved in the 

calculations of gypsum-saturation depths: (1) All of 

the gypsum in each horizon is dissolved if sufficient 

unsaturated water is present. This assumption is 

probably justified for the A and B horizons of the Kane 

fan soils, because in these horizons, gypsum occurs in 

such small, disseminated amounts that it is not 

visible. Gypsum in these horizons is probably finely 

crystalline and can dissolve rapidly. The assumption is 

not justified for the horizons with coarsely crystalline 

gypsum (all those horizons designated "cs" in table 6). 

(2) The solubility of gypsum is not depressed by a 

common ion present in a more soluble salt. No other 

salts were observed in X-ray diffraction analyses of 

the Kane fan soils. (3) The amount of gypsum 

calculated in each horizon is reasonably accurate. 

Horizon weights of gypsum are calculated from the 

percent gypsum, bulk density, and horizon thickness 

(supplementary table 7). The total horizon weight 

includes both pedogenic gypsum and parent-material 

gypsum, assuming the latter has not been leached 

out. Due to uncertainties, only the amount of 

pedogenic gypsum was used to calculate saturation 

depth of gypsum. Hence, saturation depths in table 6 

are probably minimum estimates.

An obvious implication of this work is that, 

through time, the amount of gypsum in the A and B 

horizons should decrease and disappear as it is 

dissolved. That this does not occur is proved by the 

occurrence of gypsum in small amounts in the upper 

parts of all soils. Several factors may explain this 

phenomenon: (1) Small amounts of gypsum are added 

by dust influx (table 5). This factor is considered 

unlikely, for present rainfall is more than enough to 

dissolve the very small amounts of gypsum added (26- 

60 X 10~6 g/cm2 per year). (2) Small amounts of 

gypsum, if present, may be released from the 

limestone and dolomite clasts as they weather on and 

near the ground surface. Most carbonate rocks contain 

trace amounts of gypsum and other salts (less than 0.1 

percent; Lamar and Shrode, 1958). These two factors 

are incompatible: if percolating water dissolves 

aerosolic gypsum near the ground surface, then the 

common ion effect will hinder this water in dissolving 

carbonate and releasing gypsum from the near-surface 

clasts. (3) Evaporation of water at the ground surface 

probably causes upward movement of soil water in the 

upper, fine-grained parts of the soil (supplementary 

table 1). Thus, small amounts of gypsum that are 

dissolved and moved down by a rainfall event may be 

redistributed upward as evaporation occurs.

Effects on other soil-forming processes

Pedogenic silt and clay shows no increase in soils 

older than 300 ka (fig. 8); this may be related to the 

gypsum accumulations in older soils. Gypsum may 

control the movement of fines in two different ways: 

First, gypsum is much more soluble than CaCO^; thus 

it flocculates clay particles more effectively than 

CaCOo and can prevent clay from being translocated 

into the profile. Second, if enough gypsum

C16 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
Table 6. Estimated depths to saturation of leaching water with gypsum

[Numbers (C1-C6) at top of each column are used to abbreviate equations to calculate the quantities In 

other columns. Equations are shown in parentheses at the bottoms of column headings. GS, gypsum 

solubility, 19x10 g/mL at 10°C (Hardie, 1967). C6, value of column C6 for the next higher horizon]

Fan and

profile

number,

Fl (B-21)

A

2Btca

2Cca

2Cn

F3 (B-14)

All

A12

Bl

B21tca

B22tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Cnca

F7 (B-19)

A

B21tca

B22tcsca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

2C3cs

3C4cs

Horizon

thickness

6

7

20

40

4

4

9

11

16

26

53

70

6

8

11

15

45

52

125

Cl

Est.

AWC

(cm)

0.47

.18

.52

.44

.47

.47

1.46

1.78

2.45

.57

1.17

1.40

.86

.58

.99

1.56

3.38

4.06

3.25

C2

Estimated

water flux

from horizon

(mL/yr) 

(from fig. 13)

2.9

2.3

1.5

1.2

3.0

1.7

.6

.2

0

0

0

0

1.8

1.3

.6

.2

0

0

0

C3

Water in

or leaving

hor i zon

(mL/yr 

(C1+C2)

3.4

2.5

2.0

1.6

3.5

2.2

2.1

2.0

.2

0

0

0

2.7

1.9

1.6

1.8

.2

0

0

C4

Gypsum

capacity

of water (g)

, 100-C6 n

(C3 GS [ 10Q ])

0.0065

.0048

.0036

.0020

.0067

.0042

.0033

0'

0

0

0

0

.0051

.0023

.0021

0

0

0

0

C5

Pedogenic

gypsum in

horizon

(g/cm2 ) 

(supp. table 7)

0

.0002

.0012

.0008

0

.0007

.0049

0

0

.0037

.0935

.218

.0019

.0007

.509

7.13

13.9

13.0

9.47

C6

Saturation of

water leaving

horizon

(percent) 

(C5/C4)

0

4

33

40

0

17

100

100

100

100

100

100

37

31

100

100

100

100

100

accumulates, the soil horizon may be plugged, and clay 

particles physically cannot pass through it. 

Petrogypsic horizons in soils on fans 5, 6, and 7 might 

act as barriers to clay movement.

Gypsum appears to cause rapid physical 

disintegration of gravels (fig. 6). Limestone and 

dolomite cobbles within gypsic and petrogypsic 

horizons are commonly split, and gypsum crystals fill 

the cracks. Gypsum crystallization has apparently 

split the clasts. Gypsum crystals also have 

disaggregated andesite clasts along grain boundaries. 

Such weathering has been reported in other arid 

regions (Coleman and others, 1966; Dan and others, 

1982) and has been duplicated in the laboratory 

(Goudie and others, 1979). It is commonly attributed 

to pressures caused by hydration and crystallization.

Rubification may be associated with gypsum in 

the Kane fan soils. Rubification does not appear to be 

related to weathering processes in the B horizons of 

these soils, because it continues to increase with depth 

in the profile (fig. 7). However, Dan and others (1982) 

suggested that high salt contents of older desert soils 

in southern Israel may enhance deep weathering, 

because the hygroscopic nature of the salts encourages 

moisture retention in the soils. In addition, gypsum 

may encourage rubification by disintegrating clasts 

and mineral grains, which increases the surface area of 

debris exposed to oxidation. Petrogypsic horizons do 

not appear most rubified simply because gypsum 

dilutes the red coloration.

Possible Climatic Implications

Depth to accumulations of secondary CaCOo and 

gypsum should bear some relation to climate (Jenny

and Leonard, 1939; Arkley, 1963). These relations are 

examined by plotting the depths to secondary CaGO, 

and gypsum in units of yearly water penetration based 

on the AWC of each horizon (fig. 13).

The wetting depths to accumulations of 

secondary CaCOg in the Kane fan soils do not show a 

relation with soil age (fig. 13). As discussed above, the 

wetting depth to secondary CaCOg is probably 

controlled in these soils by the amount of secondary 

gypsum contained in the uppermost horizons. The 

measured depths to secondary CaCOo in the profiles 

(supplementary table 1) are only a few centimeters. 

Thus, the variable wetting depths to CaCOg in soils of 

various ages (fig. 13) may be related to slight erosion 

or deflation of fan surfaces.

Different depths to gypsum horizons in younger 

(F3) and older soils (F4-7, fig. 13) suggest a drier 

climate before 100 ka. Because temperature has little 

effect on gypsum solubility (Hardie, 1967), effects on 

the soils would probably be related to changes in 

effective moisture caused by changes in temperature 

or in the amount and seasonal distribution of 

precipitation. Gypsum horizons of fan 3 soils occur 

near the leaching depth calculated from the postulated 

climatic parameters (table 1) during glacial periods, 

but positions for soils on fans 2 and 4-7 cluster closely 

around the modern leaching index of 2.6 cm.

The soils on fans 2 and 3 have been subjected to 

the climates of the last glaciation and of the 

Holocene. Accumulation of silt and clay in the A and 

B horizons with time raises the soil AWC. If the 

accumulation of gypsum at a given wetting depth 

occurred prior to the accumulation of silt and clay 

above the gypsum, then the wetting depth to the 

gypsum measured at present will be greater than that

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C17
at which it accumulated. Therefore, greater depth to 

gypsum in fan 3 as opposed to fan 2 soils may be agerelated rather than climate-related. Alternatively, 

the assumed age of 65,000 yr for fan 2 may be 

incorrect. If fan 2 is younger, perhaps dating to the 

end of the last glaciation, then it has developed only 

under the recent interglacial climate. In that case, 

the depth to gypsum in fan 2 could reflect the modern, 

shallow leaching depth, whereas gypsum depth in fan 3 

soils mainly reflects the greater available moisture of 

the last glaciation.

Soils on fans 4 through 7 have developed through 

many glacial-interglacial cycles. The presence of 

secondary gypsum at depths well below the maximum 

concentration of gypsum demonstrates that greater 

available moisture during glacial episodes probably 

affected the soils. But the maximum gypsum horizons 

correspond to the modern interglacial wetting depth; 

this suggests that the positions of these horizons is 

controlled by the interglacial episodes.

The simplest hypothesis that explains gypsum 

depth in soils older than 100 ka invokes the 

hygroscopic qualities of gypsum. It is well known that 

salts have the ability to sorb larger amounts of 

moisture than mineral grains (Winkler, 1975; Dan and 

others, 1982). Experiments with brine-saturated bricks 

have shown that the volume percent of hygroscopic 

moisture content of a brick increases by a factor of 20 

when the amount of salt (NaCl) in the brine increases 

from 0 to 4 percent (Winkler, 1975). Because the 

calculated AWCs are based on field texture, they 

probably underestimate the real AWCs of gypsum-rich 

soils. If gypsum has even 10 percent the water-holding 

capacity of NaCl, then a gypsic horizon with 5 percent 

gypsum can double the AWC of that horizon. Gypsum 

quantities in Kane fan soils approach 50 percent in 

some horizons, including gravel content. Estimated 

from field textures, the AWC of the uppermost gypsic 

horizons in fans 5, 6, and 7 is 2 cm in a 20-cm-thick, 1- 

cm2 section. The gypsum in these horizons is probably 

sufficient to hold all of the estimated additional 

moisture of a glacial climate. The water-holding 

ability of the gypsum is further enhanced by the high 

porosity of the gypsic horizons: the bulk density of 

gypsic peds in some of these horizons is less than 1.0 

g/cm , whereas the density of gypsum is 2.3 g/cm . 

When gypsum accumulates in a near-surface position 

over a lengthy interglacial, it can increase the soil 

AWC enough to hold the increased moisture of a 

glacial period within the gypsic and overlying A and B 

horizons. Thus, the gypsic horizon may prevent its 

own leaching.

Two other hypotheses could help account for 

shallow depth to gypsum in older soils. First, the rate 

of gypsum influx during glacial periods may have 

increased to levels that overwhelmed the ability of the 

downward flux of water to transport gypsum. Because 

loess deposition accompanies and closely follows 

glaciations, this hypothesis has some merit. But even 

with modern rainfall, the influx must increase by two 

orders of magnitude to allow gypsum to remain at 

shallow depths in the old soils. This hypothesis alone 

seems inadequate. Second, moisture during glacial 

periods may have actually decreased from modern 

levels, even though evapotranspiration was greatly 

reduced, because of the predominant northerly winds

and the increased proportion of snow to rain. If no 

winter moisture was added to the soils due to the 

presence of frozen ground and wind deflation, summer 

precipitation must have decreased to half the present 

level to place the calculated glacial leaching index at 

the level of the gypsum horizons. Such a decrease is 

much larger than that previously postulated (Gates, 

1976) but is within the realm of possibility.

In summary, the most likely hypothesis that 

accounts for the retention of gypsum near the surface 

of soils that have undergone glacial climates is the 

hygroscopic property of gypsum. This hypothesis is 

most simple because it does not require any changes 

external to the soils. It is also possible that increased 

dust flux and decreased moisture during glaciations 

may have played a part in the development .of the 

Kane fan soils. In any case, because gypsum increases 

linearly with time, precipitation in the past 600,000 

years has never been sufficient to flush gypsum 

completely from the soils.

SUMMARY

Field properties and gypsum contents of Kane 

fan soils change at statistically significant linear 

rates. These linear rates imply an external source for 

pedogenic materials. Total texture and pH increase 

with time in soils on fans 1-4, whereas pH appears to 

decrease in soils on fans 5-7. Rubification increases 

with time in all soils. The profile index increases with 

time, but the correlation is stronger if the index is 

calculated using only texture and rubification.

Evidence from dust traps indicates that the 

modern influx of aerosolic gypsum is sufficient to 

produce a large proportion of the observed amounts of 

pedogenic gypsum. Despite the presence of alkali 

springs and gypsum in bedrock units in the Cottonwood 

Creek drainage, gypsum occurs in very small quantities 

(less than 0.1 percent) in fan gravels at depth, and it 

does not concentrate in basal gravels over 

impermeable shale where ground water should 

concentrate.

Gradual accumulation of pedogenic gypsum 

strongly affects development of other soil properties. 

Gypsum causes rapid clast weathering and may cause 

reddening of the C horizons; it also reduces the 

solubility of CaCOg so much that redistribution of 

CaCO-j has stopped in soils older than 300 ka. The 

small amounts of gypsum in the A and B horizons of 

most of the soils is apparently sufficient to prevent 

CaCO-j from being carried in solution to depths 

greater than about 10 cm by the average yearly 

precipitation. Gypsum may also inhibit downward 

translocation of clay by flocculating clay particles, 

which would account for the lack of continuing 

increase in fines near the surface of older soils.

Large accumulations of gypsum can so increase 

the AWC of the soil that increased moisture during 

glacial episodes can be held at shallow depths. The 

positions of gypsic horizons should be related to 

available soil moisture, which was probably increased 

during past glacial periods. Gypsic horizons in soils 

older than 100 ka correspond to the modern average 

yearly wetting depth, which suggests that over a long 

period of time, depth to gypsum is controlled by soil

CIS Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
moisture available during interglacials. Gypsum that 

accumulates close to the surface in an interglacial 

climate can, by increasing soil AWC, hold the 

increased moisture available during a glacial period. 

Some younger soils have accumulations of gypsum 

deeper than older soils; this may be because younger 

soils reflect the climate of the last glaciation, when 

leaching depths were greater, or because the small 

amount of gypsum added to young soils can be easily 

moved to greater depths by large wetting events.

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FIELD METHODS AND CALCULATIONS 

Sampling and Description

Soils developed on the Kane fans were sampled in 

hand-dug holes or backhoe pits at sites that appeared 

least affected by erosion or deposition subsequent to 

abandonment of each fan surface (fig. 2 and 

supplementary table 1). These sites were 

supplemented by exposures in an ash pit (B-7) and a 

diversion ditch (B-6A). I sampled at least two soils on 

each fan, except fans 1 and 4, to assess soil 

variability. Four soils appear to have undergone slight 

truncation of the upper parts of the B horizons 

(supplementary tables 1 and 2). Humans probably 

truncated B-5, located near a parking area, and B-6A, 

on the sloping side of a diversion ditch. The surface of 

fan 7 is more bouldery and dissected than the others; 

thus, soils B-4 and B-19 may have been eroded. Alkali 

springs are just east of remnants of fans 4 and 5. In 

order to minimize possible groundwater effects, soils 

B-16, B-17, and B-7 were sampled as far away from 

the springs as possible. The surfaces of these fans at 

their westward ends are presently well above any 

potential groundwater influence, but earlier alteration 

could have occurred when the fans were less dissected.

Horizon nomenclature and soil property 

descriptions follow Soil Survey Staff (1975) usage, with 

the exception of texture modifiers describing gravel 

content. Field textural descriptions (determined by 

hand) in supplementary table 2 were not corrected 

using laboratory-determined carbonate-free particlesize data, because removal of carbonates prior to 

laboratory work resulted in removal of the limestone 

and dolomite parent material. Hand-determined field 

textures are influenced not only by carbonates, but 

also by the feel of gypsum crystals in gypsum-rich 

horizons. Moist and dry colors were obtained with a 

Munsell soil color chart. pH was determined in the 

laboratory with a pH meter. CaCO-j stages follow 

those proposed by Bachman and Machette (1977). I 

adapted gypsum stages (fig. 6) from CaCOg stage 

descriptions as follows:

I thin, discontinuous coatings on lower surfaces 

of stones

II abundant gypsum pendants under stones;

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C21
gypsum crystals scattered through matrix or forming 

small, soft powdery nodules

III gypsum continuous through matrix and 

forming large (up to 10 cm long) pendants under stones

IV continuous gypsum-plugged fabric; stones and 

smaller debris float in gypsum matrix

Index of Soil Development

Soil field data, which are measured mainly on 

ordinal scales, were converted to ratio data using 

Harden's (1982a) index of soil development, in which a 

point system is used to quantify various field 

properties of soils. Points for each horizon are then 

normalized to give all properties equal weight and 

multiplied by the horizon thickness; the products are 

summed for each soil. Thus, individual properties can 

be examined with depth in one soil or compared 

between soils, or several properties can be combined 

to obtain a total profile-development index value for 

each soil. (See flow diagram in Harden and Taylor. 

1983).

I have modified Harden's index for the Kane 

fans. The change of pH in the index is assessed in 

terms of pH lowering, and this works well in relatively 

moist environments. In the case of soils developed on 

the Kane fans, however, I believe that pH increases 

with soil age, because of the aridity and sparse 

vegetation of the area and because of the availability 

of CaCO3 . This phenomenon occurs in semiarid soils 

along Rock Creek, Mont. (Reheis, 1984). The change 

in pH for the Kane fans, therefore, was shown as a pH 

increase from the parent material state. A value of 

1.5 was used as the normalization value for pH 

increase, because it was the maximum pH increase 

observed in soils of the northern Bighorn Basin (Reheis, 

1984).

It is very difficult to assess parent-material pH 

for the Kane fan soils. The pH of basal C horizons of 

the young soils on fans 1-3 is about 8.4. If this value 

accurately reflects parent-material pH, then nearly all 

the soil horizons show decreases in pH (supplementary 

table 3). Such a trend is inconsistent with observations 

of calcareous soils made elsewhere (Reheis, 1984). In 

theory, the pH in calcareous soils is unlikely to 

decrease unless leaching is sufficient to remove a 

significant proportion of the exchangeable Ca ions 

(Birkeland, 1984, p. 22-23). Thus, I believe that the pH 

of 8.4 representing the lowest depths sampled in young 

Kane fan soils is a pedogenic product; consequently the 

original pH is likely less than 8.4. The mean pH of 

leachate from limestone is about 7.9, whereas the 

mean pH of leachate from dolomite is about 8.5 

(Lamar and Shrode, 1958). As limestone is slightly 

more soluble than dolomite, weathering of limestone 

probably dominates soil pH on the Kane fans. These 

considerations led me to select arbitrarily a value of 

8.0 as the parent-material pH in order to calculate pH 

increase for these soils. Perhaps coincidentally, this 

pH value is the same as the mean pH of the calcareous 

A horizons of Kane fan soils.

Dust Traps

Dust traps were set out in three locations on the 

fans (fig. 2) to assess aerosolic additions to the soils.

Plastic-lined aluminum trays, 29.5 x 29.5 x 6.5 cm in 

size, were filled with marbles and mounted on poles 

about 2 m above the ground (Gile and Grossman, 

1979). After one year, two traps were removed (the 

third was destroyed by high winds), and the dust was 

collected by washing the traps and marbles with 

distilled water.

Water Movement

Arkley's (1963) method of calculating water 

movement in soils was used to examine the 

relationship of local climate to the depth of CaCOg or 

gypsum accumulation. Month-by-month precipitation 

data for the 24-year record at Lovell and average 

monthly potential evapotranspiration (using van 

Hylckama's method, 1959) were used to calculate 

monthly excesses of precipitation over evaporation 

that is, the depth of water available to wet the soil in 

a given month. The average amount of water per year 

that passes any given depth in a soil can then be 

calculated. If the available water-holding capacity 

(AWC) of the various horizons is known or can be 

estimated, the amount of water can be plotted against 

actual soil depth. I estimated AWC of the Kane fan 

soils from field textural data using Salter and Williams' 

(1967) method. They state that their method has a 

mean error of ±17 percent using a 12 textural-class 

(field) system.

Depression of CaCO3 Solubility by Gypsum

Solubilities of gypsum (Sg) and CaCOq (Sc) at 

25°C are calculated from their solubility products (Kg, 

Kc) as follows (Krauskopf, 1967):

Kg = (Sg) 2 = (Ca 2+)(SOff-) = 2.51xlO~5 mol/L

Sg = (2.51xlO~5 ) 0 ' 5 = S.OOxlQ- 3 mol/L

Kc = (Sc) 2 = (Ca2+)(COf-) = 6.03xlO~9 mol/L

Sc = (6.03xlO~9 ) 0 - b = 7.76xlO~ 5 mol/L

If a solution is saturated with respect to gypsum, the 

concentration of Ca^+ in solution is 5.0 x 10""* 

moleAiter. Let £ equal the solubility of CaCO3 in this 

gypsum-saturated solution; then

Kc = (Ca2+)(CO§") = (x+5.0xlO~ 3 )x. 

= x2+5.0xl(T 3 x = 6.03xlO~9 mol/L

2£ will not be larger than the solubility of CaCOg in 

pure water, so the term x. is small enough to be 

ignored. Then

5.0xlO~ 3 x = 6.03xlO~9 mol/L 

x = 1.21xlQ- 6 mol/L

These calculations indicate that the solubility of 

CaCO3 is depressed by a factor of 64 in the presence 

of a solution saturated with gypsum at 25°C.

C22 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
SUPPLEMENTARY TABLES
Supplementary Table 1, Part 1. Sample locations and site conditions

Site

B-21

B-5

B-15

B-6A

B-14

B-16

B-17

B-7

B-3

B-18A

B-18B

B-4

B-19

Geologic 

Unit

Fan

Fan

Fan

Fan

Fan

Fan

Fan

Fan

Fan

Fan

Fan

Fan

Fan

1

2

2

3

3

4

5

5

6

6

6

7

7

Elevation Modern 

(ft) vegetation*

3,735

3,667

3,735

3,715

3,725

3,920

3,945

3,970

4,205

4,085

4,085

4,145

4,180

cactus, sagebrush,

grasses

cactus, sagebrush,

grasses

cactus, sagebrush,

grasses

cactus, sagebrush,

grasses

cactus, sagebrush,

grasses

cactus, sagebrush,

grasses

cactus, sagebrush,

grasses

cactus, sagebrush,

grasses

cactus, sagebrush,

grasses

cactus, sagebrush,

grasses

cactus, sagebrush,

grasses

cactus, sagebrush,

grasses

cactus, sagebrush,

grasses

Modern 

land use

grazing

grazing

grazing

grazing

grazing

grazing

grazing

grazing

grazing

grazing

grazing

grazing

grazing

Type of Parent material 

excavation texture^

hand-dug

hole

hand-dug

hole

backhoe

pit

diversion

ditch

backhoe

pit

backhoe

pit

backhoe

pit

hand-dug hole

and ash pit

hand -dug

hole

backhoe

pit

backhoe

pit

hand-dug

hole

backhoe

pit

gr/S,Si

gr/S,Si

gr/S,Si

gr/S,Si

gr/S,Si

gr/S,Si

gr/S,Si

gr/S,Si

gr.L

gr.L

gr,L

gr,L

gr,L

SE/4

T.

NW/4

T.

NE/4

T.

NE/4

T.

SW/4

T.

SW/4

T.

NW/4

T.

NW/4

T.

NE/4

T.

NW/4

T.

NW/4

T.

NE/4

T.

NE/4

T.

Location 

(Montana 

Base Meridian)

, SE/4, NE/4

56 N. , R.

, SW/4, SE/4

56 N. , R.

, NE/4, SE/4

56 N. , R.

,SW4,NE/4,

56 N., R.

, SW/4, SW/4

56 N., R.

, NE/4, NE/4

56 N., R.

, NE/4, NE/4

56 N., R.

, NW/4, NW/4

56 N., R.

, NW/4, SW/4

56 N. R.

, NE/4, NW/4

56 N., R.

, NE/4, NW/4

56 N. , R.

.SW/4.NE/4

56 N., R.

, SE/4, NE/4

56 N., R.

, Sec.

94 W.

, Sec.

94 W.

, Sec.

94 W.

Sec.

94 W.

, Sec.

94 W.

, Sec.

94 W.

, Sec.

94 W.

, Sec.

94 W.

, Sec.

94 W.

, Sec.

94 W.

, Sec.

94 W.

, Sec.

94 W.

, Sec.

94 W.

4,

4,

4,

4,

3,

3,

3,

2,

1,

11,

11,

11,

11,

Percent bare ground is 50 percent or greater at all sites. 

Textures: gr/S, gravel and sand; L, loam; Si, silt.

C24 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
Supplementary Table 1, Part 2. Field descriptions

[ , not measured. Analyst: M. C. Rebels, U.S. Geological Survey]

No.

Sample

Number Horizon

Depth Lower Moist

(cm) Boundairy Color

Dry

Color Texture Structure

Wet

Consistence

Assumed Parent 

Material «2mm)

Clay

Films pH Texture

Wet ConsistenceStage

CaCOj

Stage

Gypsum

Fan 1 , 5 ka

1

2

3

4

B-21 A

2Btca

2Cca

2Cn

0-6 c,w

6-13 c,w

13-33 c,s

33-73+ 

7.5YR4/3.5

7.5YR4.5/4

7.5YR5/3

7.5YR5/3

7.5YR5.5/3

7.5YR5.5/4

7.5YR6.5/3

7.5YR5.5/3

.5 gSL Ifpl.v

gSL- Igr

vgSL m

vgLS m

so.po

so.po

so, po

so,po

0

0

0

0

7.7

8.0

8.1

8.4

SL

LS

LS

LS

so.po

so.po

so, po

so,po

0

I

1+

0

0

0

0

0

Fan 2, 65 ka

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

B-5 A

B2tca

B3tca

2Clca

2C2ca

2C3ca

B-15 A

Bl

B2tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Cn

0-3 c,w

3-11 d

11-20 a,s

20-31 d

31-46 d

46-71+

0-4 a,s

4-12 g

12-24 c,w

25-45 d

45-65 d

65-165+ 

7.5YR4.5/6

7.5YR5/4

7.5YR6.5/4

7.5YR5/4

7.5YR5/4

7.5YR4.5/4

7.5YR4.5/4

7.5YR4.5/4

7.5YR5/4

7.5YR4.5/3

7.5YR4/3

__

7.5YR5.5/6

7.5YR6.5/5

7.5YR7/4

7.5YR6/4

7.5YR6/5

8.25YR6/4

7.5YR4.5/4

7.5YR4.5/4

7.5YR6/3

7.5YR5/3

8.25YR5/2.

sgL v

sgL 2mabk

sgSL+ Ifsbk

vgSL m

vgSL m

vgLS m

gSL 2fpl,v

sgfSL Ifsbk, If pi

gfSL Ifsbk

vgSL Igr

vgLS sg,m

5 vgLS m

so,po

ss.ps

ss,ps

ss,po

ss.po

so,po

so,po

ss,ps

ss,ps

ss,ps

so.po

so,po

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

_

8.6

8.4

8.6

8.9

8.9

8.3

8.2

8.1

8.1

8.5

8.4

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

LS

SL

SL

SL

LS

LS

LS

so,po

so,po

so,po

so.po

so.po

so.po

so,po

so,po

so,po

so,po

so.po

so.po

0

I

II

I

I

I0

0

I

III

I0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

IIFan 3, 100 ka

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

B-6A A

B2tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

base of

B-14 All

A12

Bl

B21tca

B22tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Cnca

0-4 a,s

4-29 a,w

29-46 a,w

46-88 d

88-181 d

181-242+ 

fan 3 d

0-4 c,s

4-8 a,s

8-17 a,s

17-28 c,i

28-44 a,s

44-70 d

70-123 d

123-193+ 

7.5YR4.5/4

7.5YR4/4

7.5YR5/3

5YR5.5/4

5YR5/5

5YR5/4

10YR6/4

7.5YR4/3

7.5YR4.5/4

7.5YR5/4

7.5YR4.5/4

7.5YR4.5/4

7.5YR5/4

7.5YR4.5/4

7.5YR4/3

7.5YR5.5/3

7.5YR5/4

7.5YR6/3

5YR5.5/3.5

5YR5.5/3.5

5YR5.5/3

7.5YR7/4

7.5YR5.5/3

7.5YR5.5/3

7.5YR5/3

7.5YR5/4

7.5YR5/4

7.5YR6/3

7.5YR5/3.5

7.5YR5/3

gL v

sgL Ifabk

vgSCL Igr

vgSL in

vgSL m

vgLS m

vgLS m

.5 sgSL 2mgr,lfpl

sgfSL 2fpl

sgL Ifsbk

sgL lf-mabk,lmpr

sgL If-mabk, Impr

vgSL- sg, Ifabk

vgLS m

vgLS m

so, po

ss.ps

s,p

ss.po

S3 ,PO

so.po

so,po

so,po

so,po

ss.ps

ss,p

ss,ps

ss,po

so.po

so, po

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

8.1

8.1

8.3

8.2

8.2

8.1

8.5

8.0

8.0

8.0

8.1

8.1

8.4

8.4

8.3

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

LS

LS

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

LS

LS

LS

so,po

so,po

so,po

so,po

so,po

so,po

so.po

so,po

so, po

so.po

so,po

so,po

so, po

so,po

so,po

0

I

II

I

I

0

0

0

0

0

I

1+

II

I

I0

0

0

II

I0

0

0

0

0

0

0

IIFan 4, 315 ka

31

33

34

35

36

37

38

B-16 All

A12

Bt

Btca

Ccacs

2Clcsca

2C2cs

0-4 c,s

4-9 c,s

9-12 a,s

12-28 g,w

28-75 d

75-137 d

137-237+ 

7.5YR4.5/4

6.25YR5/4

7.5YR6/4

7.5YR7/4

5YR6/4

3.75YR5/6

7.5YR5.5/3

7.5YR5.5/3

7.5YR6/3

7.5YR7/3

5YR6/3

2.5YR5.5/4

gSL v

gSL+ 2gr,v

gSL+ Ifsbk.sg

gSL+ Ifsbk, sg

gSCL m

vgSCL- m

vgSCL- m

ss,po

ss.ps

ss,p

ss,p

s,p

s,p

s,p

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

8.0

8.0

8.1

8.1

8.4

8.5

8.6

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

so,po

so,po

so.po

so,po

ss.ps

ss,ps

ss,ps

0

0

0

I

II

I

0

0

0

0

0

II

II

1+

Fan 5, 410 ka

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

B-7 A

Clcsca

2C2csca

2C3csca

2C4cs

B-17 All

A12

Btca

2Clcsca

2C2csca

2C3cs

2C4cs

0-6 a,s

6-30 d

30-50 d

50-83 g

83-198+ 

0-4 c,s

4-10 a,w

10-19 c,w

19-40 g

40-89 g

89-179 d

179-249+ 

7.5YR5/6

7.5YR7/6

5YR6/7

5YR6/6

4YR5/6

7.5YR5/4

7.5YR4.5/4

5YR5.5/4

5YR6/4

5YR2.5/6

5YR5.5/6

5YR5/6

7.5YR6/6

7.5YR8/4

5YR8/6

5YR7/4

4YR6/6

7.5YR6/3

7.5YR5.5/3

5YR5.5/3

5YR7/3

2.5YR6/4

5YR6/4

2.5YR6/4

gL Igr.v

sgSL m

gSL+ m

gSL- m

gSL- m

gSL+ Ifpl.v

sgL Igr

gSCL 2msbk

gSL m

vgSL in

vgSL- m

vgSL- m

ss.ps

so,po

so.po

so.po

so.po

ss.ps

ss,p

s,p

so.po

so,po

so,po

so,po

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

7.8

8.0

8.0

8.3

8.5

8.1

8.1

8.0

8.1

8.1

8.5

8.3

SL

LS

LS

LS

LS

SL

SL

SL

LS

LS

LS

LS

so, po

so,po

so.po

so,po

so.po

so,po

so,po

so,po

so, po

so,po

so.po

so,po

0

II

II

I

0

0

0

II

I

I

0

0

0

11+

III

II

II

0

0

0

IV

11+

II

1+

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C25
Supplementary Table 1, Part Z. Field descriptions Continued

No.

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

Sample Depth Lower

Number Horizon (cm) Boundary

B-3 A 0-4

Btca 4-24

Clcsca 24-42

2C2cs 42-62

2C3cs 62-67+

B-18A All 0-2

A12 2-5

Btca 5-10

2Clcsca 10-37

2C2cs 37-46

2C3cs 46-86+

B-18B A 0-6

Btca 6-22

2Clcsca 22-51

2C2cs 51-75

2C3cs 75-130

2C4cs 130-255+

B-4 A 0-6

B21tcacs 6-12

B22tcsca 12-30

2Clcsca 30-55

2C2cs 55-75+

B-19 A 0-6

B21tca 6-14

B22tcsca 14-25

2Clcsca 25-40

2C2cs 40-85

2C3cs 85-137

3C4cs 137-262+

c,s

c,s

g

c,w

a,s

a,s

a,w

g

d

c,s

c,w

c,w

c,w

a,s

a,s

a,w

g

d

a,s

a,i

c,w

d

d

d

"

Moist

Color

_

5YR5/6

7.5YR6/6

7.5YR5/6

2.5YR5/8

7.5YR4.5/4

7.5YR5/4

5YR5.5/4

5YR6/4

5YR5.5/4

3.25YR5/7

6.25YR4/5

5YR5/5

5YR4/6

5YR4/8

3.25YR4/6

7.5YR5/4

7.5YR5/5

7.5YR5/6

7.5YR5/6

7.5YR5/6

7.5YR4.5/6

7.5YR4.5/6

7.5YR5/5

7.5YR5/4

5YR5/6

5YR4/5

5YR4/6

Dry

Color

_

7.5YR6/6

7.5YR7/4

7.5YR6/5

5YR6/8

7.5YR5.5/3

7.5YR6/3

6.25YR6/4

5YR7/3

5YR6.5/3

3.25YR5/6

6.25YR5/4

5YR6.5/4

5YR5.5/3

5YR5/4

3.25YR5/4

7.5YR6/4

7.5YR5.5/6

5YR8/3

7.5YR6/6

7.5YR5/6

7.5YR5.5/4

7.5YR5/5

7.5YR6/4

7.5YR6/3

5YR5.5/4

5YR5/4

5YR5/5

Texture Structure

Fan 6,

gSL

sgfSL

sgSL

sgL

sgL

gL

sgL

gSCL

gSL

gSCLvgSCL

gL

sgSCL

sgSL

sgSCL

vgSL+

vgSCL

Fan 7,

sgSiL

gSiCL

gSCL

gSL

gL

gL '

gL+

gLgSL

vgSCL

gSLvgSL

505 ka

V

Ifsbk

m

m

m

Ifpl.v

Igr.lfpl

Igr.lfsbk

m

m

m

Ifpl.v

2ms bk

m

m

m

m

585 ka

V

1ms bk

lmsbk,m

m

m

Ifpl.v

Ifsbk

Igr

m

m

m

m

Wet

Consistence

so, po

ss,p

ss,ps

ss,p

s,p

ss,ps

ss.ps

s,p

ss,po

s,ps

s,p

so,po

s,P

so.po

s,p

ss.po

s,ps

so,po

ss,p

s,p

so.po

ss.ps

so.po

ss.ps

ss,ps

so.po

s,p

so.po

so.po

Clay

Films

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

pH

_

8.0

7.9

8.0

8.1

8.1

8.1

8.0

8.2

8.1

8.1

7.9

8.0

8.2

8.3

8.3

8.0

7.7

7.8

7.9

8.0

8.1

8.0

8.0

8.1

8.1

8.2

8.2

Assumed 

Material

Texture

SL

SL

SL

L

L

L

L

L

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

L

L

L

SL

SL

SL

SL

Parent 

«2mm)

Wet Consistence

so.po

so,po

so.po

ss,ps

ss.ps

so,po

so.po

so.po

ss.ps

ss.ps

ss ,ps

so,po

so,po

so.po

ss,ps

so,po

ss,ps

so, po

so,po

so,po

so,po

ss.ps

so.po

so,po

so.po

so, po

so.po

so,po

so.po

Stage

CaC03

0

II

I

0

0

0

0

1+

I

0

0

0

I

I

0

0

0

0

II

I

I

0

0

I

I

0

0

0

0

Stage

Gypsum

0

0

IV

II

II

0

0

0

IV

11+

II

0

0

IV

11+

II

I

0

I

III

IV

III

0

0

II

IV

III

II

I

C26 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
EXPLANATION

SOIL STRUCTURE

Grade

m, massive

sg, single grained

1. weak

2. moderate

3. strong

Size

vf, very fine (v thin)

f, fine (thin)

m, medium

c, coarse (thick)

vc, very coarse

(very thick)

Type

gr, granular

pi, platey

pr, prismatic

cpr, columnar

abk, angular blocky

sbk, subangular blocky

If two structures, listed as primary and secondary

SOIL TEXTURE

vsg, very slightly

gravelly «5%) 

sg, slightly gravelly

(5-20%)

g, gravelly (20-50%) 

vg, very gravelly (>50%)

co, coarse

f, fine

vf, very fine

S, sand

LS, loamy sand

SL, sandy loam

L, loam

SiL, silt loam

Si, silt

SCL, sandy clay loam

CL, clay loam

SiCL, silty clay loam

SC, sandy clay

C, clay

SiC, silty clay

so, nonsticky

ss, slightly sticky

s, sticky

vs, very sticky

Wet

SOIL CONSISTENCE

po, nonplastic

ps, slightly plastic

p, plastic

vp, very plastic

HORIZON BOUNDARIES

Distinctness

va, very abrupt 

a, abrupt 

c, clear 

g, gradual 

d, diffuse

Topography

s, smooth

w, wavy

i, irregular

b, broken

Frequency

Vj, very few

1. few

2. common

3. many

4. continuous

CLAY FILMS

Thickness Morphology

n, thin pf, ped face coatings

mk, moderately br, bridging grains

thick po, pore linings

k, thick (w, occurs as waves or lamellae)

co, coats on clasts

STAGES OF CaC03 AND GYPSUM^ 

Roman numerals indicate increasing content of CaCO-j or gypsum

*For more detailed information, see Soil Survey Staff (1975) and Birkeland (1984). 

For more detailed information, see section on "Field Methods and Calculations", 

and Bachman and Machette (1977).

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C27
Supplementary Table 2. Physical properties

[ , not measured. Analyst: M. C. Rebels, U.S. Geological Survey]

Methods

Bulk density was determined by two different methods (Blake, 1965). Two to four paraffin-coated peds taken from relatively 

fIne-textured horizons provided mean bulk densities for A, B, and some C horizons. Bulk density was measured on many gravelly C 

horizons in the field by weighing an excavated amount of soil and measuring the volume of the hole with water-filled plastic bags. 

For C horizons not measured by either of these methods, bulk density was estimated by comparison to horizons with similar gravel 

contents.

Gravel percent by volume was visually estimated for all horizons. Gravels were separated and weighed from bulk samples of 

finer textured horizons to obtain gravel weight percent as a check on the visual estimate.

Particle size of the <2-mm fraction was obtained by methods described In Day (1965). All samples were pretreated to remove 

organic matter by gentle heating In a weak solution of hydrogen peroxide. Gypsum and carbonates were removed from samples by gentle 

heating In a weak solution of sodium acetate. This method was time-consuming and required frequent washing and replacement of the 

solution. The sand fraction was separated by wet sieving; the dried sand was weighed and dry-sieved to obtain the various sand 

fractions. Silt and clay fractions were obtained by the pipette method, except for dust-trap samples, for which there was 

insufficient material after removal of gypsum and CaCOj. Sand was removed from both dust-trap samples by wet sieving, and the 

remaining sediment was combined to determine silt and clay fractions using the SOOOb Sedigraph Analyzer (analyses by R. Kihl, 

Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Boulder, Colo.).

Sample

No.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

No.

B-21

B-21

B-21

B-21

B 5

B-5

B-5

B-5

B-5

B-5

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-16

Horizon

A

2Btca

2Cca

2Cn

B2tca

B3tca

2Clca

2C2ca

2C3ca

A

Bl

B2tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Cn

A

B2tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

base of

All

A12

Bl

B21tca

B22tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Cnca

All

A12

Bt

Btca

Ccacs

2Clcsca

2C2cs

Hasal percentage of <2-mm fraction

depth >2mm Total

(cm)

6

13

33

+ 73

3

11

20

31

46

+ 71

4

12

24

45

65

+ 165

4

29

46

88

181

+242

fan 3

4

8

17

28

44

70

123

+ 193

4

9

12

28

75

137

+ 237

(%:

40

80

80

90

15

15

80

80

80

30

10

10

80

80

80

20

10

70

80

80

80

80

10

10

10

10

15

80

80

80

30

30

25

25

25

50

80

) sand

44.31

31.74

37.66

37.77

29.19

38.63

50.52

55.23

67.40

33.98

33.65

26.94

36.89

36.02

45.68

37.82

38.37

39.83

31.27

34.93

37.56

51.82

50.09

38.12

34.66

30.90

30.87

56.88

53.65

44.69

20.12

19.00

19.39

19.39

21.72

21.05

20.23

vco

sand

0.56

0.12

3.66

3.92

0.39

0.16

1.39

3.44

3.53

0.25

0.19

0.33

3.42

2.49

3.64

0.50

0.17

1.11

2.45

8.56

4.11

3.66

0.49

0.37

0.18

0.13

0.20

1.48

4.26

4.82

0.89

0.21

0.46

0.46

1.56

2.21

1.56

CO

sand

1.63

1.12

5.85

7.77

0.28

0.58

2.63

4.05

5.87

0.56

0.40

0.57

3.27

5.22

5.45

1.04

0.75

2.00

3.36

6.35

4.27

2.93

1.12

0.61

0.39

0.66

0.51

6.53

7.72

8.24

0.57

0.33

0.63

0.63

2.09

1.74

2.32

med

sand

2.67

2.36

5.66

6.60

2.26

7.11

6.59

8.25

13.86

0.96

0.99

1.57

3.42

5.33

5.48

2.22

2.44

4.42

3.35

4.49

4.25

4.32

2.39

1.47

1.20

1.67

1.30

14.25

9.55

7.24

0.58

0.45

0.73

0.73

2.28

1.45

2.06

fi vfi

sand sand

Fan 1 , 5

16.42 23.02

11.54 16.60

11.87 10.63

11.54 7.94

Fan 2, 65

5.79 20.47

13.07 17.71

21.71 18.20

22.23 17.26

30.28 13.86

12.31 19.91

12.10 19.96

10.28 14.19

15.52 11.25

12.22 10.75

18.65 12.46

Fan 3, 100

14.51 19.54

15.77 19.25

18.60 13.69

12.71 9.40

10.03 5.51

14.17 10.76

23.28 17.63

18.20 27.89

13.07 22.61

11.13 21.76

9.87 18.57

9.66 19.21

22.32 12.30

21.43 10.69

15.60 8.80

Fan 4, 315

7.26 10.82

6.82 11.18

7.26 10.31

7.26 10.31

8.87 6.91

7.46 8.19

8.61 5.69

Total

silt

ka

41.74

41.14

48.99

55.58

ka

47.40

42.79

34.12

31.78

21.46

50.66

50.28

52.38

47.53

47.92

38.73

ka

46.21

43.40

41.09

42.51

32.61

38.19

35.24

41.06

45.70

46.23

51.83

50.62

28.89

31.13

34.76

ka

57.04

58.53

46.84

46.84

38.76

38.50

33.24

<2u

clay

13.95

27.12

13.35

6.65

15.36

16.06

20.68

15.58

16.06

15.59

15.97

18.22

19.08

26.24

32.46

24.25

12.94

8.86

16.18

19.11

17.27

18.51

14.22

15.22

20.56

22.84

22.47

33.77

33.77

39.52

40.46

46.52

Rnllr percentage of <2-mm fraction

<lu density co

clay

10.39

22.46

13.35

6.65

9.46

11.49

18.45

12.69

11.07

11.03

11.22

14.59

15.87

21.92

26.15

21.35

10.83

7.62

11.95

17.34

15.45

15.72

13.10

15.22

17.68

17.29

16.47

28.93

28.93

37.03

38.08

44.85

(g/cmj ) silt

1.6

2.0

1.6

2.1

1.6

1.6

1.5

1.5

2.1

2.1

1.6

1.5

1.5

2.0

2.1

2.1

2.0

1.6

1.5

1.5

1.5

1 .5

1.8

2.1

2.1

1.7

1.5

1.3

1.3

1.7

1.7

2.1

31.34

30.00

35.32

47.09

37.61

33.62

20.14

19.13

14.80

35.96

35.68

39.10

34.06

26.90

24.26

31.28

33.94

31.32

31.26

17.70

26.99

27.31

32.23

33.37

33.98

38.82

38.88

18.42

19.03

19.32

37.84

39.35

33.44

33.44

22.89

25.67

19.47

med

silt

7.18

7.21

9.58

7.11

6.16

6.30

13.98

8.12

6.07

8.83

14.59

8.24

9.88

13.79

2.67

8.61

6.22

7.24

7.51

8.61

7.11

5.90

5.99

7.39

8.28

8.36

7.51

7.00

7.95

9.60

12.13

11.52

8.46

8.46

15.87

8.79

8.04

vfi

silt

3.23

3.94

4.10

1.37

3.63

2.87

0.00

4.53

0.59

5.87

0.00

5.03

3.58

7.23

11.80

6.32

3.25

2.53

3.74

6.30

4.09

2.03

2.84

4.94

3.97

4.64

4.23

3.47

4.15

5.84

7.07

7.65

4.94

4.94

0.00

4.04

5.73

coclay f iclay

(2-.5»iX<.5u)

_ _

 

6.58 16.83

2.58 16.00

5.24 10.12

6.81 6.18

2.82 8.32

 

_ _

 

__

C28 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
Supplementary Table Z. Physical properties Continued

No.

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61 

ff\ bz. 

63 

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

Sample

No.

B-7

B-7

B-7

B-7

B-7

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-17

B JO

B-3

B-3

B-3

B-3

B-18A

B-18A

B-18A

B-18A

B-18A

B-18A

B

1 Q U loo 

B-18B 

B-18B

B-18B

B-18B

B-18B

B-4

B-4

B-4

B-4

B-4

B-19

B-19

B-19

B-19

B-19

B-19

B-19

Rasal percentage of

depth >2mm Total

Horizon

A

Clcsca

2C2csca

2C3csca

2C4cs

All

A12

Btca

2Clcsca

2C2csca

2C3cs

2C4cs

A

Btca

Clcsca

2C2cs

2C3cs

All

A12

Btca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

2C3cs

A 

Btca 

2Clcsca

2C2cs

2C3cs

2C4cs

A

B21tcacs

(cm)

6

30

50

83

+ 198

4

10

19

40

89

179

+249

4

24

42

62

+67

2

5

10

37

46

+86

6 

22 

51

75

130

+ 255

6

12

B22tcsca 30

2Clcsca

2C2cs

A

B21tca

B22tcsca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

2C3cs

3C4cs

55

+ 75

6

14

25

40

85

137

+262

f°/\ \'°i

20

15

30

40

40

10

10

15

20

65

65

80

15

15

15

10

20

10

20

20

20

50

20 

20 

25

5

60

70

15

20

25

40

40

20

60

50

20

50

40

80

» sand

29.67

28.28

21.44

28.38

47.21

24.22

25.14

18.35

31.32

32.62

36.57

32.61

27.86

21.46

26.38

21.67

28.45

24.60

25.61

36.78

33.83

37.38

27.95 

28.61

36.52

42.30

35.68

28.74

32.24

29.61

37.97

50.40

21.12

22.53

48.12

30.05

27.83

34.13

34.89

vco

sand

0.56

1.41

1.31

2.33

2.64

0.44

0.74

4.36

3.20

4.64

0.88

0.35

0.21

0.66

1.04

0.72

1.03

2.68

2.27

1.20

0.63 

0.60

1.11

6.06

3.23

1.32

2.30

2.92

3.17

1.69

1.43

0.42

2.63

0.43

1.20

1.24

4.40

CO

sand

0.50

2.28

1.16

2.10

2.16

__

1.07

0.98

3.52

3.69

3.44

0.53

0.26

0.40

1.31

0.84

0.65

1.02

1.72

1.55

1.70

0.78 

0.85

1.08

4.85

3.01

0.77

1.40

2.05

2.42

1.36

0.89

0.52

1.41

0.66

1.31

1.15

2.36

med

sand

0.64

2.46

1.49

2.59

2.02

__

1.96

1.54

2.91

3.79

2.63

0.68

0.42

0.79

1.76

1.92

1.50

2.32

3.42

3.55

4.14

2.52 

2.75

3.53

6.61

5.18

1.65

2.78

3.42

3.46

6.25

1.89

2.26

3.32

1.69

2.42

2.28

3.35

fi

sand

Fan

9.01

10.50

6.68

9.86

19.13

__

11.55

8.02

13.05

15.49

12.22

Fan

9.17

6.81

9.04

8.67

12.16

10.87

11.55

19.47

15.25

18.12

11.65 

15.33

19.52

16.16

15.25

Fan

11.05

13.95

12.60

11.75

28.59

8.67

10.86

23.02

19.24

14.20

16.65

14.86

<2-mm fraction

vfi

sand

5, 410

18.96

11.63

10.80

11.50

21.26

__

10.11

7.08

8.79

10.40

9.68

6, 505

16.60

13.62

15.94

9.27

12.48

10.86

9.68

9.49

11.21

12.22

12.36 

9.08

11.29

8.62

9.01

7, 585

13.95

11.81

8.62

17.17

12.51

8.25

8.47

17.74

8.04

8.70

12.80

9.91

Total

silt

ka

42.21

33.53

51.87

41.41

31.93

55.00

47.88

52.96

33.88

35.01

35.68

42.23

ka

41.88

49.08

52.72

44.79

50.47

50.70

39.03

39.94

34.09

35.54

40.46 

31.65

33.98

31.54

37.86

ka

45.23

33.85

28.14

25.99

20.83

56.02

43.74

28.54

28.49

36.83

37.88

40.70

<2u

clay

__

20.78

26.99

28.69

34.81

32.35

27.75

25.16

_

21.07

24.70

35.36

23.28

32.09

27.08

31.59 

39.74

29.50

26.15

26.46

22.86

33.73

23.34

41.50

35.34

27.99

24.41

<lH

clay

_

15.03

19.79

23.47

32.80

31.87

27.25

22.23

_

15.00

17.89

30.90

17.50

28.90

25.11

27.93 

35.81

27.96

22.28

23.56

__

17.52

30.58

22.32

37.35

32.25

26.74

22.49

Bulk

densit

(g/cm-

__

1.7

1.5

1.3

1.4

1.8

2.0

2.1

_

1.7

1.5

1.3

1.5

1.5

2.0

1.5 

1.7

1.5

2.0

2.1

1.6

1.4

1.6

1.4

1.5

1.9

2.1

percentage of <2-mm fraction

:y co

! ) silt

26.50

15.36

25.54

26.23

19.83

35.03

25.26

34.22

20.94

23.08

25.90

30.01

25.12

17.83

24.59

26.42

35.01

33.83

25.87

22.28

26.57

23.97

26.34 

24.27

21.24

20.15

24.12

26.02

18.13

13.39

14.88

10.67

36.37

25.31

19.95

17.31

21.89

29.40

25.66

med vfi coclay f iclay

silt silt (2-.5>

11.24 4.47 9.77

10.06 8.11 13.01

15.22 11.11 10.40

7.59 7.59 12.87

7.18 4.92 5.25

12.31 7.66

14.68 7.94

12.95 5.78

6.86 6.08 

7.17 4.76

7.16 2.61

7.78 4.44

10.94 5.82 8.76

15.64 15.61 13.31

16.29 11.84 12.18

4.95 13.42 10.14

10.82 4.64

11.20 5.67 

8.90 4.26 

9.25 8.41

6.41 1.10

7.55 4.02

7.71 6.42 

4.89 2.49

9.23 3.52

8.54 2.86

8.75 4.99

12.99 6.22 9.30

12.00 3.72 9.08

8.37 6.38 11.81

6.97 4.14 7.84

6.49 3.67 10.62

12.32 7.33

13.09 5.34

6.30 2.30

8.93 2.25

10.48 4.46

4.94 3.54

10.55 4.56

iX<.5u)

18.35

25.18

16.29

17.34

15.61

21.50

16.15

8.72

23.40

16.73

24.83

30.44

28.20

18.15

..

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C29
Supplementary Table 3. Extractive chemical analyses

[ , not measured. Analyst, M. C. Reheis, U.S. Geological Survey]

Organic-carbon content measured using the Walkley-Black titration 

procedure (Allison, 1965), CaCO, with the Chittick apparatus (Bachman and 

Machette, 1977).

Several different methods of measuring gypsum content were evaluated. 

The most accurate method for samples containing <5% gypsum measures the 

conductivity of gypsum in solution (Bower and Huss, 1948; Jackson, 1958). 

Greater gypsum contents are more easily and accurately measured by the 

weight loss upon converting gypsum to anhydrite in a 100°C oven. This 

method has a standard error of estimate of ±1.8%, compared to the method 

which calculates gypsum from S0^~ concentration (Nelson and others, 1978). 

Early in this study, gypsum in some samples was measured by the weight loss 

caused by repeated washing of each sample in distilled water. This method 

is time-consuming and may also result in measurement error if any carbonate 

is present and is dissolved with the gypsum.

No.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Sample

number

B-21

B-21

B-21

B-21

B-5

B-5

B-5

B-5

B-5

B-5

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

Horizon

A

2Btca

2Cca

2Cn

A

B2tca

B3tca

2Clca

2C2ca

2C3ca

A

Bl

B2tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Cn

A

B2tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

base of fan

All

A12

Bl

B21tca

B22tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Cnca

Basal

depth

(cm)

Fa

6

13

33

+73

Fan

3

11

20

31

46

+71

4

12

24

45

65

+ 165

Fan

4

29

46

88

181

+ 242

3

4

8

17

28

44

70

123

+ 193

Organ

C

n 1, 5 ka

0.55

0.71

0.37

0.22

2, 65 ka

._

0.40

0.35

0.42

0.43

0.14

0.49

0.55

0.78

0.16

0.29

0.15

3, 100 ka

0.46

0.22

0.32

0.26

0.03

0.23

0.00

0.44

0.52

0.61

0.41

0.40

0.40

0.27

0.26

percent;

ic

CaC03

23.2

35.8

59.7

53.6

._

15.3

29.8

59.0

57.5

60.3

15.4

12.8

17.2

44.5

66.8

63.2

17.7

10.9

52.0

68.7

73.8

65.9

8.5

19.7

23.1

13.1

13.8

12.3

46.0

65.7

60.3

!ge

Gypsun

0.08

0.07

0.09

0.08

0.14

0.09

0.36

0.50

0.51

0.07

0.10

0.07

0.09

0.44

0.73

0.07

0.22

0.15

0.70

1.26

0.15

0.10

0.06

0.09

0.12

0.07

0.07

0.11

0.49

0.81

pH

i 1 1:1H2 0

7.7

8.0

8.1

8.4

8.6

8.4

8.6

8.9

8.9

8.3

8.2

8.1

8.1

8.5

8.4

8.1

8.1

8.3

8.2

8.2

8.1

55.8

8.0

8.0

8.0

8.1

8.1

8.4

8.4

8.3

0-.^ o 1

No.

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

' Gyp

I Val

J Val

Sample

number

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-7

B-7

B-7

B-7

B-7

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-3

B-3

B-3

B-3

B-3

B-18A

B-18A

B-18A

B-18A

B-18A

B-18A

B-18B

B-18B

B-18B

B-18B

B-18B

B-18B

B-4

B-4

B-4

B-4

B-4

B-19

B-19

B-19

B-19

B-19

B-19

B-19

sum measured

ues measured

ues measured

percentage

depth Organic

Horizon

All

A12

Bt

Btca

Ccacs

2Clcsca

2C2cs

A

Clcsca

2C2csca

2C3csca

2C4cs

All

A12

Btca

2Clcsca

2C2csca

2C3cs

2C4cs

A

Btca

Clcsca

2C2cs

2C3cs

All

A12

Btca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

2C3cs

A

Btca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

2C3cs

2C4cs

A

B21tcacs

B22tcsca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

A

B21tca

B22tcsca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

2C3cs

3C4cs

by electri

by weight

by weight

(cm)

Fan

4

9

12

28

75

137

+ 237

Fan

6

30

50

83

+198

4

10

19

40

89

179

+249

Fan

4

24

42

62

+67

2

5

10

37

46

+ 86

6

22

51

75

130

+ 255

Fan

6

12

30

55

+ 75

6

14

25

40

85

137

. +262

cal cond

loss due

loss fro

C

4, 315 ka

0.95

0.51

0.50

0.50

0.09

0.01

0.04

5, 410 ka

0.83

0.26

0.31

0.11

0.14

0.50

0.54

0.59

0.55

0.09

0.08

0.11

6, 505 ka

_

0.40

0.43

0.18

0.19

0.34

0.42

0.47

0.13

0.11

0.15

0.34

0.65

0.31

0.16

0.26

0.19

7, 585 ka

0.55

0.55

0.19

0.18

0.12

0.57

0.68

0.43

0.18

0.25

0.08

0.08

uctivity except

to heating.

CaC0 3

31.6

25.1

49.8

49.8

48.4

37.2

38.3

37.3

24.3

26.4

41.0

57.3

25.2

30.3

42.1

14.1

56.5

39.6

49.7

_

33.6

13.3

11.8

19.3

33.2

36.0

49.8

20.4

43.1

33.0

34.6

24.6

11.9

9.0

45.3

44.2

34.8

44.8

16.9

24.3

12.8

28.9

29.7

22.2

20.0

17.6

23.4

31.4

where n

ra solution in distilled

Gy p sum

0.10

0.07

0.23

0.23

31.4

^43.8

2 29.6

0.49

,58.8

,45.2

,42.8

3 14.1

0.18

0.11

0.29

2 70.3

2 28.0

2 37.2

2 27.2

_

0.008

3 48.6

3 42.5

3 33.5

0.21

0.16

0.14

2 60.6

2 32.6

2 23.1

0.37

0.12

2 58.8

,32.6

\tt ' '

2 8.5

0.01

2.77

51.4

3 40.7

343.2

0.10

0.11

2 20.2

2 56.0

41 .3

2 31.3

^18.1

umbered .

water .

pH

1:1H2 0

8.0

8.0

8.1

8.1

8.4

8.5

8.6

7.8

8.0

8.0

8.3

8.5

8.1

8.1

8.0

8.1

8.1

8.5

8.3

_

8.0

7.9

8.0

8.1

8.1

8.1

8.0

8.2

8.1

8.1

7.9

8.0

8.2

8.3

8.3

8.0

7.7

7.8

7.9

8.0

8.1

8.0

8.0

8.1

8.1

8.2

8.2

C30 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
Supplementary Table 4. Clay mineralogy by X-ray 

diffraction

[ , not measured. Analyst: M. C. Reheis, U.S. Geological Survey]

the Kane fan soils, including kaolinite, mica, smectite, and palygorskite.

X-ray traces revealed an unknown mineral with a primary peak at 11.4 A 

in the air-dried state that shifts down to 10.6 A after glycolation. Gentle 

heating to about 80°C gives a peak at 8.66 A that does not shift upon 

subsequent glycolation. Heating to 400°C destroys the mineral peaks. This

silt fraction. Peaks ot the unknown mineral increase with age of the soil 

(suggesting a pedogenic origin) and are largest in gypsum-rich horizons.

with those of any common clay mineral. The main peak and some of the minor 

ones roughly tit the zeolite mineral offretite (Chlh-Chun Kao and G. W. 

Brindley, written commun., 1983), but zeolites should not be affected by 

glycolation or heating to 400°C (R. L. Hay and R. A. Sheppard, written 

communs., 1983). One additional candidate is the Ca-rich sepiolite-like

ught nly

found in mortar and concrete (D. McGrath and B. L. Alien, oral communs., 

1983). Microprobe analyses of the unknown mineral revealed no 

concentrations of elements uncommon in silicate clays.

A modification of the Illinois State Survey method was employed to 

estimate clay mineral percentages, in which peak heights are measured from a 

curvilinear baseline drawn on the glycolated trace. Heights of the 10 A 

peak (mica) and the 7 A peak (kaolinite) were multiplied by factors of 2 and 

3 respectively, to adjust for intrinsic differences in ability ot various 

clays to produce peaks in soils (Guccione, 1982; Johns and others, 1954). 

Prominent peaks for smectite (17 A), the unknown mineral (10.6 A), and 

palygorskite (10.4 A) were not adjusted. The resultant peak heights are

ral

entage of clay mine

Paly- Unknown

itca

;ca

In

6

13

33

+73

36

35

17

17

40 24

42 23

25 17

23 17

0

0

9

10

0

0

32

33

Fan 2, 65 ka

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

A

Bl

B2tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Cn

A

B2tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

base of far

All

A12

Bl

B21tca

B22tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Cnca

4

12

24

45

65

+ 165

Fan 3, 100

4

29

46

88

181

+242

i 3

4

8

17

28

44

70

123

+ 193

31

27

27

28

3il

29

ka

32

27

29

30

37

36

27

22

30

28

28

23

22

28

36

37

44

41

21

32

28

33

34

27

31

37

39

34

47

41

45

34

35

24

30

30

32

29

32

30

31

26

35

39

34

30

20

25

30

31

29

27

38

35

31

31

26

0

0

0

6

0

6

0

0

10

9

6

0

0

0

0

0

0

7

5

0

0

0

0

(1

15

7

11

0

0

0

0

0

0

9

0

0

0

0

0

18

1 1

8

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

4U

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

5(1

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

7d

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

Sample

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-16

B-7

B-7

B-7

B-7

B-7

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-17

B-3

B-3

B-3

B-3

B-3

B-18A

B-18A

B-18A

B-18A

B-18A

B-18A

B-18B

B-18B

B-18B

B-18B

B-18B

B-18B

BBBBBB-19

B-19

B-19

B-19

B-19

B-19

B-19

All

A12

Bt

Btca

Ccacs

2Clcsca

2C2cs

A

Clcsca

2C2csca

2C3csca

2C4cs

All

A12

Btca

2Clcsca

2C2csca

2C3cs

2C4cs

A

Btca

Clcsca

2C2cs

2C3cs

All

A12

Btca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

2C3cs

A

Btca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

2C3cs

2C4cs

A

B21tcacs

B22tcsca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

A

B21tca

B22tcsca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

2C3cs

3C4cs

depth

Fan

4

9

12

28

75

137

+237

Fan

6

30

50

83

+ 198

4

10

19

40

89

179

+ 249

Fan

4

24

42

62

+67

2

5

10

37

46

+86

6

22

51

75

130

+255

Fan

6

12

30

55

+ 75

6

14

25

40

85

137

+262

Kaoli4, 315 ka

22

26

21

21

21

35

34

5, 410 ka

__

30

23

16

9

28

21

10

6, 505 ka

_

26

20

31

7

29

24

_

27

24

14

23

24

7, 585 ka

30

19

19

18

17

28

24

45

50

34

34

23

20

17

40

39

25

25

26

30

37

_

--

46

39

25

11

20

21

_

32

22

8

23

22

__

24

17

16

18

13

16

19

Smec33

24

34

34

42

33

37

_

30

25

21

13

28

30

27

_

28

27

28

3

26

38

__

29

39

44

33

37

_

38

45

50

41

28

39

42

Paly0

0

11

11

7

6

6

__

0

13

8

9

9

10

10

_

0

14

8

7

13

7

_

12

15

4

8

7

__

8

12

11

6

5

5

6

Unknown

0

0

0

0

7

6

6

__

0

0

30

44

9

9

16

._

0

0

8

72

12

10

_

0

0

30

13

10

__

--

0

7

4

17

37

12

9

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C31
Supplementary Table 5.

spectroscopy

Total chemical analyses of the fine fraction by induction-coupled plasma

[ , not measured. Analyst: A. Bartel under J. E. Taggart, U.S. Geological Survey]

Methods

The less-than-2-mm and the silt-plus-clay fractions of selected soil profiles and dust-trap 

samples were analyzed for major elements and Zr by the Analytical Laboratories of the U.S. Geological 

Survey. To avoid chemical contamination in obtaining the silt-plus-clay fraction, soils were 

dispersed by shaking samples overnight in distilled water and then sonicating them in a water bath. 

Sand was removed by wet-sieving, and the silt-plus-clay fraction was dried and ground.

Oxides were determined by inductively coupled argon plasma emission spectroscopy (ICP). This 

method is noted for its high sensitivity to most elements once they are in solution (Taggart and 

others, 1981)(ICP accuracy is estimated at 3-5% and precision at 1-2%; J. E. Taggart, personal 

communication, 1982). X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a more accurate method, but it is not sensitive to 

small amounts of such elements as Zr (there is less than 0.1% Zr in the silt-plus-clay fractions of 

soils in the study area). Because determination of Zr was critical to this study, all samples were 

run using ICP, with revised pretreatments that dissolved Zr. Selected samples were split and analyzed 

using both ICP and XRF as a check on the accuracy of ICP, and the separate analyses were in very close 

agreement on all samples (data not shown).

No.

1

2

3

4

Sample

Number

B-21

B-21

B-21

B-21

Horizon

A

2Btca

2Cca

2Cn

Basal 

depth

(cm)

6

13

33

+73

Percentage of silt-plus-clay fraction

Si02

62

48

28

36

A1 2°3

10.34

10.98

4.42

6.03

Fe 2°3

Fan 1,

4.01

4.18

1.65

2.20

MgO CaO

5 ka

3.32 6.42

3.91 12.8

8.46 25.6

7.23 20.1

Na2 0

1.06

0.59

0.34

0.49

K2 0

2.18

2.29

1.22

1.66

Ti02

0.63

0.55

0.22

0.33

MnO

0.068

0.043

0.037

0.047

Zr02

0.105

0.049

0.024

0.047

Fan 2, 65 ka

5

6 

7

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

B

e

B-5

B

e

B

e

B

e

B

e

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B2tca

9T1 r-*

2C3ca

A

Bl

B2tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Cn

3

11 

20

31

46

+ 71

4

12

24

45

65

+ 165

59

61

58

39

44

46

_..

12.14

11.61

12.04

7.18

8.00

9.55

4.75

4.48

4.58

2.66

2.76

3.28

3.83

3.30

3.55

5.56

6.93

5.75

6.00

6.64

8.06

20.8

15.7

13.8

1.02

1.13

1.09

0.80

1.04

1.12

2.53

2.41

2.41

1.57

1.93

2.17

0.72

0.68

0.65

0.43

0.43

0.50

0.076

0.059

0.053

0.035

0.043

0.048

0.092

0.090

0.074

0.050

0.033

0.030

Fan 3, 100 ka

17

1 Q

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

2B3tca

tCr-a

2C2cs

All

A12

Bl

B21tca

B22tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Cnca

4

29 

46

QO

1 0 1

fan 3

4

8

17

28

44

70

123

+ 193

69

54

60

64

64

41

41

47

9.64

9.00

11.02

10.72

10.84

7.37

7.84

9.96

3.82

3.38

4.06

3.93

4.06

3.08

3.25

3.85

2.85

2.44

3.03

2.75

2.68

4.98

7.28

5.85

4.39

3.92

6.70

6.43

5.61

19.9

15.5

11.6

1.24

0.90

1.05

1.25

1.18

0.77

1.11

0.96

2.04

1.88

2.27

2.12

2.18

1.24

1.43

1.66

0.65

0.52

0.58

0.60

0.63

0.43

0.43

0.53

0.074

0.057

0.058

0.052

0.048

0.044

0.066

0.099

0.127

0.081

0.080

0.073

0.080

0.069

0.057

0.046

C32 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
Supplementary Table 5. Total chemical analyses of the fine fraction by induction-coupled plasma 

spectroscopy Continued

No.

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 

37 

38

39

40 

41 

42 

43

44 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 

50

51 

52 

53 

54 

55

56 

57 

58 

59

60 

61

62 

63 

64 

65 

66 

67

68 

69

70 

71 

72

73 

74 

75 

76 

77 

78 

79

Sample 

Number

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16

B-7 

B-7 

B-7 

B-7 

B-7

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17

B-3 

B-3 

B-3 

B-3 

B-3

B-18A 

B-18A 

B-18A 

B-18A 

B-18A 

B-18A

B-18B 

B-18B 

B-18B 

B-18B 

B-18B 

B-18B

B-4 

B-4 

B-4 

B-4 

B-4

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19

Horizon

All 

A12 

Bt 

Btca 

Ccacs 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs

A 

Clcsca 

2C2csca 

2C3csca 

2C4cs

All 

A12 

Btca 

2Clcsca 

2C2csca 

2C3cs 

2C4cs

A 

Btca 

Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs

All 

A12 

Btca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs

A 

Btca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs 

2C4cs

A 

B21tcacs 

B22tcsca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs

A 

B21tca 

B22tcsca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs 

3C4cs

Basal 

depth 

(cm)

4 

9 

12 

28 

75 

137 

+ 237

6 

30 

50 

83 

+ 198

4 

10 

19 

40 

89 

179 

+249

4 

24 

42 

62 

+67

2 

5 

10 

37 

46 

+86

6 

22 

51 

75 

130 

+ 255

6 

12 

30 

55 

+75

6 

14 

25 

40 

85 

137 

+ 262

Percentage of silt-plus-clay fraction

Si02

58 

59 

40 

40 

28 

16 

40

56 

51 

35 

19 

21 

34 

34

53 

48

50 

55 

25 

43 

33 

42

56 

49 

41 

28 

41 

43 

47

Fan 4,

10.68 4.01 

10.93 4.02 

7.56 2.78 

7.56 2.78 

5.26 1.92 

2.84 1.10 

9.40 3.42

Fan 5,

10.00 3.55 

9.55 3.39 

6.99 2.58 

3.82 1.39 

3.67 1.56 

6.37 2.42 

6.03 2.26

Fan 6,

9.60 3.61 

9.21 3.40

9.40 3.51 

10.34 3.89 

4.20 1.69 

7.83 3.02 

5.94 2.96 

8.11 3.36

Fan 7,

9.55 3.65 

9.13 4.28 

6.43 2.47 

5.03 2.05 

7.64 3.10 

7.58 3.29 

8.73 3.71

MgO CaO

315 ka

3.62 8.78 

3.35 8.71 

4.73 21.1 

4.73 21.1 

9.87 23.2 

7.89 33.6 

8.77 14.0

410 ka

3.76 10.7 

3.85 12.3 

5.87 21.3 

5.11 25.7 

11.38 25.3 

8.82 18.6 

8.77 19.9

505 ka

3.62 11.7 

3.90 15.7

3.76 13.7 

3.90 9.82 

4.33 25.3 

4.68 14.1 

8.42 18.9 

6.29 15.7

585 ka

3.58 10.1 

3.28 13.1 

3.32 19.3 

7.71 23.1 

7.40 14.8 

7.18 13.9 

4.15 13.9

Na2 0

1.13 

1.13 

0.74 

0.74 

0.65 

0.43 

0.88

0.96 

0.88 

0.51 

0.22 

0.27 

0.54 

0.57

1.01 

0.90

0.95 

0.92 

0.55 

0.80 

0.84 

1.01

0.85 

0.65 

0.44 

0.32 

0.46 

0.55 

0.65

K2 0

2.29 

2.29 

1.33 

1.33 

0.84 

0.48 

1.69

2.11 

1.98 

1.33 

0.63 

0.73 

1.22 

1.24

2.05 

1.93

1.99 

1.93 

0.72 

1.20 

1.20 

1.81

1.93 

1.58 

1.12 

0.77 

1.20 

1.39 

1.75

Ti02

0.63 

0.60 

0.38 

0.38 

0.25 

0.13 

0.40

0.52 

0.47 

0.37 

0.18 

0.18 

0.32 

0.32

0.57 

0.50

0.54 

0.55 

0.27 

0.45 

0.33 

0.45

0.50 

0.49 

0.33 

0.25 

0.38 

0.40 

0.47

MnO

0.061 

0.052 

0.034 

0.034 

0.027 

0.021 

0.043

0.058 

0.053 

0.032 

0.022 

0.039 

0.050 

0.048

0.059 

0.052

0.055 

0.045 

0.032 

0.069 

0.125 

0.085

0.089 

0.144 

0.062 

0.107 

0.092 

0.134 

0.143

Zr02

0.079 

0.073 

0.037 

0.037 

0.016 

0.014 

0.019

0.057 

0.051 

0.034 

0.018 

0.019 

0.027 

0.030

0.075 

0.053

0.064 

0.062 

0.038 

0.049 

0.027 

0.038

0.055 

0.043 

0.047 

0.022 

0.036 

0.036 

0.041

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C33
Supplementary Table 6. Total chemical analyses of the less-than-Z-mm fraction by inductioncoupled plasma spectroscopy

[ , not measured. Analyst: P. H. Briggs under L. R. Layman, U.S. Geological Survey]

Methods 

Same methods as in supplementary table 5.

No.

1 

2 

3 

4

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 

37 

38

Sample 

numbe r

B-21 

B-21 

B-21 

B-21

B-5 

B-5 

B-5 

B-5 

B-5 

B-5

B-15 

B-15 

B-15 

B-15 

B-15 

B-15

B-6A 

B-6A 

B-6A 

B-6A 

B-6A 

B-6A 

B-6A

B-14 

B-14 

B-14 

B-14 

B-14 

B-14 

B-14 

B-14

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16

Horizon

A 

2Btca 

2Cca 

2Cn

A 

B2tca 

B3tca 

2Clca 

2C2ca 

2C3ca

A 

Bl 

B2tca 

2B3tca 

2Cca 

2Cn

A 

B2tca 

2B3tca 

2Cca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

base of

All 

A12 

Bl 

B21tca 

B22tca 

2B3tca 

2Cca 

2Cnca

All 

A12 

Bt 

Btca 

Ccacs 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs

Basal 

depth 

(cm)

6 

13 

33 

+73

3 

11 

20 

31 

46 

+71

4 

12 

24 

45 

65 

+ 165

4 

29 

46 

88 

181 

+ 242 

fan 3

4 

8 

17 

28 

44 

70 

123 

+ 193

4 

9 

12 

28 

75 

137 

+237

Percentage of less-than-2mm fraction

Si02

60 

48 

22 

21

63 

63 

60 

37 

29 

28

62 

63 

63 

63 

64 

37 

25 

29

53 

53 

38 

38 

13 

19 

45

Al 2 0c

7.90 

7.56 

2.68 

2.33

8.77 

9.17 

9.24 

4.46 

3.46 

3.23

7.45 

8.83 

9.47 

9.64 

9.75 

4.61 

3.23 

4.12

8.09 

8.45 

5.67 

5.67 

1.74 

2.44 

5.44

Fan 1,

2.98 

2.72 

1.13 

1.24

Fan 2,

3.32 

3.40 

3.39 

1.86 

1.53 

1.52

Fan 3,

2.69 

3.12 

3.35 

3.43 

3.49 

1.95 

1.36 

1.86

Fan 4,

2.89 

3.03 

2.13 

2.13 

0.80 

1.04 

2.23

MgO

5 ka

3.33 

4.05 

8.28 

8.59

65 ka

3.30 

2.82 

3.30 

6.24 

8.26 

8.13

100 ka

3.18 

2.95 

2.79 

2.77 

2.67 

5.79 

8.86 

8.14

315 ka

3.98 

3.60 

4.43 

4.43 

6.17 

6.72 

3.35

CaO

10.0 

15.8 

29.2 

30.1

~

8.21 

7.06 

9.79 

24.8 

26.7 

27.8

8.41 

6.94 

6.81 

7.05 

6.32 

21.0 

26.6 

24.6

14.3 

14.3 

23.6 

23.6 

33.3 

27.6 

14.0

Na2 0

1.09 

0.80 

0.38 

0.39

1.08 

1.09 

1.08 

0.55 

0.50 

0.49

1.21 

1.11 

1.13 

1.27 

1.21 

0.75 

0.58 

0.62

0.96 

0.88 

0.63 

0.63 

0.24 

0.40 

0.59

K2 0

1.81 

1.81 

0.84 

0.84

1.93 

2.05 

1.93 

1.08 

0.96 

0.96

1.69 

1.93 

2.17 

2.05 

2.05 

0.96 

0.84 

0.96

1.81 

1.81 

1.08 

1.08 

0.36 

0.48 

0.96

Ti02

0.43 

0.37 

0.12 

0.10

0.50 

0.50 

0.47 

0.25 

0.18 

0.17

0.42 

0.45 

0.48 

0.50 

0.52 

0.23 

0.15 

0.20

0.43 

0.43 

0.30 

0.30 

0.08 

0.12 

0.30

MnO

0.057 

0.045 

0.031 

0.034

0.061 

0.056 

0.050 

0.043 

0.041 

0.045

0.059 

0.059 

0.052 

0.049 

0.053 

0.039 

0.037 

0.077

0.050 

0.048 

0.028 

0.028 

0.018 

0.017 

0.070

Zr02

0.056 

0.037 

0.011 

0.009

0.067 

0.061 

0.056 

0.026 

0.014 

0.012

0.058 

0.055 

0.050 

0.051 

0.048 

0.023 

0.014 

0.015

0.046 

0.040 

0.028 

0.028 

0.008 

0.012 

0.033

C34 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
Supplementary Table 6. Total chemical analyses of the less-than-2-mm fraction by inductioncoupled plasma spectroscopy Continued

No.

39

40 

41 

42 

43

44 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 

50

51 

52 

53 

54 

55

56 

57 

58 

59 

60 

61

62 

63 

64 

65 

66 

67

68 

69

70 

71 

72

73 

74 

75 

76 

77 

78 

79

Sample 

number

B-7 

B-7 

B-7 

B-7 

B-7

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17

B-3 

B-3 

B-3 

B-3 

B-3

B-18A 

B-18A 

B-18A 

B-18A 

B-18A 

B-18A

B-18B 

B-18B 

B-18B 

B-18B 

B-18B 

B-18B

B-4 

B-4 

B-4 

B-4 

B-4

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19

Horizon

A 

Clcsca 

2C2csca 

2C3csca 

2C4cs

All 

A12 

Btca 

2Clcsca 

2C2csca 

2C3cs 

2C4cs

A 

Btca 

Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs

All 

A12 

Btca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs

A 

Btca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs 

2C4cs

A 

B21tcacs 

B22tcsca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs

A 

B21tca 

B22tcsca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs 

3C4cs

Basal 

depth 

(cm)

6 

30 

50 

83 

+ 198

4 

10 

19 

40 

89 

179 

+ 249

4 

24 

42 

62 

+67

2 

5 

10 

37 

46 

+86

6 

22 

51 

75 

130 

+ 255

6 

12 

30 

55 

+75

6 

14 

25 

40 

85 

137 

+262

Percentage of less-than-2mm fraction

Si02

56 

51 

36 

9 

16 

23 

24

55 

51

53 

56 

24 

25 

32 

41

58 

51 

47 

20 

33 

42 

44

A1 2 0 3

8.96 

8.37 

5.95 

1.19 

2.04 

3.35 

3.25

--

7.54 

7.64

7.59 

8.39 

2.89 

4.20 

3.72 

4.88

8.51 

7.50 

4.10 

2.63 

4.39 

5.14 

5.63

Fe 2 0 3

Fan 5,

3.13 

2.88 

2.09 

0.46 

1.09 

1.43 

1.32

Fan 6,

2.85 

2.92

2.89 

3.23 

1.27 

1.63 

3.08 

2.58

Fan 7,

3.42 

3.72 

1.63 

1.19 

2.05 

2.56 

3.33

MgO

410 ka

3.62 

3.83 

5.94 

2.31 

9.67 

7.96 

7.89

505 ka

3.45 

3.75

3.60 

3.90 

3.25 

7.55 

6.57 

5.24

585 ka

3.22 

2.82 

2.32 

4.15 

4.38 

5.01 

3.57

CaO

11.1 

13.8 

22.5 

29.5 

27.4 

23.9 

25.6

13.9 

15.9

14.9 

11.0 

23.5 

23.1 

22.5 

20.3

10.8 

14.4 

18.0 

24.2 

19.2 

16.2 

18.0

Na2 0

1.05 

0.93 

0.58 

0.19 

0.23 

0.38 

0.38

0.93 

0.82

0.87 

0.84 

0.38 

0.49 

0.53 

0.65

0.84 

0.59 

0.36 

0.26 

0.35 

0.49 

0.54

K2 0

2.05 

1.93 

1.20 

0.24 

0.48 

0.72 

0.72

1.69 

1.57

1.63 

1.57 

0.60 

0.84 

0.84 

1.20

1.81 

1.45 

0.84 

0.48 

0.84 

1.08 

1.33

Ti02

0.47 

0.40 

0.28 

0.05 

0.12 

0.18 

0.17

0.40 

0.40

0.40 

0.42 

0.17 

0.18 

0.20 

0.27

0.45 

0.38 

0.22 

0.13 

0.23 

0.27 

0.32

MnO

0.057 

0.045 

0.031 

0.006 

0.024 

0.030 

0.028

0.074 

0.071

0.072 

0.063 

0.031 

0.026 

0.193 

0.094

0.106 

0.152 

0.050 

0.066 

0.079 

0.114 

0.170

Zr02

0.049 

0.035 

0.021 

0.004 

0.008 

0.014 

0.017

0.042 

0.042

0.042 

0.039 

0.019 

0.013 

0.019 

0.025

0.044 

0.029 

0.028 

0.011 

0.018 

0.024 

0.025

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C35
Supplementary Table 7, Part 1.

clay minerals

Horizon weights of sand, silt, clay, carbon, CaCO-j, gypsum, and

[ , not measured. Analyst: Marith C. Rebels, U.S. Geological Survey]

Methods

Profile weights of soil properties (g/cm^/column of soil) are calculated from the property percentage, 

bulk density, and texture of each horizon. The pedogenic increase from the amount of the property in the 

parent material is calculated by estimating the property percentage, bulk density, and texture in the original 

deposit (method modified from Machette, 1978, and Machette, 1985). Weights are calculated for each horizon, 

summed to give the total profile weight in a soil, and standardized to 250 cm depth to eliminate bias caused 

by different depths of sampling (backhoe pits vs. hand-dug holes).

Two basic equations are used to calculate pedogenic increase for clay, silt, CaC03, ancl 9yP sum - Equ 

1 is used to calculate pedogenic increase in horizon weight of clay and silt (substitute appropriate silt 

percentages when calculating silt weights):

i n ri = , day* 100 - salts? i clay* 100 - i salts*,

9 y (( 100 )(BDf)( Too )(H)) - ((~TOS )(i BDf )( TOO )(H))

where BDf is bulk density of the <2-mm fraction, H is horizon thickness, salts include organic matter, ou^ 

and gypsum, and the letter i designates an estimate of the parent material state. This equation includes a 

factor to account for salts and organic matter because particle size is measured on an organic-free and saltfree basis. Equation 2 is used to calculate pedogenic weights of gypsum and CaC03 (again, substitute CaC03 

percentages in place of gypsum percentages when calculating CaC03 weights):

ation

2. g gypsum = -)(BDf)(H)) - BDf)(H))

Profile weights for sand, carbon, clay minerals, and major oxides are not corrected for the estimated 

parent material contents. Values for sand are calculated using the first term of equation 1 above, 

substituting the appropriate sand percentages for clay percentages. Values for carbon and major oxides 

(Supplementary Table 7, Part 2) are calculated using the first term of equation 2 above, substituting the 

appropriate property percentages for gypsum percentage. Horizon weights for clay minerals are calculated by 

equation 3:

3. 100 - salts*

No.

1

2

3

4

5

6

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Sampl e 

number Hori zon

B-21

B-21

B-21

B-21

B-5

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-15

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A

B-6A 

B-6A

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

B-14

A

2Btca

2Cca

2Cn

A

2Clca

2C2ca

2C3ca

A

Bl

B2tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Cn

A

B2tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Clcsca

2C2cs

All

A12

Bl

B21tca

B22tca

2B3tca

2Cca

2Cnca

I

depth 

(cm)

6

13

33

+ 73

3

11

20

31

46

+ 71

4

12

24

45

65

+ 165

4

29

46

88

181

+ 242 

fan 3

4

8

17

28

44

70

123

193

100 M 100 )(»)( BUT) ( 100 )

Weight (g/cm^/hori zon column)

Sand

1.02

n.57

0.97

1.47

0.89

3.10

3.27

1.29

0.99

6.92

1.31

10.45

1.46

1.61

3.40

3.27

2.13

1.43

3.32

3.59

4.71

2.87

4.03

5.11

Silt :

0

0.16

-0.20

0.26

0.88

3.42

4.51

0.59

0.12

0

1.02

8.27

0.47

0.39

0

0

1.09

1.06

2.93

4.24

5.37

0.32

0

0

1 Clay :

0.18

0.41

0.13

0

0.24

1.03

1.82

0.14

0

0

0.31

3.44

0.25

0.07

0.23

0.17

0.06

0.40

1.09

1.12

1.66

0.15

0

0

1 Carbon Cat^ 1

Fan 1

0.017

0.020

0.024

0.018

Fan 2

0.015

0.059

0.115

0.010

0.024

0.063

Fan 3,

0.019

0.068

0.025

0.044

0.012

0.059

0.023

0.026

0.068

0.056

0.070

0.037

0.060

0.076

, 5 ka

-1.61

-0.38

0.30

0

, 65 ka

-1.24

-3.26

-4.39

-1.35

0.99

3.44

100 ka

-2.18

-14.9

-1.35

2.30

7.34

2.79

-1.88

-1.79

-5.13

-6.18

-8.33

-0.84

2.38

1.56

Gypsum1

-0.0005

0.0002

0.0012

0.0008

0

0.0048

0.0015

0.0004

0.0311

0.277

-0.0008

0.0444

0.0047

0.106

0.465

0.0205

-0.0005

0.0007

0.0049

-0.0008

-0.0011

0.0037

0.0935

0.218

Kaolinite

0.11

0.17

0

0.044

0.13

0.40

0.68

0.15

0.13

0.69

0.18

1.34

0.20

0.40

1.17

0.76

0.083

0.18

0.51

0.56

0.65

0.16

0.32

0.85

Mica

0.13

0.20

0

0.064

0.15

0.65

1.03

0.11

0.14

0.71

0.18

1.68

0.19

0.42

1.17

0.82

0.18

0.25

0.8?

0.68

0.99

0.17

0.34

0.71

Smectite

0.077

0.11

0.059

0.044

0.13

0.43

0.81

0.16

0.14

0.61

0.19

1.93

0.24

0.40

0.63

0.53

0.12

0.18

0.49

0.76

0.99

0.22

0.36

0.61

Paly- Unknown 

gorski te mineral

0 0

0 0

0.031 0.11

0.026 0.082

0 0

0 0

0 0

0.033 0.082

0 0.031

0.14 0.26

0 0

0 0

0.070 0

0.12 0

0.19 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0.20 0

0.036 0.13

0 0.13

0 0.19

C36 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
Supplementary Table 7, Part 1.

clay minerals Continued

Horizon weights of sand, silt, clay, carbon, CaCOo, gypsum, and

Basal

Sample depth 

No. numberHorizon (cm)

Weight (g/cm^/horizon column)

Sand Silt 1 Clay 1 Carbon Gypsum 1

Kaolinite Mica

Smec- Paly- Unknown 

tite gorskite mineral

32

33 

34 

35 

36 

37 

38

39

40

41

42

43

44 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 

50

51

52

53

54

55

56 

57 

58 

59 

60 

61

62 

63 

64 

65 

66 

67

68

69

70

71

72

73 

74 

75 

76 

77 

78 

79

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16

8 7

B 7

8 7

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17

B

T

B Q

B

T

B

O

8

0

B-18a 

B-18a 

B-18a 

B-18a 

B-18a 

B-18a

B-18b 

B-18b 

B-18b 

B-18b 

B-18b 

B-18b

B-4

B

/i

B

/i

B-4

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19

All 

A12 

Bt 

Btca 

Ccacs 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs

^

2C4cs

All 

A12 

Btca 

2Clcsca 

2C2csca 

2C3cs 

2C4cs

A

2C2cs

2C3cs

All 

A12 

Btca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs

A 

Btca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs 

2C4cs

A

2Clcsca

2C2cs

A 

B21tca 

B22tcsca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs 

3C4cs

4 

9 

12 

28 

75 

137 

+237

6

30

50

QQ

+ 198

4 

10 

19 

40 

89 

179 

249

24

42

+ 67

2 

5 

10 

37 

46 

+ 86

6 

22 

51 

75 

130 

+255

6

12

30

55

6 

14 

25 

40 

85 

137 

+262

0.48 

0.48 

0.18 

0.95 

2.09 

0.81 

2.72

1.03 

1.28 

0.84 

0.87 

0.027 

1.16 

2.21

0.44 

0.58 

0.48 

1.79 

0.70 

4.11

1.17 

3.20 

2.46 

6.97 

3.31 

13.3

0.94 

-0.32 

0.69 

0.92 

0.64 

6.43 

9.25

0.83 0.18 

0.85 0.12 

0 0.01 

-0.03 0 

0.92 1.78 

0 -1.08 

0 2.05

1.84 0.54 

1.72 0.86 

1.46 0.63 

0.11 0.36 

-0.37 0.03 

0.38 0.51 

0 0

0.47 0.11 

0.62 0.18 

-0.21 -0.01 

0.32 -0.02 

0 0.09 

0 0.44

1.30 0.30 

2.54 1.88 

1.20 2.13 

b.25 4.59 

0.29 0.22 

3.00 1.93

1.48 0.30 

0.39 0.36 

-0.03 0.02 

-0.93 -0.03 

1.00 1.95 

2.81 2.18 

2.50 0.54

Fan 4,

0.033 

0.017 

0.009 

0.049 

0.043 

0.002 

0.017

Fan 5,

0.029 

0.040 

0.047 

0.098 

0.024 

0.036 

0.032

Fan 6,

0.008 

0.016 

0.018 

0.033 

0.007 

0.038

0.021 

0.099 

0.091 

0.052 

0.114 

0.150

Fan 7,

0.036 

0.031 

0.011 

0.023 

0.084 

0.033 

0.042

315 ka

-0.82 0.0011 

-1.57 -0.0007 

-0.75 0.0021 

-4.03 0.0111 

11.9 14.9 

-7.05 8.94 

-7.01 12.4

410 ka

-1.48 0.0066 

-2.15 0.0025 

-2.52 0.0157 

-2.45 12.5 

3.63 7.39 

-2.97 16.7 

-1.56 7.98

505 ka

-0.39 0.0119 

-0.87 0.0031 

-1.79 0.0023 

-1.15 15.5 

0.51 1.99 

-5.54 5.80

-1.29 0.0189 

-5.50 0.0065 

-3.37 17.2 

-2.74 10.6 

-4.27 6.17 

-8.51 6.64

585 ka

-1.64 0.0019 

-2.01 0.0007 

-0.95 0.509 

-3.72 7.13 

-6.19 13.9 

-5.42 13.0 

-12.4 9.47

0.12 

0.15 

0.065 

0.35 

0.80 

0.54 

2.13

0.27 

0.32 

0.21 

0.087 

0.008 

0.19 

0.17

0.084 

0.12 

0.21 

0.079 

0.19 

0.71

0.25* 

0.98 

0.82 

0.79 

0.47 

2.37

0.31 

-0.09 

0.063 

0.23 

0.14 

1.48 

1.55

0.25 

0.28 

0.11 

0.56 

0.87 

0.31 

1.07

0.35 

0.54 

0.33 

0.24 

0.007 

0.26 

0.63

0.15 

0.23 

0.17 

0.13 

0.13 

0.63

0.45* 

1.16 

0.75 

0.45 

0.47 

2.17

0.25 

-0.08 

0.053 

0.23 

0.11 

0.84 

1.23

0.13 

0.14 

0.11 

0.56 

1.60 

0.51 

2.32

0.27 

0.35 

0.28 

0.13 

0.008 

0.26 

0.46

0.090 

0.16 

0.19 

0.034 

0.17 

1.13

0.27* 

1.05 

1.33 

2.48 

0.67 

3.65

0.38 

-0.21 

0.17 

0.52 

0.23 

2.06 

2.72

0 

0 

0.034 

0.18 

0.27 

0.093 

0.38

0 

0.18 

0.11 

0.087 

0.003 

0.09 

0.17

0 

0.081 

0.053 

0.079 

0.087 

0.23

0* 

0.43 

0.51 

0.23 

0.16 

0.69

0.082 

-0.057 

0.037 

0.076 

0.033 

0.26 

0.39

0 

0 

0 

0 

0.27 

0.093 

0.38

0 

0 

0.40 

0.43 

0.003 

0.08 

0.27

0 

0 

0.053 

0.82 

0.080 

0.30

0* 

0 

0 

1.69 

0.27 

0.99

0 

-0.033 

0.013 

0.22 

0.30 

0.63 

0.58

Pedogenic weights, estimated parent material amount subtracted. 

Estimated by comparison to A horizons of soil B-18a.

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C37
Supplementary Table 7, Part 2. Horizon weights of major oxides plus zirconium

[ , not measured. Analyst: M. C. Rebels, U.S. Geological Survey]

Methods

Horizon weights for element oxides are calculated using the first term in equation 2 given in 

Supplementary Table 7, Part 1.

No.

1 

2 

3 

4

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 

37 

38

Sampl e 

number

B-21 

B-21 

B-21 

B-21

B-5 

B-5 

B-5 

B-5 

B-5 

B-5

B-15 

B-15 

B-15 

B-15 

B-15 

B-15

B-6A 

B-6A 

B-6A 

B-6A 

B-6A 

B-6A 

B-6A

B-14 

B-14 

B-14 

B-14 

B-14 

B-14 

B-14 

B-14

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16 

B-16

Horizon

A 

2Btca 

2Cca 

2Cn

A 

B2tca 

B3tca 

2Clca 

2C2ca 

2C3ca

A 

Bl 

B2tca 

2B3tca 

2Cca 

2Cn

A 

B2tca 

2B3tca 

2Cca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

base of

All 

A12 

Bl 

B21tca 

B22tca 

2B3tca 

2Cca 

2Cnca

All 

A12 

Bt 

Btca 

Ccacs 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs

Basal 

depth 

(cm)

6 

13 

33 

73

3 

11 

20 

31 

46 

+71

4 

12 

24 

45 

65 

+165

4 

29 

46 

88 

181 

+242 

fan 3

4 

8 

17 

28 

44 

70 

123 

193

4 

9 

12 

28 

75 

137 

+237

Weight (g/cnr /horizon column) of oxide

Si02

1.8 

1.3 

1.4 

1.8

2.0 

6.7 

8.9 

2.3 

2.4 

12.

3.3

3.1 

7.0 

8.5 

11. 

3.5 

5.6 

8.5

1.9 

1.8 

0.70 

3.7 

6.2 

3.9 

19.

A1 2 03

0.24 

0.21 

0.17 

0.20

0.27 

0.98 

1.4 

0.28 

0.29 

1.4

0.40 

0.43 

1.0 

1.3 

1.7 

0.43 

0.72 

1.2

0.28 

0.29 

0.10 

0.55 

0.83 

0.50 

2.3

Fe 2 0 3

Fan 1

0.089 

0.076 

0.072 

0.10

Fan 2,

0.10 

0.36 

0.50 

0.12 

0.13 

0.64

Fan 3,

0.14 

0.15 

0.37 

0.46 

0.61 

0.18 

0.30 

0.55

Fan 4,

0.10 

0.10 

0.039 

0.21 

0.38 

0.21 

0.94

MgO

, 5 ka

0.10 

0.11 

0.53 

0.72

65 ka

0.10 

0.30 

0.49 

0.39 

0.69 

3.4

100 ka

0.17 

0.15 

0.31 

0.37 

0.47 

0.54 

2.0 

2.4

315 ka

0.14 

0.12 

0.081 

0.43 

2.9 

1.4 

1.4

CaO

0.30 

0.44 

1.9 

2.5

0.26 

0.75 

1.4 

1.6 

2.2 

12.

0.45 

0.34 

0.75 

0.95 

1.1 

2.0 

5.9 

7.2

0.50 

0.49 

0.43 

2.3 

16. 

5.6 

5.9

Na 2 0

0.033 

0.022 

0.024 

0.033

0.034 

0.12 

0.16 

0.035 

0.042 

0.21

0.064 

0.055 

0.13 

0.17 

0.21 

0.070 

0.13 

0.18

0.034 

0.030 

0.012 

0.062 

0.11 

0.082 

0.25

in less-than-2mm fraction

K 2 0

0.054 

0.051 

0.054 

0.071

0.060 

0.22 

0.28 

0.068 

0.081 

0.40

0.090 

0.095 

0.24 

0.28 

0.36 

0.090 

0.19 

0.28

0.064 

0.062 

0.020 

0.11 

0.17 

0.98 

0.40

Ti02

0.013 

0.010 

0.0077 

0.0084

0.016 

0.053 

0.069 

0.016 

0.015 

0.071

0.022 

0.022 

0.053 

0.068 

0.091 

0.022 

0.033 

0.059

0.015 

0.015 

0.0055 

0.029 

0.038 

0.025 

0.13

MnO

0.0017 

0.0013 

0.0020 

0.0028

0.0019 

0.0060 

0.0074 

0.0027 

0.0034 

0.019

0.0031 

0.0029 

0.0058 

0.0066 

0.0092 

0.0037 

0.0082 

0.023

0.0018 

0.0016 

0.0005 

0.0027 

0.0085 

0.0035 

0.029

Zr02

0.0017 

0.0010 

0.0007 

0.0007

0.0021 

0.0065 

0.0083 

0.0016 

0.0012 

0.0050

0.0031 

0.0027 

0.0055 

0.0069 

0.0084 

0.0022 

0.0031 

0.0044

0.0016 

0.0014 

0.0005 

0.0027 

0.0038 

0.0025 

0.014

C38 Soil Chronosequences in the Western United States
Supplementary Table 7, Part 2. Horizon weights of major oxides plus zirconium Continued

No.

39 

40 

41 

42 

43

44 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 

50

51 

52 

53 

54 

55

b6 

57 

58 

59 

60 

61

62 

63 

64 

65 

66 

67

68 

69 

70 

71 

72

73 

74 

75 

76 

77 

78 

79

Sample 

number

B-7 

B-7 

B-7 

B-7 

B-7

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17 

B-17

B-3 

B-3 

B-3 

B-3 

B-3

B-18A 

B-18A 

B-18A 

B-18A 

B-18A 

B-18A

B-18B 

B-18B 

B-18B 

B-18B 

B-18B 

B-18B

B-4 

B-4 

B-4 

B-4 

B-4

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19 

B-19

Hori zon

A 

Clcsca 

2C2csca 

2C3csca 

2C4cs

All 

A12 

Btca 

2Clcsca 

2C2csca 

2C3cs 

2C4cs

A 

Btca 

Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs

All 

A12 

Btca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs

A 

Btca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs 

2C4cs

A 

R21tcacs 

B22tcsca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs

A 

B21tca 

B22tcsca 

2Clcsca 

2C2cs 

2C3cs 

3C4cs

Basal 

depth 

(cm)

6 

30 

50 

83 

+198

4 

10 

19 

40 

89 

179 

249

4 

24 

42 

62 

+67

2

5 

10 

37 

46 

+86

6 

22 

51 

75 

130 

+255

6

" 12 

30 

55 

+ 75

6 

14 

25 

40 

85 

137 

262

Weight (g/cm^/horizon column) of oxide

Si02

3.2 

3.8 

2.9 

1.6 

4.2 

10. 

7.1

1.3 

1.9

3.3 

8.5 

7.0 

8.2 

14. 

32.

3.7 

2.3 

1.2 

2.6 

11. 

17. 

23.

A1 20 3

0.51 

0.62 

0.48 

0.21 

0.54 

1.5 

0.96

0.17 

0.28

0.48 

1.3 

0.85 

1.4 

1.6 

3.8

0.54 

0.34 

0.10 

0.34 

1.5 

2.1 

3.0

Fe 20 3

Fan 5,

0.18 

0.21 

0.17 

0.082 

0.29 

0.64 

0.39

Fan 6,

0.066 

0.11

0.18 

0.49 

0.37 

0.53 

1.4 

2.0

Fan 7,

0.22 

0.17 

0.041 

0.15 

0.69 

1.1 

1.7

MgO

410 ka

0.21 

0.28 

0.48 

0.41 

2.6 

3.6 

2.3

505 ka

0.079 

0.14

0.23 

0.59 

0.95 

2.5 

2.9 

4.1

585 ka

0.20 

0.13 

0.059 

0.53 

1.5 

2.1 

1.9

CaO

0.63 

1.0 

1.8 

5.3 

7.3 

11. 

7.5

0.32 

0.59

0.94 

1.7 

6.9 

7.5 

9.9 

16.

0.68 

0.65 

0.46 

3.1 

6.5 

6.7 

9.5

Na 2 0

0.06 

0.069 

0.047 

0.034 

0.061 

0.17 

0.11

0.021 

0.030

0.55 

0.13 

0.11 

0.16 

0.23 

0.51

0.053 

0.026 

0.0091 

0.033 

0.12 

0.20 

0.28

in less-than-2mm fraction

K2 0

0.12 

0.14 

0.096 

0.043 

0.13 

0.32 

0.21

0.039 

0.058

0.10 

0.24 

0.18 

0.27 

0.37 

0.95

0.11 

0.065 

0.021 

0.061 

0.28 

0.45 

0.70

Ti02

0.027 

0.030 

0.022 

0.0089 

0.032 

0.081 

0.050

0.0092 

0.015

0.025 

0.064 

0.050 

0.059 

0.088 

0.21

0.02R 

0.017 

0.0056 

0.017 

0.078 

0.11 

0.17

MnO

0.0033 

0.0033 

0.0025 

0.0011 

0.0064 

0.014 

0.0082

0.0017 

0.0026

0.0045 

0.0096 

0.0091 

0.0085 

0.085 

0.074

0.0068 

0.0068 

0.0013 

0.0084 

0.027 

0.047 

0.089

Zr02

0.0028 

0.0026 

0.0017 

0.0007 

0.0021 

0.0063 

0.0049

0.0010 

0.0015

0.0026 

0.0059 

0.0056 

0.0042 

0.0084 

0.020

0.0028 

0.0013 

0.0007 

0.0014 

0.0061 

0.010 

0.013

Gypsic Soils on the Kane Alluvial Fans, Big Horn County, Wyoming C39


o

T>

O 

 ^J

00 

CJ1 6

4^ 

00

00o

M 

CO