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Parent Material‐Clay Relations in Some Northern Utah Soils
Author(s) -
Southard A. R.,
Miller R. W.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1966.03615995003000010033x
Subject(s) - kaolinite , geology , sedimentary rock , conglomerate , soil water , clay minerals , parent rock , parent material , montmorillonite , geochemistry , calcareous , mineralogy , soil science , chemistry , paleontology , organic chemistry
It is frequently stated that soils with well‐developed A and B horizons are sufficiently weathered that their clays will reflect strongly the influence of the climatic environment. Studies of three profiles developed from sedimentary rock materials in northern Utah show a high association between parent material, kind of clay in each parent material, and kind of clay in the soil derived from the rock materials. Soil derived from a calcareous, red matrixed conglomerate (Wasatch) contains 20 to 50% of clay as kaolinite. Soil formed from a particular and distinctly calcareous tuffaceous deposit has dominantly montmorillonite clays, with no evidence of kaolinite even in horizons lying adjacent to soil layers developed from Wasatch conglomerate. Where a particular limestone is the main parent rock, the soil contains some kaolinite and montmorillonite, but the proportions of different clays are little changed at different depths. These data and other observations not reported here strongly support the concept that clays in soils of the northern Utah area developed since Pleistocene times or even longer are mostly a result of heredity, if the soils are derived from sedimentary parent rock. Climate is a subordinate factor in altering the kinds of clays found in these soils.