LOCATION HUERFANO NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Typic Natrargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Huerfano sandy clay loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 1 inch; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) sandy clay loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; weak fine granular structure; very hard, very firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 2 inches thick)
E--1 to 2 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) sandy clay loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine discontinuous vesicular pores; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 2 inches thick)
Btn1/Bt1--2 to 5 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak fine columnar structure parting to weak fine subangular blocky; hard, firm, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine continuous pores; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
Btn2/Bt2--5 to 7 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; few very fine continuous pores; strongly effervescent; very strongly alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
Bk--7 to 15 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy clay loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few fine continuous pores; violently effervescent; few fine calcium carbonate accumulations; strongly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Cr--15 inches; shale.
TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, New Mexico; 1,400 feet south, 100 feet east of the northwest corner of Sec. 9, T. 23 N., R. 13 W.; 108 degrees, 14 minutes, 16 seconds west longitude; 36 degrees, 14 minutes, 50 seconds north latitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section December through March and July through September. The soil is driest during May and June. Typic aridic moisture regime.
Soil Temperature: 52 to 57 degrees F.
Depth to paralithic contact: 4 to 20 inches
Rock fragments: 0 to 20 percent gravel
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
A horizon
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 1 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam
Rock fragments: 10 to 85 percent total; 5 to 10 percent gravel
Btn horizon
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: clay loam, sandy clay loam
Sodicity: ESP of 25 to 75 percent
Bk or BC horizon
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y.
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: clay loam, sandy clay loam
Calcium carbonate equivalent: less than 15 percent
Gypsum: 0 to 5 percent
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competitors.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Huerfano soils are on summits of mesas, dipslopes of cuestas, valley floors and plateaus. Slopes are 0 to 5 percent. Elevation is from 5,400 to 6,800 feet. These soils formed in alluvium weathered from shale, sandstone or siltstone. The frost-free period is 130 to 165 days. The mean annual precipitation is about 5 to 10 inches. The mean annual temperature is 50 to 55 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Kimbeto and Razito soils. Kimbeto and Razito soils are more than 40 inches to bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to high runoff; slow to very slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used livestock grazing. Present vegetation is black greasewood, mound saltbush, fourwing saltbush, shadscale, alkali sacaton, and galleta.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern New Mexico. MLRA 35, LRR-D. This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: San Juan County, New Mexico, Eastern Part, 1978
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: the zone from 0 to 2 inches (A and E horizons)
Natric horizon: the zone from 2 to 7 inches (Btn1/Bt1 and Btn2/Bt2 horizons)
Paralithic contact: the boundary with soft shale bedrock at 15 inches (Cr layer)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006
Updated and revised for the correlation of Ft. Definance Area AZ715 2/08 DWD