LOCATION IMA NM+TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Ustic Haplocambids
TYPICAL PEDON: Ima sandy loam, on a convex, 2 percent slope in rangeland at an elevation of about 1,235 meters (4,050 ft). (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 13 cm (0 to 5 in); reddish brown (5YR 5/3) sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/3) moist; weak fine granular structure with a weak thin crust in the upper 1 to 2 inches; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine roots; common very fine and fine pores; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 15 cm thick)
A2--13 to 25 cm (5 to 10 in); reddish brown (5YR 5/4) fine sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine roots; common very fine and fine pores; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 20 cm thick)
Bw--25 to 81 cm (10 to 32 in); light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) fine sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; few very fine and fine pores; few fine calcium carbonate accumulations in lower part; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (25 to 86 cm thick)
Bk--81 to 102 cm (32 to 40 in); light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) fine sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine and fine pores; common fine and medium calcium carbonate masses; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (20 to 100 cm thick)
C--102 to 203 cm (40 to 80 in); reddish yellow (5YR 7/6) very fine sandy loam, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine pores; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Quay County, New Mexico; 0.5 miles northeast of Tucumcari Memorial Park; 2.6 miles north on county road; 1,000 feet west on private road on south side of road, or 1,000 feet west and 120 feet south of the northeast corner, sec. 10, T. 11 N., R. 30 E; Latitude: 35 degrees, 12 minutes, 03 seconds N; Longitude: 103 degrees, 43 minutes, 25 seconds W; Tucumcari, New Mexico USGS quad; NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: An aridic moisture regime bordering on ustic. The soil moisture control section is dry in some or all parts for more than 205 but less than 270 days, cumulative, in normal years. October through May are the driest months. These soils are intermittently moist June through September.
Mean annual soil temperature: 15 to 17 degrees C (59 to 62 degrees F).
Depth to secondary carbonates: 50 to 75 cm (20 to 30 in).
Solum thickness: less than 200 cm (80 in).
Particle-size control section: 10 to 18 percent silicate clay. Clay content below the particle-size control section is variable, ranging from 15 to 35 percent.
A horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 to 6, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam
Coarse fragments: 0 to 5 percent siliceous gravel
Pararock fragments: 0 to 5 percent gravel size calcium carbonate fragments and few sandstone fragments
Effervescence: none to slight
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Bw horizon:
Hue: 2.5YR to 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 7, 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6 moist
Texture: loamy very fine sand, fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or loam
Clay content: 8 to 18 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: less than 15 percent
Effervescence: slight or strong
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
Bk horizon:
Hue: 2.5YR to 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 7, 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6 moist
Texture: loamy very fine sand, fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or loam
Visible calcium carbonate: 2 to 10 percent as masses, films, and threads
Calcium carbonate equivalent: less than 15 percent
Effervescence: strong or violent
Reaction: moderately alkaline
C horizon:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 to 7, 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 4 to 6
Effervescence: strong or violent
Reaction: moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: This is the
Chaparral (NM),
Mallet (AZ) and
Perilla (AZ) series. Similar soils are the
Los Tanos, and
Malstrom series.
Chaparral soils: contain 15 to 35 percent coarse fragments in the control section.
Mallet and Perilla soils: receive significant amounts of winter precipitation characteristic of the Sonoran Desert. In addition, Mallet soils do not have calcium carbonate in the lower profile.
Los Tanos soils: have sandstone at 50 to 100 cm from the soil surface.
Malstrom soils: have a calcic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: alluvium and eolian deposits mostly from Jurassic, Triassic, Permian, and Pennsylvania age sandstones and shales.
Landform: hillslopes, plains, alluvial fans, terraces, and piedmonts.
Slopes: 0 to 10 percent.
Mean annual air temperature: 15 to 17 degrees C (57 to 62 degrees F).
Mean annual precipitation: 305 to 432 mm (12 to 17 in).
Frost-free period: 180 to 210 days.
Elevation: 1,220 to 1,620 meters (4,000 to 5,300 ft).
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing
Los Tanos series and
Armesa,
Chispa,
Dalby,
Hodgins,
La Lande,
McCarran,
Montoya,
Quay,
Redona, series. Armesa, Chispa, and Quay soils have more than 18 percent clay content in the particle-size control section and have a calcic horizon within 100 cm.
Dalby and Montoya soils: have more than 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section.
Hodgins, La Lande, and Redona soils: have more than 18 percent clay content in the particle-size control section.
McCarran soils: have a gypsic horizon within 100 cm of the soil surface.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Moderately rapid permeability. Surface runoff is negligible on 0 to 3 percent slopes, very low on 3 to 5 percent slopes, and low on 5 to 10 percent slopes.
USE AND VEGETATION: Principal use is for livestock grazing. Climax native vegetation is mainly little bluestem, sideoats grama, needle-and-thread, feathergrass, black grama, western wheatgrass, blue grama, hairy grama, fringed sagewort, sand dropseed, spike dropseed, sand bluestem, yucca, and occasionally sand sage. This series has been correlated to the Sandy Loam (R070B054NM) range site in MLRA-70B.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Upper Pecos River Valley (MLRA 70B in LRR G) in east-central New Mexico and western Texas. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Quay County (Southwest Quay SCD), New Mexico, 1958.
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 25 cm. (A horizon)
Cambic horizon: 25 to 81 cm. (Bw horizon).
Note: Where colors meet the requirements of a mollic epipedon, the horizon is less than 18 inches thick.
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL data from Guadalupe County, NM (S95NM-019-001)
TAXONOMIC VERSION: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006