LOCATION QUAY NM+TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, thermic Ustic Haplocalcids
TYPICAL PEDON: Quay loam, on a convex alluvial footslope, 2 percent slope in rangeland at an elevation of about 4,260 feet. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 3 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moist; moderate very fine granular structure; soft, friable; few fine roots; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
A2--3 to 9 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/3) loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/3) moist; moderate very fine granular structure; soft, friable; common fine roots; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bw1--9 to 13 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; common fine roots; common very fine pores, strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
Bw2--13 to 19 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable; common fine roots; common very fine pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 15 inches thick)
Bk--19 to 26 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, slightly firm; common fine roots; common very fine and few fine pores; many fine and medium irregular pinkish white (5YR 8/2) calcium carbonate masses and nodules; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
BCk1--26 to 36 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, firm; few fine roots; few very fine pores; many medium irregular pinkish white (5YR 8/2) calcium carbonate masses and nodules; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 12 inches thick)
BCk2--36 to 80 inches; pinkish gray (7.5YR 7/2) clay loam, pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable; few very fine tubular pores; few fine irregular calcium carbonate masses and nodules; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Quay County, New Mexico; 7 miles south of Tucumcari on SR 209 then 0.5 mile west, or the north quarter corner of sec. 27, T. 10 N., R. 30 E. in rangeland; Latitude: 35 degrees, 04 minutes, 12 seconds N; Longitude: 103 degrees, 44 minutes, 42 seconds W; Bulldog Mesa Quad, New Mexico USGS quad; NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: An aridic moisture regime bordering on ustic. The soil moisture control section is dry in all parts for 205 days to 270 days, cumulative, in normal years. July through August and December through February are the driest months. These soils are intermittently moist in September through November and March through June.
Mean annual soil temperature: 59 to 64 degrees F.
Depth to calcic horizon: 15 to 40 inches
Solum thickness: 40 to 60 inches
Particle-size control section: 18 to 35 percent silicate clay
A horizon:
Hue: 2.5YR to 7.5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4
Note: epipedons with moist value and chroma less than 3.5 are less than 7 inches thick or contain less than 0.6 percent organic carbon
Texture: fine sandy loam, loam, silt loam
Silicate clay contents: 18 to 35 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0.5 to 3 percent
Effervescence: slight
Reaction: moderately alkaline
Bw horizons:
Hue: 2.5YR to 7.5YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6
Texture: silt loam, loam, clay loam
Silicate clay content: 15 to 34 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 10 percent
Effervescence: strong
Reaction: moderately alkaline
Bk horizon:
Hue: 2.5YR to 7.5YR
Value: 5 to 8 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: sandy clay loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, silty clay, clay
Silicate clay content: 35 to 50 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 30 percent
Visible calcium carbonate: 3 to 20 percent as masses and nodules
Effervescence: strong or violent
Reaction: moderately alkaline
BCk horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 6 to 8 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: sandy clay loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, silty clay, clay
Silicate clay contents: 35 to 50 percent
Visible secondary carbonate: 3 to 20 percent as masses and nodules
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 30 percent
Effervescence: violent
Reaction: moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Conchas,
Hoban,
Poquita,
Reagan, and
Stovall series. Similar soils include the
Glenrio and
Reakor series.
Conchas series: has a lithic contact of sandstone between 20 to 40 inches of the soil surface.
Hoban series: does not have bedrock within 40 inches of the surface and has a gypsic horizon at depths of 40 to 60 inches of the soil surface.
Poquita series: has a hue of 2.5YR or 5YR in the particle size control section and does not have accumulations of gypsum.
Reagan series: has mean annual temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees F.
Stovall series: has a calcic horizon within 6 to 15 inches of the soil surface.
Glenrio series: has a solum thickness less than 20 inches and less than 35 percent silicate clay in the particle-size control section.
Reakor series: is dry in the soil moisture control section for longer periods.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: formed in moderately fine to medium textured calcareous alluvium derived from red siltstone, shale, and sandstone from the Triassic, Permian, and Pennsylvanian ages.
Landform: on convex alluvial fans and footslopes.
Slopes: 0 to 9 percent.
Mean annual air temperature: 58 to 62 degrees F.
Mean annual precipitation: 13 to 16 inches.
Frost-free period: 180 to 190 days.
Elevation: 4,000 to 5,500 feet.
Thornthwaite annual P-E Index Values: 20 to 25.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Alama,
Glenrio,
Ima,
La Lande, and
Tucumcari series.
Alama soils are on slightly higher landscape positions and do not have a calcic horizon within 40 inches of the soil surface.
Glenrio soils are on similar landscape positions and have less than 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section.
Ima soils are on higher landscape positions and have 18 percent or less clay in the particle-size control section.
La Lande soils are on slightly higher landscape positions and contain more than 15 percent fine and coarser sand.
Tucumcari soils are on similar landscape positions and have an argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Moderate permeability. Surface runoff is negligible on 0 to 1 percent slopes, very low on 1 to 3 percent slopes, low on 3 to 5 percent slopes, and medium on 5 to 9 percent slopes.
USE AND VEGETATION: Principal use is rangeland but some areas are cultivated under irrigation. Native vegetation is blue grama, western wheatgrass, black grama, galleta, sideoats grama, buffalograss, sand dropseed, three-awn, wolftail, and broom snakeweed. Associated species are silver bluestem, vine-mesquite, ring muhly, fringed sagewort, and winterfat. This series has been correlated to the Loamy (070EY663TX) range site in MLRA-77.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern New Mexico and western Texas (sub-MLRA-70E and 77E); The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Quay County, New Mexico (Canadian River SCD Survey), 1940.
REMARKS: The calcic (Bk) horizon is in layers that appear to have once been part of an argillic horizon. Evidence of illuviated clay can be found, but is insufficient for an argillic horizon.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 9 inches. (A horizons)
Cambic horizon: 9 to 19 inches. (Bw horizons)
Calcic horizon: 19 to 36 inches. (Bk, BCk horizons)
Soil interpretations record: NM0351
Taxonomic version: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Eighth Edition, 1998.