LOCATION SCHOLLE NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Ustic Calciargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Scholle gravelly loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 5 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) gravelly loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 20 percent pebbles; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)
Bt--5 to 12 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) gravelly clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and plastic; many very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; common thin clay films on faces of peds and rock fragments; 30 percent pebbles; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 16 inches thick)
Btk--12 to 17 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) very gravelly clay loam, brown (7.5YR 5/3) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; few thin clay films on faces of peds and coarse fragments; 35 percent pebbles; strongly effervescent; common very fine lime masses; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (3 to 17 inches thick)
Bk1--17 to 24 inches; pinkish white (7.5YR 8/2) gravelly loam, pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine and fine tubular pores; 30 percent pebbles; violently effervescent; lime segregated as common very fine masses and as coatings on fragments; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 15 inches thick)
Bk2--24 to 68 inches; pink (5YR 7/4) gravelly loam, light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and plastic; few very fine tubular pores; 20 percent pebbles; violently effervescent; lime segregated as common very fine nodules and as coatings on fragments, less accumulated lime than in the horizon above; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Torrance County, New Mexico; approximately 0.2 mile north of highway NW1/4NW1/4 Sec. 14, T. 3N., R.6E.; 106 degrees, 17 minutes, 28 seconds west longitude; 34 degrees, 29 minutes, 27 seconds north latitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: Usually dry, intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section December through March and July through September. Ustic aridic moisture regime.
Soil Temperature: 47 to 54 degrees F.
Rock fragments: averages 15 to 35 percent, mainly pebbles in the control section.
Depth to calcic horizon: 15 to 36 inches
Reaction: Neutral through moderately alkaline
A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4
Texture: loam or fine sandy loam
Rock fragments: 0 to 20 percent pebbles
Bt horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 5YR
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist
Chroma: 3 through 5
Texture: clay loam, loam or sandy clay loam (averages 18 to 35 percent clay)
Rock fragments: 10 to 30 percent pebbles.
Bk horizon
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 5 through 7 moist
Chroma: 2 through 6
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 30 percent
Rock fragments: 25 to 35 percent pebbles and 0 to 20 percent cobbles
Texture: sandy clay loam, loam, sandy loam, clay loam.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Alvey (UT), Barx (UT), Cabreros (NM), Cerrillos (NM), Clovis (NM), Fernando (NM), Flaco (NM), Horchata (NM), Maysdorf (WY), Millett (AZ), Palabria (NM), Progresso (CO), Sanostee (NM), Selpats (WY), Solirec (UT), Spenlo (UT), Threetop (WY), Tuweep (AZ) and Wineg (AZ) series. Alvey soils have 10YR and 2.5Y hue. Barx soils receive less precipitation during July, August, September, and October and are not moist in some part of the control section for 10 consecutive days in the 120 days following the summer solstice. Cabreros soils. Flaco, Horchata, Progresso Sanostee and Threetop soils have bedrock (lithic contact) at a depth of 20 to 40 inches. Horchata soils . Maysdorf and Spenlo soils lack calcic horizons within 40 inch depths. Cerrillos and Clovis have less than 15 percent coarse fragments. Fernando soils are calcareous at depths of 4 inches or less and have more than 50 percent silt in the Bt horizon. Millet soils have skeletal subhorizon at 20 inches. Fernando, Palabria and Wineg soils are deep. Selpats soils have 10YR hue. Solirec soils. Tuweep soils formed in pyroclastic material and are skeletal in the lower part of the particle size control section. Maysdorf, Selpats and Threetop soils are in LRR-G and are moist in May and June.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Scholle soils are on fan terraces at elevations of 6,000 to 7,000 feet. These landforms consist of gravelly, medium and moderately fine textured alluvium derived from mixed sources. Slopes are 1 to 15 percent. The climate is semiarid continental. The average annual precipitation is 10 to 13 inches and the average annual temperature is about 45 to 52 degrees F. The frost-free season is 120 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Chilton, La Lande and Witt soils and the competing Clovis soils. Chilton soils lack a Bt horizon and have more than 35 percent rock fragments in the series control section. La Lande soils have less than 15 percent pebbles and lack a strongly zone of lime accumulation. Witt soils have less than 15 percent particles coarser than very fine sand.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderate permeability; slow to medium runoff.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for rangeland. They are used locally as a source of road building material. Present vegetation is blue grama, sand dropseed, ring muhly, cacti, and scattered juniper.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central New Mexico and western Colorado. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lower Colorado Area, Colorado, 1970.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 5 inches (A horizon)
Argillic horizon: 5 to 17 inches (Bt and Btk horizons)
Calcic horizon: 17 to 24 inches (Bk horizon)