LOCATION TRAVESSILLA NM+AZ CO KS MT OK SD UT WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Lithic Ustic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Travessilla stony sandy loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 4 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) stony sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and medium roots; common fine pores; 15 percent stones; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
C--4 to 8 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) channery loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and medium roots; common fine pores; 20 percent channers; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 14 inches thick)
R--8 to 18 inches; very strongly cemented sandstone with some fractures.
TYPE LOCATION: Union County, New Mexico; approximately 1,560 feet north and 4,200 feet west of the southeast corner, sec. 24, T. 31 N., R. 36 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture - Typically, moist intermittently from April 30 through October in some part of the soil moisture control section and dry in all parts periodically from November 1 to April 30.
Soil Temperature - 50 to 58 degrees F.
Depth to lithic contact: typically 4 to 10 inches but ranges to 20 inches.
Particle-size Control Section:
Clay Content: 5 to 18 percent.
Silt Content: 5 to 50 percent.
Sand Content: 40 to 90 percent with more than 25 percent fine sand or coarser.
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent stones, 0 to 10 percent cobbles and 0 to 25 percent pebbles but weighted average is less than 35 percent.
A and C horizons - (an AC horizon is present in some pedons)
Hue: 7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture of the Fine Earth Fraction: sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam or very fine sandy loam.
Rock fragment content: 0 to 35 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Bigmon,
Hideout (UT),
Kenzo (T UT),
Lazear (CO),
Redspear (WY),
Rizno (UT),
Rizozo (NM),
Skyvillage (NM),
Travson (WY), and
Zukan (UT) series.
Bigmon soils have more winter dominated precipitation.
Hideout soils: have a mean annual temperature of 47 to 50 degrees F.
Kenzo soils: have hue of 7.5YR or redder.
Lazear soils: have more than 18 percent clay.
Redspear, Rizno and Rizozo soils: have hue of 5YR or redder.
Skyvillage soils: are dry in all parts of the soil moisture control section periodically from
May 1 to June 30.
Travson soils: are dry in the soil moisture control section July through September.
Zuchan soils: have accumulated carbonates in the form of a Bk horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: calcareous eolian sediments and residuum weathered from sandstone and shale.
Outcrops of sandstone with a minor amount of shale are common on steep slopes.
Landform: hills, cuestas, scarps, and mesas
Slopes: 0 to 75 percent.
Elevation: 4,700 to 8,000 feet.
Mean annual precipitation: 10 to 16 inches, but has ranged higher.
Mean annual temperature: 49 to 57 degrees F.
Frost-free period is typically 115 to 170 days. Utah has a frost-free period as low as 70 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Bernal,
Carnero,
Hagerman,
Quay and
Pajarito soils.
Bernal and Hagerman soils: have an argillic horizon.
Carnero soils: have bedrock at depths of 20 to 40 inches.
Quay and Pajarito soils: do not have bedrock within a depth of 40 inches.
Quay soils have more than 18 percent clay in the particle size control section and have a prominent zone of lime accumulation
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; runoff is high on slopes less than 1 percent and very high on slopes greater than 1 percent; moderate or moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland. Juniper, pinyon, squawbush, oakbrush, blue grama, sideoats grama and snakeweed are the principal plants.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, western Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming. LRR E, G; MLRA'S 49, 67, 69, 70, 77. The series is extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Eastern New Mexico Reconnaissance, Harding County, New Mexico, 1937.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric Epipedon - 0 to 4 inches. (A horizon).
Lithic Contact - 8 inches. (top of R horizon).
Particle-size Control Section - surface of the soil to about 8 inches: (A, C horizons).
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy Tenth Edition, 2006.
Additional data: None