LOCATION VERICK                  TX

Established Series
Rev. JWS-RM-GWH
11/2013

VERICK SERIES

The Verick series consists of shallow, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in loamy residuum derived from interbedded sandstone bedrock of Tertiary age. These nearly level to gently sloping soils occur on summits and shoulders of ridges. Slope ranges from 0 to 5 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 508 mm (20 in) and mean annual air temperature is about 22.2 degrees C (72 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, active, hyperthermic, shallow Aridic Haplustalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Verick fine sandy loam in rangeland; elevation is 235 meters (770 feet). (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

A--0 to 15 cm (0 to 6 in); brown (10YR 5/3) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots and old root channels; common fine and medium pores; few fragments of weathered sandstone and snail shells; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. Thickness is 6 to 23 cm (2 to 9 in)

Btk--15 to 38 cm (6 to 15 in); pale brown (10YR 6/3) sandy clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and slightly plastic; few faint clay films on surfaces of peds and lining pores; common fine roots and old root channels; 2 percent threads and fine concretions of calcium carbonate; few fragments of sandstone increasing with depth; violently effervescent, moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. Thickness is 15 to 41 cm (6 to 16 in)

Crk--38 to 203 cm (15 to 80 in); light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) weakly cemented sandstone bedrock, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) moist; platy, with plates 6 to 24 mm (1/4 to 1 in) thick that have patchy coating of calcium carbonate; a few roots enter fractures in upper part; violenty effervescent, moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Maverick County, Texas; from the intersection of Farm Road 1021 and Farm Road 375 in Eagle Pass; 13.9 miles south on Farm Road 1021 to ranch gate; 1.0 mile east through Farias Ranch gate to stock pens; 1.6 miles south across main canal and along power line; 210 feet west in rangeland. USGS topographic quadrangle: El Indio, TX. Latitude: 28 degrees, 32 minutes, 42.027 seconds N; Longitude: 100 degrees, 18 minutes, 46.382 seconds W.; Datum: NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: An aridic ustic moisture regime. The soil moisture control section is moist in some or all parts for less than 90 consecutive days in normal years.
Mean annual soil temperature: 22.2 to 24.4 degrees C (72 to 76 degrees F).
Depth to paralithic contact: 25 to 50 cm (10 to 20 in).
Depth to argillic horizon: 10 to 25 cm (4 to 10 in).

Particle-size control section (weighted average)
Clay content: 18 to 30 percent
Coarse Fragments: 3 to 10 percent
CEC/clay ratio: 0.40 to 0.60

A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: fine sandy loam or sandy clay loam
Clay content: 2 to 26 percent
Sand content: 60 to 85 percent
Coarse fragments: 0 to 15 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 2 to 20 percent
Effervescence: very slight to strong
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline

Bt or Btk horizons
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 7
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: fine sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam
Clay content: 5 to 30 percent
Sand content: 44 to 75 percent
Coarse fragments: 0 to 15 percent
Clay films: few or common; faint to distinct; on surfaces of peds, bridging sand grains, and lining pores
Identifiable secondary carbonate: 0 to 2 percent; fine or medium; films, threads, masses or concretions; mainly on surfaces of peds and as coating on rock fragments
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 30 percent
Electical conductivity (dS/m): 0 to 2
Gypsum: 0 to 1 percent
Effervescence: slight to violent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline

Cr horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR,or 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 2 or 4
Texture: platy sandstone bedrock that is weakly cemented. Some pedons contain interbedded layers of noncemented sandstone and claystone bedrock.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series in the same family. Similar soils are the Cuevitas (TX), Darl (TX), and Dilley (TX) series.
Cuevitas and Darl soils: have a petrocalcic horizon.
Dilley soils: have hue of 7.5YR or redder and are noncalcareous.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: loamy residuum derived from interbedded sandstone bedrock of Tertiary age.
Landscape: inland dissected coastal plain
Landform: summits and shoulders of ridges.
Slope: 0 to 5 percent.
Mean annual precipitation: 432 to 610 mm (17 to 24 in).
Precipitation pattern: June to August and December to February are the driest months, while September to November and March to May are the wettest months.
Thornthwaite annual P-E indices: 20 to 30.
Mean annual air temperature: 21.7 to 23.3 degrees C (71 to 74 degrees F).
Frost-free period: 270 to 340 days.
Elevation: 61 to 274.3 m (200 to 900 ft).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Copita, Darl, Jimenez, Mavco, Maverick, Olmos, Quemado, and Tonio series.
Copita soils: are moderately deep, do not have an argillic horizon, and are on similar to slightly lower positions
Darl soils: do not have argillic horizon and are on similar positions
Jimenez, Olmos and Quemado soils: are in the loamy-skeletal family, have a petrocalcic horizon, and are on similar positions
Mavco soils: are on lower positions
Maverick soils: are on similar positions and are moderately deep to mudstone bedrock.
Tonio soils: are on similar to slightly lower positions and are deep to weathered sandstone bedrock.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability of the soil material is moderate above moderately slowly permeable bedrock. Runoff is negligible on slopes less than 1 percent and low on 1 to 5 percent slopes.

USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly used as rangeland and wildlife habitat. In a climax condition, grasses such as two flower trichloris, pink pappusgrass, plains bristlegrass, pinhole bluestem, and hooded windmillgrass dominate. About 5 percent of the plant community is shrubs and 5 percent is perennial forbs. The woody vegetation is sparse. With retrogression, plants such as red grama, threeawn, lovegrass, Hall's panicum, and fall witchgrass increase or invade. Brush plants such as blackbrush, whitebrush, guajillo, guyacan, condalia, cenizo, creosotebush, paloverde, and pricklypear also increase and invade.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Rio Grande Plain, Texas; LRR I; MLRA 83B; moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Maverick County, Texas, 1972.

REMARKS: Classification change from Ustollic Haplargids to Aridic Haplustalfs based on geographic distribution of the series, rainfall patterns, and vegetative production and composition. The soil has an ustic soil moisture regime that borders an aridic moisture regime.

Edited 11/2013 (RFG-GWH): added sand content to the RIC and updated the geographic setting.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Particle size control section: 15 to 38 cm (6 to 15 in). (Btk horizon)
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 15 cm (0 to 6 in) (A horizon).
Argillic horizon: 15 to 38 cm (6 to 15 in) (Btk horizon).
Paralithic contact: 38 cm (15 in). (Crk contact)

ADDITIONAL DATA: The assignment of the cation-exchange activity class is inferred from lab data from surrounding counties in the region.

Taxonomic version: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Eleventh Edition, 2010.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.