LOCATION ALTAZANO NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Aridic Ustifluvents
TYPICAL PEDON: Altazano gravelly sandy loam--on a small inset fan sloping 5 percent to the northwest at 6,730 feet elevation--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was dry throughout.)
AC--0 to 2 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) gravelly sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; weak medium platy structure parting to moderate medium granular; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; surface has discontinuous lag deposits of very gravelly coarse sand, very fine sandy loam, and plant debris from recent flooding; 20 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
C1--2 to 8 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) gravelly coarse sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; weak medium platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few medium, few fine, and common very fine roots; common very fine irregularly shaped pores; 25 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 14 inches thick)
C2--8 to 19 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) very gravelly loamy coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few medium, common fine, and common very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; common thin lenses of sandy loam; 35 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 13 inches thick)
C3--19 to 29 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) gravelly sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; weak medium platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common medium, few fine, and few very fine roots; few fine and few very fine irregularly shaped pores; few thin lenses of very gravelly loamy coarse sand; 25 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 11 inches thick)
Btkb1--29 to 46 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate coarse subangular blocky; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few coarse, common medium, few fine, and common very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 17 inches thick)
Btkb2--46 to 65 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium, few fine, and few very fine roots; few fine and common very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine and medium irregularly shaped coats on faces of peds and on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (9 to 22 inches thick)
BCkb--65 to 74 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) gravelly coarse sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; thin stratum of very gravelly sandy loam at top of horizon; 15 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as common fine and medium irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)
Ckb--74 to 90 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3), gravelly loamy coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; 15 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; about 3 miles north of Agua Fria; 100 feet north and 850 feet west of the southeast corner of section 18, T.17N., R.9E.; USGS Agua Fria 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; Latitude 35 degrees 41 minutes 49.5 seconds North and Longitude 106 degrees 1 minute 16 seconds West, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soil moisture control section is intermittently moist in some part from December to March and July to October. Rainfall and floodwaters moisten the profile in the summer. The soils are driest in May and June. The soil moisture regime is ustic bordering on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature - 49 to 52 degrees F.
Thickness of surface mantle over buried soils - 20 to 40 inches
Lithology of fragments: granite, gneiss and schist.
There are no subsurface diagnostic horizons except buried diagnostic horizons and features
Depth to buried argillic horizon 25 to 35 inches
Depth to buried identifiable secondary carbonates - 14 to 43 inches
Depth to paralithic contact - 85 to 100 inches
Depth to buried calcic horizon 58 to 68 inches
Reaction - slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline in the surface and subsurface horizons; moderately alkaline to strongly alkaline in the buried horizons
Particle-size control section (weighted averages)
Silicate clay content: 4 to 14 percent
Sand content: 60 to 80 percent
Fine sand or coarser content: 70 to 90 percent
Rock fragment content: 15 to 35 percent
AC horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry
Texture: gravelly sandy loam or loamy sand
Rock fragments: 5 to 25 percent gravel
Other features: this horizon is a recent stratified deposit and does not qualify as an Ochric epipedon; some pedons contain as much as 30 percent rock fragments
C horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: stratified very gravelly loamy coarse sand to gravelly sandy loam or stratified gravelly loamy coarse sand to fine sandy loam
Rock fragments: total range is 15 to 35 percent
15 to 30 percent gravel
0 to 5 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 2 to 10 percent
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 0 to 2
Other features: thin subhorizons have as few as 10 percent or as much as 40 percent gravel
Btkb or Bkb horizons
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Texture: loam, sandy loam, or sandy clay loam
Rock fragments: 5 to 15 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 2 to 20 percent
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 0 to 2
BCkb horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Texture: gravelly coarse sandy loam, gravelly sandy loam, or gravelly loam
Rock fragments: total range is 15 to 35 percent
15 to 30 percent gravel
0 to 5 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 2 to 20 percent
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 0 to 2
Ckb horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: gravelly loamy coarse sand or gravelly coarse sand
Rock fragments: 15 to 30 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 2 to 10 percent
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 0 to 2
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Pietown and Sodawells series. The Pietown series are very deep. The Sodawells series receive most of their moisture during April through June.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Altazano soils are on small inset fans of erosional fan remnants and narrow flood plains of valley floors. They formed in alluvium derived from Precambrian granite, gneiss, and schist; and from Tertiary granitic sandstone, fanglomerate, and mudstone. Slopes are 0 to 8 percent. Elevation ranges from 5,700 to 7,900 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 13 to 15 inches with about 45 percent falling as rain from high-intensity convective thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual air temperature is 47 to 50 degrees F. The frost-free period is 140 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Buckhorse, Levante, and Dondiego soils. Buckhorse soils have mollic epipedons and argillic horizons, and occur on adjacent toeslopes. Levante soils are sandy, do not have buried soils within 40 inches, and occur on adjacent narrowflood plains of arroyos. Dondiego soils are fine-loamy, have thick mollic epipedons, and occur on adjacent low stream terraces.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained, low and very low surface runoff; permeability is moderately rapid to moderate in the upper loamy horizons and rapid to very rapid in the lower sandy horizons. These soils are subject to occasional or frequent, extremely brief periods of flooding between July and September. Floodwaters may have high velocity but are generally less than 2 feet deep.
USE AND VEGETATION: Altazano soils are used for urban development, livestock grazing, and recreation. The historic climax vegetation is blue grama, black grama, Gambel oak, and oneseed juniper. The ecological site is Hills (R036XB124NM).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Altazano soils are of small extent on the southeastern Espanola Basin part of the Basin and Range province in northcentral New Mexico. The MLRA is 36.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; Santa Fe Area Soil Survey Update; 2008. Altazano is a street name in Santa Fe.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Surface mantle of new material - new alluvial material from the soil surface to 29 inches. (AC, C1, C2, and C3 horizons)
Buried soil from 29 to 90 inches (Btkb, BCk, and Ck horizons)
Particle-size control section from 10 to 29 inches (part of the C2 and the C3 horizon)
Buried Argillic horizon - The zone from 29 to about 65 inches. (Btkb horizons)
Buried Identifiable secondary carbonates - 29 to 90 inches
Buried Calcic horizon 65 to 90 inches
Fluventic feature - an irregular organic-carbon distribution is inferred from the stratified textures.
Taxonomic version: Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.