LOCATION AZELTINE COEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Torriorthentic Haplustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Azeltine gravelly sandy loam, grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 8 inches; reddish gray (5YR 5/2) gravelly sandy loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine and medium granular structure; soft, very friable; many fine and medium roots; 20 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; mildly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (6 to 14 inches thick)
C1--8 to 18 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) gravelly sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable; many fine and medium roots; 25 percent pebbles, 3 percent cobbles; slightly effervescent; mildly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 20 inches thick)
IIC2ca--18 to 60 inches; stratified sand, pebbles and cobbles; common fine roots, few medium roots; 30 percent cobbles, 30 percent pebbles, and 40 percent medium and coarser sand; calcium carbonate coatings on pebbles and cobbles; strongly effervescent; mildly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Garfield County, Colorado; about 5 miles southeast of Glenwood Springs; 550 feet southwest of Roaring Fork River; 380 feet north and 155 feet west of the SE corner of Sec. 35, T. 6 S., R. 89 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the mollic epipedon ranges from 6 to 14 inches. These soils are typically calcareous throughout, but are leached to a depth of 6 to 14 inches in some pedons. The upper part of the control section is typically gravelly sandy loam or gravelly light sandy clay loam and ranges in clay from 18 to 25 percent. Depth to the contrasting IIC2ca horizon is 16 to 34 inches.
The A horizon has hue of 2.5YR through 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. Gravel ranges from 15 to 30 percent by volume.
The C horizon has hue of 2.5YR through 7.5YR. Gravel ranges from 15 to 35 percent by volume and cobbles from 3 to 7 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Conner and Spoon Butte series in similar families. Conner soils lack contrasting sand and gravel substratums. Spoon Butte soils have a paralithic contact above depth of 20 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: These soils are on alluvial fans, terraces and benches. Slopes are 0 to 12 percent. Elevations range from 5,000 to 6,500 feet. These soils formed in redbed alluvium overlying deposits of sand, pebbles, and cobbles. The mean annual precipitation is 16 inches which is nearly evenly distributed throughout the year. The mean annual temperature is 48 to 51 degrees F. The frost-free season is about 115 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Atencio and Begay soils. Atencio soils have an argillic horizon. Begay soils have a cambic horizon and a coarse loamy control section and lack a contrasting sand and gravel substratum.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderately rapid in the upper part, rapid permeability in the lower part.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used principally for livestock grazing, irrigated hayland, or occasionally for irrigated cropland. Native vegetation is mainly bluegrass, big sagebrush, rabbitbrush and western wheatgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Lower lying foothill valley areas of western Colorado. The series is inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Rifle Area, Colorado, 1977.
REMARKS: Last updated by the state 1/77.
The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Lakewood MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.