LOCATION BATTERSON CO+UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Lithic Ustic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Batterson loamy sand - grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 4 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) loamy sand, reddish brown (5YR 4/3) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable; 10 percent small sandstone fragments; calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); gradual smooth boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
AC--4 to 7 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) loamy sand containing lenses of sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; single grained; loose; 10 percent small sandstone fragments; calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
C--7 to 15 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) loamy sand containing lenses of sandy loam; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; single grained; loose; 20 percent small sandstone fragments; secondary carbonates occur inconsistently as soft concretions; calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 17 inches thick)
R--15 to 16 inches; reddish brown calcareous sandstone.
TYPE LOCATION: Mesa County, Colorado; SW 1/4 of Sec. 19, T. 12 S., R. 102 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: These soils are underlain by a lithic contact at depths of 10 to 20 inches. Typically, they are calcareous throughout but may be leached for 1 or 2 inches in some pedons. The weighted average organic carbon content of the surface 15 inches or the portion above the bedrock is approximately .4 percent. The sand/clay ratio ranges from 7 to more than 15. Calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from less than 1 to 4 percent and the occurrence of visible secondary calcium carbonate is erratic. Mean annual soil temperature ranges from 47 to 58 degrees F, and mean summer soil temperature ranges from 60 to 78 degrees F. The control section is predominantly loamy sand or sand, but textures finer than loamy fine sand occur in the control section. The content of coarse fragments ranges from 0 to 35 percent.
The A1 horizon has hue of 7.5YR through 2.5YR, value of 5 or 6 dry and 3 through 5 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. Surface horizons having value as dark as 5 dry and 3 moist are too thin or lack sufficient organic matter to qualify as mollic epipedons. The A1 horizon is mildly to moderately alkaline (pH 7.8 to 8.4). Typically, it has weak granular structure, but may have weak platy structure in the upper few inches. It ranges from soft to loose.
The C horizon has hue of 5YR through 10YR. It is moderately to strongly alkaline (pH 8.0 to 8.6), and has 1 to 4 percent calcium carbonate equivalent, with the accumulation of visible carbonate being erratic from place to place.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Lazear and Travessilla series. Lazear and Travessilla soils have hue no redder than 7.5YR, and are finer than loamy fine sand in the control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Batterson soils are on gently sloping to steeply sloping upland hills and ridges. They formed in sandy, calcareous sediments weathered from underlying red bed sandstone. Slope gradients range from 2 to 45 percent. At the type location average annual precipitation is 13 inches, with peak periods of precipitation occurring in the spring and early summer months. Mean annual temperature is 48 degrees F. and mean summer temperature is 63 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Lazear soils and the Palma soils. Palma soils have an argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well to somewhat excessively drained; slow runoff; rapid permeability above the bedrock.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used principally as native pastureland. Principal native plants are pinyon juniper, big sage, Indian ricegrass, native bluegrass, and snakeweed.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The western slope areas of Colorado. The series has moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mesa County (Lower Colorado Area), Colorado, 1970.
REMARKS: Last updated by the state 5/72.