LOCATION BEACH                   TX

Established Series
Rev. RAC/JLR/CLG/WWJ
11/2014

BEACH SERIES

The Beach series comprises very shallow and shallow, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in residuum from hard, very fine grained, metamorphic sandstone. These sloping to steep soils are on sandstone hills and in valleys. Slopes range from 1 to about 70 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, calcareous, thermic Lithic Ustic Torriorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Beach very gravelly loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

A--0 to 7 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) very gravelly loam, reddish brown (5YR 5/3) moist; weak very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; common fine roots; about 50 percent by volume pebbles and a few cobbles and stones; few fine concretions and thin coatings on coarse fragments of calcium carbonate; effervescent; moderately alkaline; abrupt irregular boundary. (4 to 13 inches thick)

R--7 inches; indurated, red, very fine grained sandstone; coarsely fractured with small amount of soil interstices in upper few inches.

TYPE LOCATION: Hudspeth County, Texas. From the railroad crossing in Allamore, Texas, 5.2 miles north on county road, then 50 feet north in range.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture: Intermittently moist in the soil moisture control section during July-August. Ustic aridic soil moisture regime.

Depth to bedrock: 4 to 13 inches

Content of coarse fragments: 35 to 75 percent. Mostly sandstone, but includes a few sedimentary and igneous fragments from nearby hills.

Organic carbon: less than 2 percent

Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 5 percent

A horizon
Hue: 2.5YR, 5YR
Value: 3 to 7, dry or moist
Chroma: 2 to 6 dry, 2 to 4 moist
Texture: fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loam, coarse sandy loam, silt loam
Clay content: 7 to 27 percent
The very fine grained sandstone and siltstone bedrock has a hardness of 4 or 5 on Moh's scale. It is red of reddish brown. It is many meters thick.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bofecillos (TX), Holguin (TX+AZ), Sauceda (TX), and Scotal (TX) series. Bofecillos soils formed over basalt, have hues of 7.5YR and 10YR, and are neutral to slightly alkaline. Holguin soils formed over conglomerate, have 1 to 15 percent calcium carbonate equivalent, and a slightly warmer soil temperature. Sauceda and Scotal soils contain more than 2 percent organic carbon and more than 5 percent calcium carbonate equivalent.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Beach soils are in valleys and on hills. Slopes range from 1 to 70 percent. The regolith consists of a thin mantle of loamy earth, containing many coarse fragments. The underlying metamorphic rocks that the Beach soils formed in are hard, very fine grained sandstone and siltstone of Precambrian Age. The climate is arid. Average annual rainfall is 12 to 16 inches, with most coming in summer and early fall. Mean annual temperature is from 62 to 67 degrees F. Elevation ranges from 4,000 to 5,500 feet. The frost-free period is 210 to 250 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Allamore, Chilicotal, Culberspeth, Chispa, Kinco, Bissett, and Tenneco soils. Allamore soils are on similar landscapes and positions. Chilicotal, Chispa, Kinco, and Tenneco soils are very deep and occur on lower positions. Culberspeth soils have a petrocalcic and occur on lower positions. Bissett soils are shallow to limestone and occur on similar positions.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Surface runoff is rapid. Permeability is moderate.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used mostly for rangeland. Carrying capacity is low. Native vegetation now growing on most areas is mostly blue grama, black grama, mesquite, pricklypear, and skeleton-leaf goldeneye.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Occurs locally in Southwest Texas. This soil occurs in LRR-D, MLRA 42. The series is not extensive.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Hudspeth County, Texas; Soil Survey of Hudspeth County, Texas (Main Part), 2012.

REMARKS: The name Beach is from nearby mountains.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 7 inches (A horizon)

Lithic contact - the boundary at 7 inches (R horizon)

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Twelfth Edition, 2014.

Revised for the correlation of Hudspeth County, Texas (Main Part) and Culberson County, Texas (Main Part); July, 2012, NMS

Revised for the correlation of White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; October, 2014, NMS

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.