LOCATION BIPLANE                 AZ

Established Series
Rev. BAL/PDC
08/2012

BIPLANE SERIES

The Biplane series consists of deep to a hardpan, well drained soils that formed in alluvium from volcanic and sedimentary rocks on mesas and have slopes of 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 18 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 60 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Torrertic Haplustalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Biplane silty clay - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 2 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) silty clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky parting to moderate fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular and irregular pores; 5 percent cobble, 5 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)

Bt1--2 to 6 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) silty clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky parting to strong fine angular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine through medium and few coarse roots; few very fine and fine tubular pores; 5 percent cobble; many faint clay films on faces of peds; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)

Bt2--6 to 16 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; strong medium prismatic parting to strong fine angular blocky structure; hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; many fine and medium and few coarse roots; few fine tubular pores; 5 percent cobble; many faint clay films on faces of peds; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)

Btss1--16 to 29 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; strong coarse prismatic parting to strong coarse angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; common fine through coarse roots; few fine tubular pores; 5 percent cobble; many faint clay films on faces of peds; very few slickensides; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)

Btss2--29 to 35 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; strong medium angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; common fine and medium roots; few fine tubular pores; 5 percent cobble; many faint clay films on faces of peds; common slickensides; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 8 inches thick)

Bk--35 to 40 inches; pink (5YR 7/4) cobbly clay loam, reddish yellow (5YR 6/6) moist; massive; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few fine and medium roots; 10 percent cobble, 10 percent gravel; weakly cemented with calcium carbonate; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)

2Bkkm--40 to 60 inches; laminar capped, calcium carbonate cemented hardpan.

TYPE LOCATION: Yavapai County, Arizona; located about 1030 feet north and 725 feet east of the southwest corner of section 13, T. 17 N., R. 5 E; 34 degrees, 51 minutes, 00.5 seconds north latitude, and 111 degrees, 47 minutes, 34.7 seconds west longitude; .

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil Moisture: Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July-August and December-January. Driest during May and June. Aridic ustic soil moisture regime.

Soil Temperature: 59 to 62 degrees F.

Clay content: Averages 40 to 60 percent in the particle size control section

Rock fragments: Averages 0 to 5 percent, mostly cobble

Depth to hardpan: 40 to 55 inches

A horizon
Value: 3 or 4 moist
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 1 percent
Organic matter content: 1.0 to 2.0 percent

Bt horizons
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 3 percent
Organic matter content: 0.5 to 1.0 percent
Texture: silty clay, clay

Btss horizons
Value: 3 or 4 moist
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 3 percent
Organic matter content: less than 0.5 percent

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Biplane soils are on mesas at elevations of 4500 to 4900 feet. Slopes range from 0 to 3 percent. These soils formed in basaltic alluvium. The mean annual precipitation is 16 to 20 inches. The mean annual air temperature is 57 to 60 degrees F. The frost-free period is 180 to 220 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Turist and Sedona soils. Sedona soils are shallow to a paralithic contact and the Turist soils are very shallow to a lithic contact.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow runoff with occasional ponding; very slow permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for livestock grazing, wildlife habitat and urban land. Present vegetation includes one seed juniper, mesquite, prickly pear, mutton grass, tobosa, sideoats grama, green ephedra, yucca and pinyon pine.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Arizona. Biplane soils are of very limited extent. MLRA is 38.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Yavapai County, Arizona; Soil survey of Black Hills-Sedona Area, Arizona, Parts of Coconino and Yavapai Counties; 1996.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 2 inches (A horizon)

Argillic horizon - The zone from 2 to 35 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Btss1, Btss2 horizons)

Vertic feature - The presence of slickensides (Btss1, Btss2 horizons)

Classification changed to Torrertic subgroup in 2006. This change was made to be consistent with the Vertic features described and the moisture regime.

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy Eleventh Edition, 2010

Revised for the correlation of Black Hills-Sedona, AZ, August 2012, CEM

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.