LOCATION BLANCOVERDE AZ

Established Series
Rev. BAL/PDC/WWJ
08/2012

BLANCOVERDE SERIES

The Blancoverde series consists of deep, well drained soils formed in colluvium and residuum from lacustrine sediments. Blancoverde soils are on hills and mesas and have slopes of 5 to 60 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 13 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 62 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, thermic Ustic Torriorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Blancoverde very gravelly loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A1--0 to 2 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) very gravelly loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; many very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 10 percent stones, 5 percent cobble, 40 percent gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)

A2--2 to 7 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) very cobbly silt loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine through medium roots; common very fine through medium tubular pores; 30 percent cobble, 20 percent gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 7 inches thick)

Cdk1--7 to 14 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; massive; hard, friable, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine through medium and few coarse roots; common very fine tubular pores; 10 percent gravel; many coarse soft masses of calcium carbonate, common thin coats of calcium carbonate on undersides of rock fragments; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)

Cdk2--14 to 21 inches; reddish yellow (5YR 6/6) clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 5/4) moist; weak fine prismatic parting to strong very fine angular blocky structure; hard, firm, very sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine through medium and few coarse roots; common very fine tubular pores; common fine seams of calcium carbonate; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)

Cdkq--21 to 31 inches; reddish yellow (7.5YR 7/6) clay loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; strong very thin platy structure; hard, firm, very sticky and moderately plastic; few very fine and medium roots; few fine and medium tubular pores; 10 percent gravel; common discontinuous plates weakly cemented with calcium carbonate and silica; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)

2Cdk--31 to 48 inches; reddish yellow (5YR 6/6) clay loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; strong fine and medium angular blocky structure; hard, firm, very sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine and fine roots; few fine tubular pores; common medium soft masses of calcium carbonate; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)

3R--48 inches; hard sandstone bedrock.

TYPE LOCATION: Yavapai County, Arizona; located about 1,655 feet north and 1400 feet east of the SW corner of Section 17 T.15N. R4E; 34 degrees, 41 minutes, 36 seconds north latitude; 111 degrees, 57 minutes, 07.2 second west longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture - Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July - September and December - February. Driest during May and June. Ustic aridic soil moisture regime.

Soil temperature - 62 to 65 degrees F.

Clay content: Averages 18 to 35 percent in the particle-size control section

Rock fragments - 0 to 35 percent gravel in any one horizon, averages less than 35 percent in the control section

Depth to bedrock: 40 to 58 inches

Depth to Cd horizons: 5 to 20 inches

A horizons
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Organic matter: 0.5 to 1 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 20 to 40 percent

Cdk horizons
Dense sediments that are intergrades between soft sediment (C material) and soft bedrock (Cr material). These naturally compacted sediments have been subjected to a slow reduction in volume and increase in density from deep water loading in the geologic past. These materials easily break down in water and roots can penetrate when moist. They are root restrictive when dry.
Hue: 7.5YR, 5YR
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 4 through 6, dry or moist
Organic matter: 0.1 to 0.5 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 40 percent
Electrical conductivity: 0 to 2 dS/m
Gypsum content: 0 to 15 percent
Texture: loam, silt loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, fine sandy loam

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Blancoverde soils are on hills and mesas with slopes of 5 to 60 percent. They formed in colluvium and residuum from lacustrine sediments of the Verde Formation. Elevation ranges from 3100 to 4500 feet. Mean annual precipitation is 12 to 14 inches. Mean annual air temperature is 60 to 63 degrees F. The frost-free period is about 180 to 220 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Pagesprings and Tuzigoot soils. Pagesprings soils are very shallow to limestone bedrock and are carbonatic. Tuzigoot soils are very deep and have calcic horizons.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to very rapid runoff; slow permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for wildlife habitat and urban development. Vegetation is canotia, threeawn, algerita, ratany, ceanothus and scattered juniper.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Arizona. The Blancoverde soils are of small extent. This soil occurs in LRR-D, MLRAs 38 and 41.

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

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

REMARKS: The type location has been moved to better reflect the series concept.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 7 inches (A1, A2 horizons)

Entisol feature - The absence of diagnostic subsurface horizons

Lithic contact - The boundary at 48 inches (3R horizon)

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

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.