LOCATION BLIND AZ

Established Series
WJ/PH/RKS/DWD/HCD
04/2015

BLIND SERIES

The Blind series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in mixed igneous and metamorphic colluvium and alluvium. Blind soils are on mountains and hills and have slopes of 30 to 70 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 11 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 61 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, thermic Typic Haplargids

TYPICAL PEDON: Blind extremely cobbly sandy loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted).

A--0 to 2 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) extremely cobbly sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine roots; many medium tubular pores; noneffervescent; 30 percent gravel, 30 percent cobble, 10 percent stones, 1 percent boulders; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 2 inches thick)

Bw--2 to 5 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) very gravelly sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many medium roots; many medium tubular pores; noneffervescent; 30 percent gravel, 5 percent cobble; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)

Bt1--5 to 15 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) very gravelly sandy clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on ped faces and in pores; 30 percent gravel, 5 percent cobble; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 20 inches thick)

Bt2--15 to 27 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) very cobbly sandy clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on ped faces and in pores; 30 percent gravel, 20 percent cobble; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 20 inches thick)

Bt3--27 to 44 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) very cobbly sandy clay loam, brown (7.5YR 5/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on ped faces and in pores; 30 percent gravel, 20 percent cobble; noneffervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 25 inches thick)

Bt4--44 to 60 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) very cobbly sandy clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on ped faces and in pores; 30 percent gravel, 20 percent cobble; noneffervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).

TYPE LOCATION: Mohave County, Arizona; about 1,700 feet north and 600 feet east of the southwest corner of section 8, T. 22 N., R. 17 W. Gila and Salt River Base Meridian. Longitude 35 degrees, 18 minutes, 23 seconds, latitude 114 degrees, 7 minutes, 36 seconds.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil Moisture: Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section from December to February and for less than 20 days cumulative during July to September. Driest during May and June. Typic aridic soil moisture regime.

Soil Temperature: 61 to 66 degrees F.

Rock Fragments: 35 to 65 percent gravel and cobble; few stones and boulders on the surface

Effervescence: noneffervescent throughout

Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline

Clay Content: averages 18 to 35 percent in the control section

A and B horizons

Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR

Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist

Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ashmed (NV), Bitter (CA), Bluebird (AZ), Highland (NV), Khyber (CA), Nellake (CA), Soledad (AZ), Timosea (CA), Topawa (AZ), Twobitter (CA), and Werewolf (CA) series. Ashmed, Bitter, Bluebird, Highland, Kyber, Nellake, Soledad, Timosea, Twobitter, and Werewolf soils have secondary calcium carbonate accumulations within the control section. In addition, Ashmed soils have a SAR of 13 to 35 in the argillic horizon, Bitter soils are less than 30 inches deep to the base of the argillic and have loamy sand and sand textures below the argillic, Bluebird soils are less than 23 inches to the base of the argillic, Highland soils have a lithic contact within 40 inches, Khyber soils are dominated by 2 to 5 millimeter gravel and have secondary silica cementation in the lower part of the subsoil, Nellake soils average less than 20 percent clay in the argillic horizon and less than 15 percent clay in the subsoil, Soledad soils average less than 19 percent clay in the particle-size control section, Timosea soils are dry in the soil moisture control section from May to December, Twobitter soils have accumulations of gypsum and average less than 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section, and Werewolf soils average less than 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section, Topawa soils have hue of 2.5YR or 5YR and mean annual soil temperatures of 69 to 72 degrees F.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Blind soils are on mountains and hills at elevations of 3,800 to 5,800 feet. These soils formed in mixed igneous and metamorphic colluvium and alluvium. Slopes range from 30 to 70 percent. The mean annual precipitation is 9 to 12 inches. The mean annual air temperature is 59 to 64 degrees F. The frost-free period is 200 to 230 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Fig and a typic aridic taxadjunct to the Nodman soils. Both of these soils are shallow.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; very high runoff; moderate permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. Present vegetation is flattop buckwheat, threeawn, black grama, and big galleta.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Arizona. The series is of moderate extent. MLRA is 30.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: PHOENIX, ARIZONA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mohave County, Arizona; Soil survey of Mohave County, Arizona, Central Part; 2005.

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 5 to 60 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Bt4 horizons)

Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy Ninth Edition, 2003.

Responsibility for this series was transferred from Davis to Phoenix 4/2015. The last revision to the series was 1/2005. ET

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.