LOCATION BLUHOL NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, gypsic, thermic Aeric Endoaquepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Bluhol loam--rangeland. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 4 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) dry; moderate medium platy structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine very fine, few medium and coarse roots; many fine and very fine pores; common fine and medium masses of gypsum; violently effervescent; common fine and medium masses of calcium carbonate; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 5 inches thick)
Bw1--4 to 7 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) gypsiferous sandy loam; pinkish gray (7.5YR 7/2) dry; moderate fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular and interstitial pores; disseminated gypsum and calcium carbonate; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 3 inches thick)
Bw2--7 to 18 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) gypsiferous sandy loam, pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and very fine roots; few fine and very fine tubular and interstitial pores; disseminated gypsum and calcium carbonate; slightly effervescent; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
Bg--18 to 32 inches; pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) gypsiferous sandy loam, pinkish white (7.5YR 8/2) dry; common distinct fine and medium light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; disseminated gypsum; strongly effervescent; disseminated calcium carbonate; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 20 inches thick)
BCg--32 to 60 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) gypsiferous sandy loam, white (10YR 8/2) dry; common distinct light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common medium masses of gypsum; strongly effervescent; disseminated calcium carbonate; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Guadalupe County, New Mexico; about 0.5 mile south of Santa Rosa, New Mexico; 900 feet north and 900 feet west of the SE corner of sec., 11, R. 21 R., T. 8 N.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to distinct or prominent zones of iron reduction with chromas of 2 or less range from 10 to 20 inches.
Clay content in the particle-size control section 7 to 18 percent.
Gypsum content ranges from 30 to 60 percent in the control section. Content of gypsum plus calcium carbonate is greater than 40 percent.
A horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 3 to 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3
Bw horizon - Hue: 10YR , 7.5YR, or 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 1 to 6
Texture: Sandy loam or silt loam
Bg or Cg horizon - Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 8 dry, 4 to 8 moist
Chroma: 1 to 4
Texture: Sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam or silt loam
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series in the same family. Similar soils are the Piper and Tyndall series. Piper soils have secondary carbonates and do not have significant accumulations of gypsum. Tyndall soils do not have significant accumulations of gypsum within depths of 40 inches. Piper and Tyndall soils do not have gypsic mineralogy.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bluhol soils are in depressions and on low stream terraces. They are commonly adjacent to springs which have a high content of gypsum in the water. Water table ranges from depths of 1 to 3 feet and is spring fed. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent. The soils formed in gypsiferous alluvium. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 12 to 14 inches and the mean annual temperature ranges from 58 to 60 degrees F. Frost-free period ranges from 180 to 200 days and elevation ranges from 4,200 to 5,000 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Reeves and Hollomex soils. Reeves and Hollomex soils are well drained and do not have aquic soil moisture regimes. They are on higher terraces than the Bluhol soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained. Permeability is moderate. Runoff is negligible on slopes less than 1 percent and very low on 1 to 3 percent slopes.
USE AND VEGETATION: Principal use is livestock grazing. Native vegetation is primarily alkali sacaton, inland saltgrass, rushes and sedges.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: East central New Mexico This series is of minor extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Guadalupe County, New Mexico, 1988
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - 0 to 4 inches. (A horizon)
Cambic horizon - 4 to 32 inches. (Bw1, Bw2, Bg horizons)
Aquic Moisture Regime feature - Aquic conditions exist in the zone between 16 and 20 inches for more than one month in most years, and an ochric epipedon which is underlain by a horizon with redoximorphic features and with chroma moist of 2 or less in the matrix.
Aeric feature - Within 30 inches of the soil surface hue of 7.5YR and chroma of 2 or more on more than 50 percent of ped interiors. (Bw horizons)