LOCATION BOND               NM+AZ CO UT
Established Series
Rev. BDS/JAW/RJA
11/2008

BOND SERIES


The Bond series consists of very shallow and shallow, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in alluvium, slope alluvium, and eolian deposits derived from sandstone on cuestas, mesas, hills and ridges. Slopes range from 0 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 12 inches and mean annual air temperature is about 51 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Lithic Ustic Haplargids

TYPICAL PEDON: Bond sandy loam - on dipslopes; northeast aspect of cuesta with 4 percent slopes - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 3 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few medium, fine and very fine roots; few very fine irregular pores; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)

BA--3 to 7 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine irregular pores; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)

Bt--7 to 13 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) sandy clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and slightly plastic; common moderately thick clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; common very fine and few fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 12 inches thick)

C--13 to 16 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) sandy clay loam; brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine irregular pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)

2R--16 inches; sandstone.

TYPE LOCATION: Cibola County, New Mexico; about 7 miles north of Milan; Bluewater Quadrangle; 300 feet south and 2,600 feet east of the northwest corner, sec. 8, T. 12 N., R. 10 W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil Moisture: Dry in all parts of the soil moisture control section in late spring and early summer, but moist intermittently in some part of the soil moisture control section from July to October. Driest during May and June. Ustic aridic soil moisture regime.

Soil Temperature: 51 to 56 degrees F.

Depth to lithic contact: 6 to 20 inches

Rock fragments in the profile: 0 to 35 inches

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

Sand content: more than 45 percent

A horizon
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam

BA horizon (where present)
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: sandy loam, sandy clay loam, fine sandy loam

Bt horizon
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 6 dry, 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: sandy clay loam, loam, sandy loam, clay loam

C horizon (not present in all pedons)
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR
Value: 5 to 8 dry, 5 or 6 moist
Chroma: 4 through 6, dry or moist
Texture: sandy clay loam, loam, sandy loam, clay loam

Some pedons have Cr horizons less than 3 inches thick above the lithic content.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Barboncito (NM), Bondman (WY), Frontier (WY), and Kech (NM) series. Barboncito soils have mean annual soil temperatures of 47 to 51 degrees F. Bondman and Frontier soils are moist during May and June and have mean annual soil temperatures of 47 to 50 degrees F. Kech soils have identifiable secondary accumulations of calcium carbonate and attempt to reflect the effects of soil forming agents unique to the Great Plains.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bond soils are on cuestas, mesas, hills, and ridges with slopes ranging from 0 to 50 percent. They formed in alluvium, slope alluvium, and eolian deposits from sandstone. Elevations are 5,600 to 7,200 feet. Typically, the average annual precipitation is 10 to 14 inches, but ranges to 15 inches in some areas; mean annual air temperature is 49 to 54 degrees F. The frost-free period is 110 to 160 days. In Colorado, the temperature ranges as low as 43 degrees F. In Arizona elevations are as low as 4,500 feet, temperatures as high 55 degrees and frost free as long as 165 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Aparejo, Hagerman, Penistaja and Skyvillage soils. Aparejo and Penistaja soils are deep. Hagerman soils have a lithic contact between 20 and 40 inches. Skyvillage soils do not have argillic horizons.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderately or moderately slow permeable.

USE AND VEGETATION: The major use of this soil is for livestock grazing. The present vegetation is blue grama, sideoats grama, New Mexico feathergrass, Indian ricegrass, scattered oneseed juniper, and winterfat.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: West-central New Mexico, Northern Arizona, southwestern Colorado and southern Utah. MLRA 35 & 36, LRR-D.Use of this series in MLRAs other than MLRA 35 & 36 is not allowed. The series is of moderate extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Zuni Mountain Area, New Mexico; McKinley County, New Mexico; 1964.

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

Ochric Horizon - the zone from 0 to 3 inches (A horizon)

Argillic Horizon - the zone from 7 to 13 inches (Bt horizon)

Lithic contact - the boundary with sandstone at 16 inches (R horizon)

The type location of the Bond series was moved from McKinley to Cibola County in 1984 to better reflect the present concepts of the Bond series.

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.

Updates and revisions for the correlation of Ft. Defiance Area (AZ715), February 26, 2008, DWD.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.