LOCATION BUCKLE NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Ustic Haplargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Buckle silt loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 2 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak thin platy structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and plastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
BA--2 to 5 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and plastic; few fine and medium roots; few fine pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
Bt1--5 to 13 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium and fine subangular blocky; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; many moderately thick clay films on faces of peds; moderately alkaline (pH 8.1); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
Bt2--13 to 29 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silty clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium and fine subangular blocky; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine pores; common moderately thick clay films on faces of peds; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (12 to 20 inches thick)
Btk--29 to 44 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine pores; strongly effervescent; few fine calcium carbonate accumulations; few thin clay films on faces of peds; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 21 inches thick)
Bk1--44 to 50 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silty clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; strongly effervescent; few fine calcium carbonate accumulations; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary.
Bk2--50 to 60 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silty clay loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; massive; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; strongly effervescent; few fine calcium carbonate accumulations; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6). (The combined thickness of the Bk horizons are 0 to 16 inches thick)
TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, New Mexico; 860 feet east and 2,400 feet north southwest corner sec. 29, T. 32 N., R. 11 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section December through March and July through September. The soil is driest during May and June. Ustic aridic moisture regime.
Soil Temperature: 48 to 55 degrees F.
Particle-size control section: 18 to 35 percent clay and less than 40 percent sand of which more than half is very fine sand.
Reaction: slightly alkaline in the surface and slightly to moderately alkaline in the subsoil.
A horizon: Hue - 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4
Texture: silt loam, fine sandy loam or loam
Bt horizon: Hue - 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 1 through 3
Texture: silty clay loam or clay loam
Bk horizon: Value - 4 through 6 dry or moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam, silt loam, loam or sandy loam
Calcium carbonate equivalent: less than 15 percent
Depth to calcium carbonate accumulations: 20 to 35 inches
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Balon (AZ), Blancot (NM), Bowbac (WY), Cambria (WY), Chilerojo (NM), Cushman (WY), Decolney (WY), Doakum (NM), Forkwood (WY), Fort (CO), Gaddes (AZ), Gapbutte (AZ), Gapmesa (CO), Hagerman (NM), Hagerwest (NM), Hiland (WY), Mentmore (NM), Oelop (NM), Olney (CO), Palacid (NM), Penistaja (NM), Pokeman (WY), Potts (WY), Pugsley (WY), Quagwa (AZ), Redpen (NM), Spangler (WY), Spangler (WY), Sundance (CO), Teckla (WY) and Yenlo (CO) series. Balon, Decolney and Gaddes soils are noncalcareous throughout. Blancot and Mentmore soils have hues of 2.5Y. Bowbac, Cushman, Gaddes, Gapbutte, Gapmesa, Hagerman, Hagerwest, Pokeman, Pugsley, and Spangler soils have a lithic or paralithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Cambria soils are less than 10 inches deep to the base of the Bt. Chilerojo soils have a densic horizon. Doakum soils have more sand and less silt in the control section. Los Alamos soils have pumice and ash in the control section. Oelop soils have Bt horizons with a base less than 40 inches deep. Palacid soils have calcium carbonate accumulations at 10 to 15 inches. Penistaja, Redpen, and Yenlo soils have more than 40 percent sand. Quagwa soils have mean annual soil temperatures of 54 to 57 degrees F. Sundance and Teckla soils have a lithologic discontinuity at 20 to 40 inches. Yenlo soils have sola 15 to 30 inches thick. In addition, Bowbac, Cambria, Cushman, Decolney, Forkwood, Fort, Hagerman, Hiland, Olney, Pokeman, Potts, Pugsley, Spangler, Sundance, Teckla, and Yenlo soils are in LRR-G and are more moist in May and June.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Buckle soils are on dipslopes of cuestas, fan terraces and fan remnants on valley sides, drainageways, hills and ridges and have slopes of 0 to 8 percent. They formed from moderately fine textured alluvium, fan alluvium, and slope alluvium from shale and sandstone. Elevations are 6,400 to 7,200 feet. Climate is semiarid continental. Mean annual precipitation is 10 to 13 inches. Mean annual temperature is about 46 to 52 degrees F. The frost-free season is 100 to 150 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Penistaja soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow to medium runoff; moderately slow, permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for rangeland. Present vegetation is big sagebrush, blue grama, western wheatgrass, galleta, and small scattered juniper and pinyon.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern New Mexico. MLRA 35, 36 & 39; LRR-D. This series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: San Juan County, New Mexico, Eastern Part, 1978.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: The zone from 0 to 5 inches. (A and BA horizons)
Argillic horizon: The zone from 5 to 44 inches. (Bt horizons)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999.