LOCATION BUCKNDOE AZEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Calciustepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Buckndoe very gravelly sandy loam - woodland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 2 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium platy structure parting to weak fine granular; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine irregular pores; 60 percent gravel as surface lag layer; violently effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
Bw1--2 to 5 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak thick platy structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; few very fine and few fine tubular pores; 30 percent gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
Bw2--5 to 10 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) gravelly loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, few fine and few medium roots; common very fine and few fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; violently effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bk1--10 to 16 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) gravelly fine sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine, common fine, and few coarse roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; few thin calcium carbonate coats on underside of rock fragments; violently effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
Bk2--16 to 26 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine, few medium, and few coarse roots; common very fine tubular pores; 30 percent gravel and 20 percent cobble; common thin calcium carbonate coats on ped faces and rock fragments and few coarse soft masses and concretions; violently effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 20 inches thick)
Bk3--26 to 42 inches; pinkish white (7.5YR 8/2) very cobbly fine sandy loam, light brown (7.5YR 6/4) moist; massive; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and few fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 30 percent gravel, 30 percent cobble and hardpan fragments; common thick calcium carbonate coats on rock fragments; moderately cemented with calcium carbonate; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (6 to 20 inches thick)
Bkm--42 to 60 inches; extremely hard, laminar capped, calcium carbonate cemented hardpan.
TYPE LOCATION: Mohave County, Arizona; on the Hualapai Indian Reservation; 2350 feet east and 1500 feet north of the southwest corner of section 13, T. 26 N., R. 14 W.; about 1.5 miles northwest of Westwater Canyon near Buckndoe Road.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during December through February and intermittently moist during July through September. Driest during May and June. Aridic ustic soil moisture regime.
Soil Temperature: 54 to 56 degrees F.
Rock fragment content: 35 to 60 percent gravel and cobble
Depth to calcic horizon: 16 to 26 inches
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 20 to 40 percent
Reaction: slightly to moderately alkaline
Depth to petrocalcic horizon: 40 to 59 inches
A horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry
Rock fragments: 40 to 60 percent gravel as surface lag layer
Bw horizon
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR
Value: 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: loam, sandy loam
Rock fragments: 20 to 35 percent, dominantly gravel
Bk horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 5 through 8 dry, 3 through 6 moist
Chroma: 3 through 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Texture: loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent gravel and cobble
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Chicosa (CO), Katzine (AZ), Saraton (CO), Tinaja (NM), Twobutte (KS), Upler (UT) and Yatne (UT) series. Chicosa, Katzine, Upler and Yatne soils do not have petrocalcic horizons. Saraton soils are moderately deep to a paralithic contact. Tinaja soils average 18 to 30 percent clay and are moist in the late spring and early summer months. Twobutte soils are moderately deep to hard caliche bedrock.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Buckndoe soils are on fan terraces on plateaus at elevations of 4600 to 5500 feet. These soils formed in tertiary alluvium derived dominantly from sedimentary and igneous rocks. Slope is 2 to 20 percent. The mean annual precipitation is 13 to 16 inches. The mean annual air temperature is 52 to 54 degrees F. The frost-free period is 120 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Cabezon, Deama, Milkweed, Lykorly, and Thunderbird series. Cabezon soils are clayey and shallow to basalt. Deama soils have a carbonatic mineralogy and are shallow to limestone. Lykorly soils are very deep. Milkweed soils are shallow to a petrocalcic horizon. Thunderbird soils are fine-textured and moderately deep to basalt.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Buckndoe soils are used for grazeable woodland, firewood gathering, and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is single leaf pinyon, Utah juniper, Fremont barberry, desert ceanothus, bottlebrush squirreltail, and blue grama.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Arizona. This series is not extensive. MLRA is 35.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mohave County, Arizona; Soil survey of the Hualapai Indian Reservation; 1993.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 2 inches (A horizon)
Cambic horizon - The zone from 2 to 16 inches (Bw1, Bw2, Bk1 horizons)
Calcic horizon - The zone from 16 to 42 inches (Bk2, Bk3 horizons)
Petrocalcic horizon - The zone from 42 to 60 inches (Bkm horizon)
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy Ninth Edition, 2003.