LOCATION CAIRN NM COEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, mesic Calcic Argigypsids
TYPICAL PEDON: Cairn channery fine sandy loam on an east-facing bench sloping 3 percent at 5,080 feet elevation - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was slightly moist from 1 to 9 inches and dry below.)
A--0 to 2 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) channery fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate very thick platy and weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and very fine roots; few very fine vesicular pores; 10 percent channers and 5 percent gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
Btk--2 to 9 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium prismatic structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; common thin clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 5 percent channers and 5 percent gravel; violently effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated in few fine irregularly shaped accumulations on faces of peds and rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick)
2Bk--9 to 19 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) very channery loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) moist; moderate medium platy and weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and common very fine roots; common very fine continuous horizontal pores; 15 percent flagstones, 35 percent channers, and 10 percent gravel; secondary gypsum segregated in very few fine irregularly shaped pendants on undersides of rock fragments; violently effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated in many medium irregularly shaped accumulations on faces of peds and on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
2Cky--19 to 30 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) extremely flaggy gypsiferous coarse sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; massive - platy rock structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few medium and fine and common very fine roots; fine earth weakly cemented in places by secondary gypsum crystals; 35 percent flagstones, 30 percent channers, and 5 percent gravel; secondary gypsum segregated in many medium and large irregularly shaped pendants on undersides of rock fragments; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated in very few fine irregularly shaped accumulations on tops of rock fragments; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 15 inches thick)
2Cy--30 to 46 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very channery gypsiferous coarse sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive - platy rock structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few medium and very fine roots; 15 percent flagstones, 35 percent channers, and 5 percent gravel; secondary gypsum segregated in common medium irregularly shaped pendants on undersides of rock fragments; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 35 inches thick)
2Cr--46 to 60 inches; thinly interbedded soft calcareous sandstone and dolomitic limestone.
TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, New Mexico; on the Navajo Indian Reservation about 16 miles northwest of Shiprock, New Mexico; 2,600 feet south and 2,400 feet west of the northeast corner, sec. 31, T.32N., R.19W.; Latitude 36 degrees 56 minutes 38 seconds N and Longitude 108 degrees 53 minutes 21 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - typically, the soil moisture control section (SMCS) is intermittently moist in some part from July to October and December to March. The winter moisture peak is not as high as the summer peak. Typic aridic moisture regime.
Soil temperature - 54 to 57 degrees F.
Soil depth - 40 to 60 inches or more to soft bedrock
Depth to base of argillic horizon - 4 to 10 inches
Depth to calcic horizon - 4 to 10 inches
Depth to gypsic horizon - 10 to 20 inches
Rock fragments are dolomitic limestone
A horizon -
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 4
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 2 to 4
Sodicity, SAR: 0 to 5
Rock fragments: Total range is 15 to 25 percent
15 to 20 percent channers
0 to 5 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalence, less than 2mm: 15 to 25 percent
Btk horizon -
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 4
Texture: loam or clay loam
Clay content: 25 to 35 percent
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 2 to 4
Sodicity, SAR: 0 to 5
Rock fragments: Total range is 5 to 15 percent
5 to 10 percent channers
0 to 5 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalence, less than 2mm: 15 to 25 percent
Bk horizon -
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 6 to 8 dry, 5 or 6 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4
Clay content: 18 to 25 percent
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 2 to 4
Sodicity, SAR: 5 to 13
Reaction: moderately to strongly alkaline
Rock fragments: Total range is 35 to 60 percent
5 to 15 percent flagstones
(0 to 5 percent are longer than 10 inches)
25 to 35 percent channers
(10 to 15 percent are longer than 3 inches)
5 to 10 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalence, less than 2mm: 40 to 70 percent Gypsum: 0 to 5 percent as secondary crystals
Other features: some pedons have textures of channery loam or very channery fine sandy loam
2Cky and 2Cy horizon -
Hue; 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 8 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6
Texture: ranges from very channery gypsiferous sandy loam to extremely flaggy gypsiferous coarse sandy loam
Clay content: 10 to 15 percent
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 2 to 8
Sodicity, SAR: 0 to 5
Rock fragments: Total range is 40 to 80 percent
10 to 35 percent flagstones
(10 to 25 percent are longer than 10 inches)
25 to 35 percent channers
(15 to 20 percent are longer than 3 inches)
5 to 10 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalence, less than 2mm: 15 to 50 percent
Gypsum: 20 to 50 percent as secondary crystals
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cairn soils are on summits of structural benches and dipslopes of gently dipping cuestas. The formed in alluvium and residuum derived from thinly bedded, dolomitic Cretaceous limestone and sandstone. Slopes range from 1 to 5 percent. Elevation ranges from 4,900 to 5,400 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 5 to 8 inches with 35 to 60 percent falling as rain from high intensity thunderstorms between July and October. The mean annual temperature is 51 to 54 degrees F. The average frost-free period is 140 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Nageezi, Patel, Persayo, and Razito soils. Nageezi and Razito soils are coarse-loamy and sandy respectively, and occur in adjacent alluvial and eolian deposits. Patel soils are fine textured and moderately deep to soft bedrock on hillslopes below Cairn soils. Persayo soils are shallow to soft bedrock on hillslopes above Cairn soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderate permeability
USE AND VEGETATION: Cairn soils are used for livestock grazing. Present vegetation is Indian ricegrass, galleta, sand dropseed, shadscale, Castle Valley clover, winterfat, and pricklypear cactus.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Cairn soils are of small extent on the Four Corners Platform portion of the Colorado Plateau in northwest New Mexico and southwest Colorado. MLRA 35.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Shiprock Area, Parts of San Juan County, New Mexico and Apache County, Arizona; 1993.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of about 2 inches (A horizon).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 2 to about 9 inches (Btk horizon).
Calcic horizon - The zone from 9 to about 19 inches (2Bk horizon).
Gypsic Horizon - The zone from 19 to about 30 inches (2Cky horizon).
Paralithic contact - The presence of soft sedimentary bedrock at about 46 inches.
Particle-size control section - The zone from the top of the argillic horizon to a depth of 40 inches (Btk, 2Bk, 2Cky, and 2Cy horizons).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Salinity values were determined on three pedons, including the type location, with a Wheatstone bridge. Calcium carbonate equivalence determined with a field volume calcimeter.
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy Ninth Edition, 2003