LOCATION CALENDAR NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Haplustepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Calendar gravelly loam-Woodland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 2 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) gravelly loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common fine interstitial pores; 25 percent pebbles; strongly effervescent; mildly alkaline (pH 7.5); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
2Bw--2 to 17 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; few fine interstitial pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 20 inches thick)
2Bk--17 to 35 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) clay, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; massive; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; few fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent with few fine calcium carbonate accumulations; moderately alkaline (pH 8.3); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 18 inches thick)
3Cr--35 inches; weathered shale.
TYPE LOCATION: Rio Arriba County, New Mexico; one mile south of Nutrias, New Mexico; southeast corner, Sec. 16, T. 27N., R. 4E.; New Mexico State Plane Coordinates 2,029,800 feet north and 420,200 feet east; 106 degrees, 31 minutes, 17 seconds west longitude; 36 degrees, 34 minutes, 41 seconds north latitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: Moist in the SMCS intermittently December through April and July through September. May and June are the driest months. About 45 percent of the moisture occurs from July through September.
Depth to paralithic contact: 20 to 40 inches.
Control Section: Clay - 40 to 45 percent weighted average.
Rock Fragments: 0 to 15 percent weighted average in the particle-size control section.
Surface cover: Rock fragments range from 25 to 35 percent.
Reaction: Mildly to moderately alkaline.
A horizon: Value: 4 to 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist. Chroma: 2 or 3. Coarse fragment content: 15 to 30 percent pebble.
Bw horizon - Value: 4 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist. Chroma: 2 to 4.
Bk horizon - Value: 6 to 8 dry, 4 to 6 moist Chroma: 2 to 4 Calcium carbonate equivalent: Less than 15 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series at this time. The similar Berryman soils are deep and are in a fine-loamy, carbonatic family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Calendar soils are on hills. Slopes range from 5 to 35 percent. Elevations are 7,200 to 7,700 feet. The soils formed in colluvium and alluvium from shale. Mean annual precipitation is 14 to 17 inches. Mean annual temperature is 45 to 48 degrees F, and the frost-free season is about 100 to 115 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Berryman soils. Berryman soils have an argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Calendar soils are used for fuelwood and wood products. The present vegetation is pinyon, Rocky Mountain juniper, and pinyon ricegrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern New Mexico. Series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, 1989.
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 17 inches (Bw horizon).
Paralithic contact: Soft shale at 35 inches (Cr horizon).