LOCATION CARRICK NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, frigid Vertic Paleustalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Carrick silt loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 3 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silt loam, dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, very friable, sticky and plastic; few coarse and medium and common very fine roots; many fine interstitial pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
Bt1--3 to 9 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) silty clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, sticky and plastic; few medium, many fine, and common very fine roots; few fine tubular pores, few thin clay films on faces of peds; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
Bt2--9 to 21 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) silty clay, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; strong medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, sticky and very plastic; few medium and common fine and very fine roots; few fine tubular pores; few thin clay films on faces of peds; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 15 inches thick)
Bt3--21 to 38 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) silty clay, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; very hard, very firm, sticky and plastic; few medium, and common fine and very fine roots; few fine tubular pores; many moderately thick clay films on faces of peds; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual wavy boundary. (12 to 20 inches thick)
Bt4--38 to 60 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silty clay, strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, sticky and plastic; common fine and very fine roots; few fine tubular pores; common thin clay films on faces of peds; neutral (pH 7.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Rio Arriba County, New Mexico; 0.5 mile west and 1.5 miles north of Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico State Plane Coordinates 2,083,530 feet north and 413,480 feet east; 106 degrees, 32 minutes, 56 seconds - west longitude; 36 degrees, 43 minutes, 34 seconds - north latitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: Intermittently moist in some parts of the SMCS during the months December through April and July through September. The driest months are May and June.
Soil Temperature: 43 to 47 degrees F.
Reaction: Neutral to slightly alkaline.
Depth to base of Bt: More than 60 inches.
A horizon:
Value 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 4 to 6
Bt horizon:
Value 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 4 to 6
Texture: Silty clay loam or silty clay with a weighted average of 35 to 50 percent clay.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Crow(MT), Dargol(NM), Fuera(NM), Hibbing(MN), Lubrecht(MT), Nester(MI), Ordnance(NM), Overgaard(AZ), Pashua(T)(MT), Ponil(NM), Rittel(T)(MT), and Silverchief(MT) series. Crow soils have albic horizons and Bt/E horizons. Dargol soils have bedrock between 20 and 40 inches. Lubrecht, Ordnance, Pashua, and Rittel soils have a paralithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Fuera and Overgaard soils have more than 15 percent coarse fragments within the control section. Hibbing and Overgaard soils have hues redder than 7.5YR in the Bt horizon. Nester and Silverchief soils are calcareous in the subsoil or substratum. Ponil soils are less than 36 inches to the base of the Bt horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Carrick soils formed in mixed eolian and volcanic materials on mountain valleys and mesas. Slopes range from 1 to 4 percent. The mean annual precipitation is 16 to 18 inches, and the mean annual temperature is 42 to 44 degrees F. Elevations are 7,200 to 7,600 feet, and the frost-free period is 80 to 100 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: This is the Elpedro soil. Elpedro soils have less than 35 percent clay.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow runoff; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Carrick soils are used mainly for livestock grazing and winter wheat production. The present vegetation is crested wheatgrass, western wheatgrass, bluegrass, and bottlebrush squirreltail.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern New Mexico. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, 1989. The series name is coined.
REMARKS: In October 2000, taxonomic classification was converted to the closest match found in Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition 1999. Some update was made to horizon nomenclature, competing series section, etc. Other placements may be more appropriate after a complete update.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 3 inches (A horizon).
Argillic horizon - the zone from 3 to 60 inches (Bt horizons).