LOCATION CASAMERO NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, smectitic, mesic, shallow Leptic Haplotorrerts
TYPICAL PEDON: Casamero clay--in rangeland on a convex surface of 3 percent slope at an elevation of 7,120 feet. (Colors are for dry soils unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 3 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) clay, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; moderate medium granular structure; soft, friable, very sticky and plastic; many very fine and fine and few medium roots; few fine vesicular and common very fine irregular pores; few cracks 0.5 inch wide; 10 percent sandstone and shale gravel and channers less than 3 inches in diameter; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 3 inches thick)
Bss--3 to 11 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) clay, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, sticky and very plastic; common very fine and few medium roots; few very fine irregular pores; many pressure faces and slickensides; few cracks 0.5 inch wide extending to 14 inches; few soft shale fragments 1 millimeter in diameter; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear irregular boundary. (1 to 9 inches thick)
Bssyz--11 to 18 inches; olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) clay, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, sticky and very plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine irregular pores; few pressure faces and slickensides; many fine, soft shale fragments; 30 percent by volume clusters of gypsum and sodium sulfate crystals; 4 percent gypsum; EC is 4 mmhos/cm; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 16 inches thick)
Cr--18 inches; weathered gypsiferous shale
TYPE LOCATION: McKinley County, New Mexico; Goat Mountain Quadrangle; 107 degrees 59 minutes 12 seconds west, longitude, 35 degrees 28 minutes 11 seconds north latitude; 2100 feet north and 1600 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 3, T. 14 N., R. 11 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: The SMCS is usually dry, in all parts, 105 to 160 cumulative days from April through October. It is usually moist, in some part, 50 to 105 cumulative days during the same period. It is intermittently moist in some part November through April. The period of maximum precipitation is July through October. The soil is driest during May and June. Ustic aridic moisture regime.
Soil temperature: 51 to 56 degrees F
Particle-size control section: 50 to 70 percent clay
Depth to paralithic contact: 10 to 20 inches to shale
Depth to gypsum and sodium sulfate accumulations: 6 to 14 inches
Percent calcium carbonate equivalent: less than 10 percent
Reaction: slightly through strongly alkaline
Vertic properties: gilgai microrelief ranges up to 2 inches; cracks 0.5 inches wide extend from surface to the paralithic contact; few to many pressure faces and slickensides occur from just below surface to the paralithic contact.
A horizon
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Rock fragments: 0 to 25 percent sandstone and shale gravel and pebble sized channers
EC: 0 to 4 mmhos/cm
SAR: 0 to 2
Bss and Bssyz horizons
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4 moist
Percent clay: 50 to 70 percent
Percent gypsum: 1 to 5 percent
EC: 2 to 8 mmhos/cm
SAR: 2 to 5
The Bssyz horizons are not thick enough or do not have enough gypsum to qualify as a gypsic horizon.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competitors.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Casamero soils formed in alluvium and slope alluvium over residuum derived from gypsiferous Mancos shale and are on valley sides, hills and knolls. Slopes are 2 to 10 percent. Elevations range from 7,000 to 7,800 feet. The mean annual temperature is 49 to 54 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation is 10 to 13 inches. The frost free period is 120 to 140 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Berryhill, Penistaja, and Tintero soils on fan terraces; and the Sparank, San Mateo, and Zia soils on floodplains, alluvial fans, and stream terraces. All these soils are very deep.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, high and very high runoff, and very slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: This series is used for rangeland. The present vegetation is western wheatgrass, blue grama, bottlebrush squirreltail, winterfat, fourwing saltbush, galleta, threeawns, broom snakeweed, rubber rabbitbrush, and widely scattered pinyon pine and oneseed juniper.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: West central New Mexico. MLRA 35, LRR-D. This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: McKinley County Area, New Mexico, McKinley County and Parts of Cibola and San Juan Counties, 2001.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: The zone from 0 to 3 inches. (A horizon)
Paralithic contact: The zone at 18 inches. (Cr horizon)
Leptic feature: Paralithic contact with shale at 18 inches.
Vertic properties: gilgai microrelief ranges up to 2 inches; cracks 0.5 inches wide extend from surface to the paralithic contact; few to many pressure faces and slickensides occur from just below surface to the paralithic contact.
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999.
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL sample S89NM-031-001. Tests for SAR and percent organic matter and gypsum from Inter-Mountain Laboratories in Farmington, NM.