LOCATION CAVE                    AZ+NM

Established Series
Rev. FWG/JEJ/YHH
11/2014

CAVE SERIES

The Cave series consists of very shallow and shallow to a hardpan, well drained soils formed in mixed alluvium. Cave soils are on fan remnants, fan piedmonts and stream terraces and have slopes of 0 to 35 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 8 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 63 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic, shallow Typic Petrocalcids

TYPICAL PEDON: Cave gravelly sandy loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A1--0 to 2 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak thin platy structure parting to weak fine granular; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; few very fine vesicular pores; many very fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)

A2--2 to 7 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) gravelly sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (1 to 6 inches thick)

Bk--7 to 12 inches; variegated with pink (7.5YR 8/4) and white (N8/) gravelly loam, pink (7.5YR 7/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; many gravel-size hardpan fragments and calcium carbonate coated gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 11 inches thick)

2Bkkm--12 to 30 inches; indurated calcium carbonate cemented hardpan; thin laminar upper layer; massive; extremely hard; violently effervescent.

3C--30 to 60 inches; unconsolidated gravelly loamy sand to very gravelly sandy loam substratum.

TYPE LOCATION: Graham County, Arizona; 300 feet east and 200 feet south of the northwest corner of section 15, T. 6 S., R. 24 E. Lat. 32 degrees 55 minutes 3 seconds N., long. 109 degrees 53 minutes 8 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture - Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during December-February and for more than 20 days cumulative during July-September. Driest during May and June. Typic aridic soil moisture regime.

Rock fragments: Less than 35 percent in the control section

Depth to hardpan: 4 to 20 inches

Soil temperature: 59 to 72 degrees F.

A horizon
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR
Value: 3 to 7 dry, 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist

Bw and Bk horizons
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 8, or N 8/ dry, 3 to 8 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: sandy loam, loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, fine sandy loam (10 to 35 percent clay)
Some pedons have several indurated hardpans separated by horizontal strata of soil.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Goodsprings (NV), Irongold (NV), Simona (NM), and Vace (NV) series. Goodsprings soils do not have indurated petrocalcic horizons. Simona soils have cambic horizons above the petrocalcic horizon. In addition, Goodsprings, Irongold and Vace soils are in the Mohave Desert (MLRA 30), receive mostly winter precipitation, and are moist in some part of the soil moisture control section less than 20 days cumulative between July and September.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cave soils are on fan remnants and stream terraces and have slopes of 0 to 35 percent. They formed in mixed alluvium from limestone, granite, diorite, andesite, schist, quartzite, tuff, rhyolite and basalt. Elevation is 1,500 to 5,060 feet. Mean annual precipitation is 4 to 12 inches. Mean annual air temperature is 57 to 70 degrees F. Frost-free period is about 180 to 300 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Anthony, Continental, Eba, Stagecoach and Pinaleno soils. Anthony and Stagecoach soils do not have petrocalcic horizons. Continental, Eba and Pinaleno soils have argillic horizons.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to very high runoff; moderate or moderately rapid permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for livestock grazing, wildlife habitat and urban development. Vegetation is creosotebush, blackbrush, bursage, Joshua tree, a few mesquite trees, cactus, annual grasses and weeds.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern, southeastern and western Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Cave soils are extensive. Total extent is about 479,000 acres. MLRAs are 40, 41, and 42.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona

SERIES ESTABLISHED: San Simon Valley Arizona, Gila Project; 1936.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 2 inches (A horizon)

Petrocalcic horizon - The zone from 12 to 30 inches (2Bkm horizon)

A zone of unconsolidated alluvium underlying the hardpan is series differentia for the Cave series.

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Twelfth Edition, 2014.

Revised for the correlation of White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; October, 2014, NMS

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.