LOCATION CESARIO TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, carbonatic, thermic Ustic Haplocalcids
TYPICAL PEDON: Cesario loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 3 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium platy parting to weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine vesicular pores and common very fine and fine tubular pores; 1 percent subrounded limestone gravel 2 to 20 mm in diameter; 44 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary (3 to 10 inches thick).
Bw--3 to 16 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky parting to weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine and fine roots; few medium roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; 3 percent subrounded limestone gravel 2 to 20 mm in diameter; 44 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary (0 to 17 inches thick).
Bk1--16 to 25 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky parting to weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; few distinct discontinuous white (10YR 8/1) calcium carbonate coatings on surfaces of peds; common medium irregular white (10YR 8/1) masses of calcium carbonate, few fine white (10YR 8/1) calcium carbonate threads between peds; 5 percent subrounded limestone pebbles; 56 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary (5 to 30 inches thick).
Bk2--25 to 39 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) clay, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky parting to weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; few distinct discontinuous white (10YR 8/1) calcium carbonate coatings on surfaces of peds; common medium irregular white (10YR 8/1) masses of calcium carbonate, few fine white (10YR 8/1) threads of calcium carbonate between peds; 5 percent subrounded limestone pebbles; 49 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary (0 to 14 inches thick).
Bk/C--39 to 46 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) clay, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; 70 percent Bk soil material and 30 percent weathered shale masses; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky parting to weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; very few distinct discontinuous white (10YR 8/1) calcium carbonate coatings on surfaces of peds; common medium irregular white (10YR 8/1) masses of calcium carbonate and few fine white (10YR 8/1) threads of calcium carbonate between peds; 10 percent subrounded limestone pebbles; slightly saline, 68 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary (0 to 21 inches thick).
Crky1--46 to 56 inches; moderately cemented, weathered shale bedrock; very few very fine and fine roots in cracks; common distinct discontinuous white (10YR 8/1) calcium carbonate coatings on rock fragments; common fine irregular masses of gypsum in cracks; 35 percent gypsum content; violently effervescent; clear smooth boundary.
Crky2--56 to 80 inches; moderately cemented, weathered shale bedrock; few very fine and fine roots in cracks; very few distinct discontinuous white (10YR 8/1) calcium carbonate coatings in cracks; common fine irregular masses of gypsum in cracks; 19 percent gypsum content; violently effervescent.
TYPE LOCATION: Brewster County, Texas, from the junction of U.S. Highway 90 and Texas Highway 118 in Alpine, 41.1 miles south on Texas Highway 118, 0.25 miles west on ranch road, 100 feet south of road in range. (Latitude: 29 degrees, 48 minutes, 36 seconds North; Longitude: 103 degrees, 36 minutes, 45 seconds West; NAD 1927). Buck Hill USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Ustic aridic moisture regime
Depth to a paralithic contact: 40 to 60 inches
Depth to a calcic horizon: 10 to 20 inches
Total clay content: 25 to 50 percent
Silicate clay content of the particle-size control section: 18 to 30 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent of the particle-size control section: 40 to 70 percent
Reaction: moderately alkaline
A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 5 to 7, dry or moist
Chroma: 2 to 4, dry to moist
Texture: loam, clay loam
Total clay content: 25 to 35 percent
Silicate clay content: 18 to 30 percent
Limestone and chert gravel: 0 to 5 percent
Bw horizon (where present)
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 5 to 7, dry or moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam
Total clay content: 28 to 40 percent
Silicate clay content: 20 to 35 percent
Calcium carbonate: (in the form of masses and threads) none to about 2 percent by volume
Limestone gravel: 0 to 5 percent
Bk horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 5 to 7, dry or moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: clay loam, clay
Total clay content: 30 to 45 percent
Silicate clay content: 25 to 35 percent
Calcium carbonate: (in the form of masses, coatings, and threads) 5 to about 20 percent by volume
Limestone gravel: 0 to 15 percent
Bk/C horizon or BCk horizon (where present)
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 6 to 8, dry or moist
Chroma: 3 to 6, dry to moist
Texture is loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, clay
Total clay content: 25 to 50 percent
Silicate clay content: 20 to 35 percent
Some pedons have shale fragments that will slake in water
Calcium carbonate: (in the form of masses, coatings, and threads) 10 to 25 percent by volume
Limestone gravel: 0 to 15 percent
Crky horizons
Cementation: moderately to strongly
Gypsum content: 0 to 35 percent
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Armesa (NM), Fizzleflat (TX), and Karro (AZ) series. Armesa soils are inactive. Karro soils do not have a paralithic contact within 60 inches of the soil surface. Fizzleflat soils have a paralithic contact between 20 and 40 inches of the surface.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cesario soils are on nearly level to gently sloping upland plains and pediments. These soils formed in residuum derived from the Cretaceous Age Pen Clay Formation. Slopes range from 1 to 5 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 10 to 14 inches, with most occurring in the summer months. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 64 to 68 degrees F. Frost free period ranges from 210 to 260 days. Elevation ranges from 3,500 to 5,000 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Cheosa, Fizzleflat, Loyplace, Mariscal, and Straddlebug series. Cheosa soils are very shallow and shallow to a petrocalcic horizon, and are in the skeletal family. They are on hillcrests capped with the Jeff Conglomerate member of the Pruett Formation. Fizzleflat soils are on similar upland plains and pediments. Loyplace soils are very shallow and shallow to a petrocalcic horizon, and have shale within 40 inches of the soil surface. They are on slightly higher caliche-cemented footslope landforms. Mariscal soils are in the loamy-skeletal family, and are very shallow and shallow to Boquillas Flag limestone bedrock, and are on adjacent hills. Straddlebug soils are very deep, loamy soils that do not have a calcic horizon and are on alluvial flats and floodplains.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderately slow above slowly permeable shale bedrock. Runoff is very low on 1 to 3 percent slopes and low on 3 to 5 percent slopes.
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for livestock grazing. Woody species in the overstory include creosotebush, tarbush, mesquite, whitethorn acacia, Warnock condalia, and wolfberry. Grass species include burrograss, fluffgrass, bush muhly, tobosagrass, and red grama.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Trans-Pecos Texas in the Southern Desertic Basins, Plains, and Mountains (MLRA 42), Desert Grassland vegetative zone. The soil is of moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Brewster County, Texas 1997. The name is taken from Alamo De Cesario Creek located several miles south of the type location.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 3 inches (A horizon)
Cambic horizon - The zone from 3 to 16 inches (Bw horizon)
Calcic horizon - The zone from 16 to 46 inches (Bk1, Bk2 and Bk/C horizons)
Paralithic contact - The boundary at 46 inches (Crky1 horizon)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.
Updates and revision for recorrelaltion of Brewster County, TX, Main Part, 2/8/08, CEM.