LOCATION CHEESMAN CO

Established Series
Rev. RHM/TWH/SJJ
05/2016

CHEESMAN SERIES

The Cheesman series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils formed in parent materials weathered from underlying reddish brown and red arkosic sandstone of the Lyons and Fountain formations. Cheesman soils are on gently to moderately sloping hillslopes, with slopes of 5 to 25 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 430mm (17 inches). Cheesman soils typically have brown, very friable, granular A horizons, and reddish brown, coarse sandy clay loam Bt horizons having subangular blocky structure, over soft bedrock at depth of about 84cm.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Aridic Argiustolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Cheesman coarse sandy loam - grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 23 cm; brown (7.5YR 5/2) coarse sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, very friable; 10 percent fine and very fine granite gravel; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 25 cm thick)

AB--23 to 38 cm; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) coarse sandy loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure that parts to fine granules; slightly hard, very friable; peds are very hard, very friable; 10 percent fine and very fine angular granite gravel; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 13 cm thick)

Bt--38 to 66 cm; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) coarse sandy clay loam; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure that parts to medium subangular blocks; hard, very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; peds are extremely hard, friable; thin continuous clay films on peds and as coatings and fillings in root channels and pores; 10 percent fine and very fine angular granite gravel; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 20 cm thick)

BC--66 to 84 cm; reddish brown (2.5YR 5/4) coarse sandy loam; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, very friable; thin discontinuous clay films on some peds and in root channels and pores; 10 percent fine and very fine angular granite gravel; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (10 to 20 cm thick)

IICr--84 to 150 cm; interbedded reddish brown arkosic sandstone and siltstone; usually somewhat variable in color, but often bright red and containing a large amount of fine angular arkosic gravel and coarse sand.

TYPE LOCATION: Teller County, Colorado; approximately 200 feet east and 50 feet north of the milepost about .3 mile south of Douglas County- Teller County lines; in the NW 1/4 of Sec. 3, T. 11 S., R. 69 W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Cheesman soils are noncalcareous throughout. Base saturation is usually more than 90 percent, but ranges from 60 to 100 percent. The solum typically extends to the bedrock, but C horizons occur in some pedons. Depth to the paralithic contact is 50 to 100 cm. Depth to the base of the argillic horizon is 38 to 100 cm. Subhorizons yellower than 5YR occur in some pedons, particularly in the surface horizons, but a major part of the solum and any C horizon above the bedrock have hue of 5YR or redder. A high percentage of the sand fraction is angular and has a large proportion of flat bearing surfaces between sand grains. Rock fragments range from 0 to 15 percent by volume in a major part of the solum and C horizon above the bedrock, and are mainly less than 75mm in diameter, but range from 2-250mm in diameter. The mean annual soil temperature is 7 degrees C (45 F), and the mean summer soil temperature is 18 degrees C (64 F). The solum is slightly acid to slightly alkaline.

A horizon
Hue: 10YR through 5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 2 or 3 moist;
Chroma: 1 through 3.

Bt horizon
Hue: 5YR through 10R
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 6 moist
Chroma: 1 through 6
It is typically coarse sandy clay loam and has 18 to 35 percent clay, 5 to 35 percent silt, and 40 to 70 percent sand, with more than 35 percent being fine or coarser sand.

COMPETING SERIES:
Assinniboine: bedrock greater than 150cm, and has secondary carbonates.
Berlake: bedrock greater than 150cm.
Bostwick: bedrock greater than 150cm.
Crittenden: bedrock 100-150cm, and has secondary carbonates.
Duffson: 50 to 100 cm to Lithic Contact.
Eapa: bedrock greater than 150cm, and has secondary carbonates.
Evanot: bedrock greater than 150cm, and has secondary carbonates.
Evanston: bedrock greater than 150cm, and has secondary carbonates.
Jarre: bedrock greater than 150cm.
Joplin: bedrock greater than 150cm, and has secondary carbonates.
Kenilworth: bedrock greater than 150cm, and has secondary carbonates.
Kevin: bedrock greater than 150cm, and has secondary carbonates.
Marmath: has hue 7.5YR or yellower, and has secondary carbonates.
Peyton: bedrock greater than 150cm.
Reicess: bedrock greater than 150cm, and has secondary carbonates.
Sugakool: bedrock greater than 150cm, and has secondary carbonates.
Telstad: bedrock greater than 150cm, and has secondary carbonates.
Turret: bedrock greater than 150cm.
Udecide:has hue 7.5YR or yellower, and has secondary carbonates.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cheesman soils are on gently to moderately sloping hillslopes, with slopes of 5 to 25 percent. Cheesman soils formed in parent materials weathered from underlying reddish brown and red arkosic sandstone of the Lyons and Fountain formations. At the type location the average annual precipitation is 430mm (17 inches), with peak periods of precipitation occurring in the spring and summer.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Garber and Perrypark soils. Garber soils have more than 35 percent rock fragments and have mollic epipedons more than 40cm thick. Perrypark soils are deeper to bedrock and receive more soil moisture.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to low runoff; moderate permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used principally as native pastureland; however, they are tilled in some localities. Native vegetation is mainly big and little bluestem, needleandthread, sandreed grass, and blue grama.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The foothill areas of east-central Colorado. This series is of small extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Castle Rock Area, Colorado, 1974; the series type location is in Teller County, Colorado, where this series was proposed in 1942.

REMARKS: The 4/2009 revision corrected the misspelled series name, from Cheeseman to Cheesman; this is the correct spelling of the reservoir which is the source for the series name. The 5/2016 revision converted to metric units and updated horizon nomenclature.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.