LOCATION CHIC AZEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Ashy-skeletal over fragmental or cindery, mixed, mesic Vitrandic Haplocalcids
TYPICAL PEDON: Chic extremely gravelly loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 2 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) extremely gravelly loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate thin platy structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and very fine roots; many very fine vesicular and few fine tubular pores; 60 percent gravel sized cinders and 5 percent cobble; slightly effervescent with disseminated calcium carbonate; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
Bw--2 to 9 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) very gravelly loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel sized cinders and 5 percent cobble; slightly effervescent with disseminated calcium carbonate; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bk1--9 to 15 inches; pink (7.5YR 7/4) extremely gravelly loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 65 percent gravel sized cinders and 5 percent cobble; violently effervescent with disseminated and segregated calcium carbonate as coatings and pendants on rock fragments, 19 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary.
Bk2--15 to 27 inches; pinkish white (7.5YR 8/2) extremely gravelly sandy loam, pink (7.5YR 7/4) moist; massive, weakly calcium carbonate cemented; very hard, very firm, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 65 percent gravel sized cinders and 5 percent cobble; violently effervescent, 44 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bk horizons is 10 to 20 inches)
2Ck--27 to 60 inches; loose, gravel sized cinders with secondary calcium carbonate as coatings and pendants on cinders extending to 40 inches.
TYPE LOCATION: Mohave County, Arizona; about 3 miles south of Diamond Butte at the south end of Main Street Valley; about 900 feet south and 1500 feet west of the northeast corner of section 17, T. 36 N., R. 10 W.; about 36 degrees, 31 minutes, 32 seconds north latitude and 113 degrees, 23 minutes, 2 seconds west longitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July through September and December through February. Driest during May and June. Ustic Aridic soil moisture regime.
Rock fragments: 35 to 65 percent gravel sized cinders, 0 to 10 percent cobble
Soil temperature: 54 to 57 degrees F.
Organic matter: Less than 1 percent in upper horizons
Depth to calcic horizon: 5 to 15 inches
Depth to cinders: 20 to 40 inches
A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Clay content: 10 to 20 percent
Calcium carbonate: slightly to noneffervescent, 0 to 5 percent calcium carbonate equivalent
Bw horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Clay content: 10 to 20 percent
Calcium carbonate: slightly to noneffervescent, 0 to 10 percent calcium carbonate equivalent
Bk horizon
Value: 5 through 8 dry, 4 through 8 moist
Chroma: 0 through 4, dry or moist
Texture: loam, sandy loam (5 to 20 percent clay)
Reaction: moderately to strongly alkaline
Calcium carbonate: strongly to violently effervescent, 15 to 75 percent calcium carbonate equivalent
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Chic soils are on cinder cones and terraces and have slopes of 1 to 30 percent. These soils are formed in colluvium and eolian materials derived dominantly from volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Elevations range from 4000 to 5200 feet. The mean annual air temperature is 52 to 55 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation is 10 to 14 inches. The frost-free period is 150 to 165 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Curob and Rochpah soils. Curob soils have a petrocalcic horizon at shallow depths. The Rochpah soils have a lithic contact at shallow depths.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; slow to medium runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Chic soils are used for livestock grazing and cinder mines. The present vegetation is galleta, blue grama, bottlebrush squirreltail, threeawn, Indian ricegrass, broom snakeweed, Nevada Mormon-tea, globemallow, and a few scattered Utah juniper.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Arizona. The series is of limited extent. MLRA is 35.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mohave County, Arizona; Soil survey of the Shivwits Area, Arizona, Part of Mohave County; 1994. Name derived from Chic Pond on the Russel Spring Quad.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: The zone from 0 to 2 inches (A horizon)
Calcic horizon: The zone from 9 to 27 inches (Bk1, Bk2 horizons)
Vitrandic subgroup - no data available in support of the subgroup other than known coarse fragment composition and correlator experience with volcanic soils.
Volcanic cinders from 27 to 60 inches (2Ck horizon)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999.
Formerly classified as Ustochreptic Calciorthids