LOCATION CIELITO NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, gypsic, mesic Ustic Argigypsids
TYPICAL PEDON: Cielito very fine sandy loam--on a footslope of a low hill sloping 2 percent to the southeast at 5,796 feet elevation--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described on August 14, 2001, the soil was moist from 0 to 10 inches, slightly moist from 10 to 32 inches, and otherwise dry throughout.)
A--0 to 1 inch; brown (10YR 5/3) very fine sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak coarse platy structure parting to moderate medium granular; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; strongly effervescent (8 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 or 2 inches thick)
Bt--1 to 6 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; moderately hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine and few very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; few distinct and common faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; strongly effervescent (8 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
2By1--6 to 20 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gypsiferous loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium, common fine, and common very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; gypsum is filling entire horizon with medium sized gypsum crystals; strongly effervescent (12 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual wavy boundary. (10 to 16 inches thick)
2By2--20 to 28 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) gypsiferous loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; moderate medium platy structure parting to moderate fine granular; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium, few fine, and common very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; gypsum is filling entire horizon with medium sized gypsum crystals; 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent (11 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
2By/C--28 to 47 inches; 65 percent pale yellow (2.5Y 8/2) gypsiferous coarse sandy loam, pale yellow (2.5Y 8/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine and few very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; many medium sized gypsum crystals; 35 percent white (N 8/0) coarse sand, white (N 8/0) moist; massive; extremely hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; gypsum is impregnating and cementing entire parts of horizon; 10 percent gravel; none to strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (10 to 22 inches thick)
2R--47 inches; strongly cemented gypsum bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; about 5.5 miles west of Cerrillos; USGS Madrid 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; Latitude 35 degrees 26 minutes 08 seconds North and Longitude 106 degrees 13 minutes 27.4 seconds West, NAD 27
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: The soil moisture control section is intermittently moist in some part from July to October and December to March. It is assumed to be dry in all parts 50 to 75 percent of the time (cumulative), when the soil temperature at 20 inches is 41 degrees F. or higher. The soils are driest in May and June. The soil moisture regime is aridic bordering on ustic.
Mean annual soil temperature: 52 to 54 degrees F.
Depth to base of argillic horizon: 5 to 10 inches
Depth to gypsic horizon: 6 to 9 inches
Particle-size control section (weighted averages)
Silicate clay content: 20 to 30 percent
Sand content: 20 to 55 percent
Fine sand or coarser content: 15 to 30 percent
Rock fragment content: less than 1 percent gravel
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 2 to 4
Sodicity, SAR: 0 to 4
A horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Clay content: 10 to 20 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 10 percent
Gypsum content: 0 to 2 percent
Bt horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 4 or 6, dry or moist
Clay content: 27 to 35 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 10 percent
Gypsum content: 0 to 2 percent
2By horizons
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture: gypsiferous loam or gypsiferous sandy clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 27 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 15 percent
Gypsum content: 60 to 90 percent
2By/C horizon
Value: 7 or 8, dry or moist
Chroma: 0 to 3, dry or moist
Texture: gypsiferous coarse sandy loam, gypsiferous loamy coarse sand, or gypsiferous coarse sand
Clay content: 4 to 14 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 2 percent
Gypsum content: 55 to 65 percent
COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no competitors.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cielito soils are on shoulders and footslopes of low hills. They formed in eolian material over residuum derived from gypsum bedrock of the Jurassic age Todilto Formation. Slopes are 1 to 10 percent. Elevation ranges from 5,400 to 5,900 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 10 to 13 inches with about 45 percent falling as rain from high-intensity convective thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual air temperature is 50 to 52 degrees F. The frost-free period is 150 to 170 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Netoma and Tanbark soils. Netoma soils are coarse-loamy, do not have an argillic horizon, and occur on toeslopes of low hills. Tanbark soils are very shallow, do not have diagnostic subsurface horizons, and occur on shoulders and backslopes of low hills.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; low surface runoff; permeability is slow in the upper part and moderately rapid to rapid in the substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Cielito soils are used for livestock grazing and recreation. The historic climax vegetation is spike dropseed, sand dropseed, black grama, New Mexico feathergrass, and ephedra. The ecological site is Limy (R036XB129NM).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Cielito soils are of small extent on the northern Galisteo Basin part of the Mexican Highlands section of the Basin and Range physiographic province in northcentral New Mexico. The MLRA is 36.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; Santa Fe Area Soil Survey Update; 2008. Cielito is the spanish word for little heaven and is also a street name in Espanola.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: The zone from the soil surface to a depth of about 1 inch. (A horizon)
Argillic horizon: The zone from 1 to 6 inches. (Bt horizon)
Gypsic horizon: The zone from 6 to 47 inches. (2By1, 2By2, and 2By/C horizons)
Lithic contact: strongly cemented gypsum bedrock at 47 inches (2R layer)
Particle-size control section: The zone from 1 to 40 inches. (Bt, 2By1, 2By2, and 2By/C horizons)
Taxonomic version: Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.