LOCATION CLIFFHOUSE COEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty over clayey, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Argiustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Cliffhouse very fine sandy loam - grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 6 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very fine sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly plastic; noncalcareous; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
B1--6 to 10 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very fine sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure that parts to coarse granules; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; primary peds are hard; few thin glossy patches on faces of peds; noncalcareous; neutral (pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 10 inches thick)
B21t--10 to 18 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) very fine sandy clay loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure that parts to medium subangular blocks; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; peds are very hard; thin nearly continuous wax-like coatings on faces of peds and wax-like coatings and fillings in root channels and pores; noncalcareous; neutral (pH 6.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 20 inches thick)
IIB22t--18 to 24 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) clay, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; moderate fine prismatic structure that parts to fine angular blocks; slightly hard, very friable, sticky, plastic; peds are extremely hard; thin wax-like patches on faces of peds and wax-like coatings and fillings in root channels and pores; 10 percent flat fragments of sandstone; noncalcareous; neutral (pH 6.6); gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 20 inches thick)
IIB3--24 to 30 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) clay, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; weak medium angular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, sticky, plastic; peds are extremely hard; thin glossy patches on some faces of peds; 10 percent flat fragments of sandstone; noncalcareous; neutral (pH 6.6); gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
IIIC--30 to 40 inches; soft shale and interbedded soft sandstone and loamstone.
TYPE LOCATION: Montezuma County, Colorado; near the center of SE 1/4 NW 1/4 of Sec. 30, T. 35 N., R. 15 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: These soils are normally noncalcareous throughout but have thin weakly calcareous discontinuous subhorizons just above the bedrock in some pedons. Depth to the paralithic contact ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Depth to the base of the argillic horizon ranges from 17 to 40 inches. A majority of subhorizons redder than 7.5YR occur in some pedons. Rock fragments range from 0 to about 5 percent by volume in a major part of the solum and C horizon above the lithological discontinuity and from 0 to 15 percent in the lower solum and C horizons. These are mainly 1/2 to 10 inches in diameter.
The A horizon has hue of 2.5Y through 5YR, value of 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 1 though 3. It is neutral or mildly alkaline (1:5 dilution unbuffered organic dye).
The B21t horizon has hue of 2.5Y through 5YR, value of 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 6 moist, and chroma of 1 through 6. It is typically loam, clay loam, or very fine sandy clay loam, but clay ranges from 18 to 35 percent, silt 5 to 65 percent, and sand 5 to 70 percent with less than 15 percent being fine or coarser sand. This horizon is neutral or mildly alkaline (1:5 dilution unbuffered organic dye).
The IIB2t horizon has hue of 5Y through 7.5YR. It is typically clay or sandy clay but clay ranges from 35 to 55 percent, silt 5 to 65 percent, and sand 5 to 70 percent with at least 20 percent more clay than in the overlying horizon. This horizon is neutral or mildly alkaline (1:5 dilution unbuffered organic dye).
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Chapin, Falfa, and Roubideau series. Chapin soils lack a lithologic discontinuity above the bedrock and are calcareous in the lower part of the solum and in the C horizon. Falfa soils lack bedrock above a depth of 40 inches and have solums more than 50 inches thick. Roubideau soils have an ochric epipedon and are moderately fine textured.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Cliffhouse soils are on nearly level to gently sloping mesa tops and hill and ridge crests. Slopes typically range from about 0 to 12 percent or more. The soil formed in thin silty eolian or alluvial materials overlying fine textured materials weathered residually from sedimentary bedrocks. At the type location the mean annual precipitation is about 16 inches with nearly equal amounts in all months. Mean annual temperature is 50 degrees F, and mean summer temperature is 70 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Chapin and Roubideau soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well to moderately well drained; slow to medium runoff; moderate to slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used as grazing land or for recreation. Native vegetation is oakbrush, pinyon, juniper, needlegrass, muttongrass, and sage.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Colorado. This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mesa Verde Area, Montezuma County, Colorado, 1964.
REMARKS: Last updated by the state 4/73.
The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Lakewood MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.