LOCATION CRUCITAS NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Cumulic Haplustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Crucitas gravelly fine sandy loam--on a low stream terrace sloping 9 percent to the west at 7,140 feet elevation--pinyon-juniper forestland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was dry throughout.)
A--0 to 1 inch; brown (7.5YR 4/2) gravelly fine sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; common very fine irregularly shaped pores; 25 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
Bw1--1 to 6 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) gravelly sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few medium, few fine, and common very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 9 inches thick)
Bw2--6 to 15 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) gravelly sandy loam, very dark brown (7.5YR 2.5/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few medium, few fine, and few very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; one lens of gravelly loamy coarse sand about inch thick; 15 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (7 to 13 inches thick)
Bw3--15 to 25 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) gravelly sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common medium and few fine roots; few fine tubular pores; one lens of very gravelly coarse sand about 1 1/2 inch thick; 25 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
Bw4--25 to 36 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) gravelly sandy loam, black (7.5YR 2.5/1) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common medium and common fine roots; few fine tubular pores; two lenses of gravelly coarse sand about 1 inch thick; 20 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 11 inches thick)
2C--36 to 46 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/2) extremely gravelly loamy coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; one lens of gravelly sandy loam about 5 inches thick and one lens of very gravelly sandy loam about 2 inches thick; 55 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; slightly to strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (7 to 15 inches thick)
2Ck1--46 to 60 inches; pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) very gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; 50 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; slightly to strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated as common medium irregularly shaped accumulations on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual smooth boundary. (11 to 16 inches thick)
2Ck2--60 to 72 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) extremely gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; 65 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; slightly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated as common fine irregularly shaped accumulations on rock fragments; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 24 inches thick)
2Ck3--72 to 110 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) and brown (7.5YR 5/3) stratified very gravelly coarse sand to gravelly fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) and (7.5YR 4/3) moist; single grain and massive; loose to slightly hard, loose to friable, nonsticky to slightly sticky and nonplastic; 15 to 50 percent gravel and 0 to 10 percent cobbles; slightly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated as common fine irregularly shaped accumulations on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; about 1 mile west of Tesuque; 3,900 feet east and 50 feet north of the southwest corner of section 19, T.18N., R.10E.; USGS Tesuque 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; Latitude 35 degrees 46 minutes 8 seconds North and Longitude 105 degrees 54 minutes 54 seconds West, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soil moisture control section is moist in all parts during the 60 days following the winter solstice. It is moist in some part less than 40 percent and moist in all parts less than 25 percent of the time when the soil temperature at 20 inches is above 41 degrees F. The soils are driest in May and June. The soil moisture regime is ustic bordering on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature - 48 to 50 degrees F.
Thickness of mollic epipedon - 22 to 37 inches
Depth to calcareous material (as visible secondary calcium carbonates) - 37 to 52 inches
Particle-size control section weighted averages - Silicate clay content: 8 to 18 percent in the upper part and 0 to 6 percent in the lower part; Sand content: 40 to 60 percent in the upper part and 80 to 90 percent in the lower part; Fine sand and coarser content: 45 to 70 percent in the upper part and 85 to 95 percent in the lower part; Rock fragment content: 15 to 30 percent in the upper part and 25 to 45 percent in the lower part, lithology of fragments is granite, gneiss, and schist; mica content: 1 to 5 percent (by grain count).
Organic matter content - 2 to 4 percent in the mollic epipedon
Reaction - neutral in the surface; slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline in the subsoil; moderately alkaline to strongly alkaline in the substratum
Salinity, mmhos/cm - 0 to 2
Sodicity, SAR - 0 to 4
A horizon
Value: 3 or 4 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Rock fragments: total range is 15 to 30 percent
15 to 25 percent gravel
0 to 5 percent cobbles
Bw horizons
Value: 3 or 4 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture: gravelly sandy loam, gravelly fine sandy loam, or gravelly loam
Rock fragments: total range is 15 to 30 percent
15 to 25 percent gravel
0 to 5 percent cobbles
C horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Texture: extremely gravelly loamy coarse sand, very gravelly loamy sand, or very gravelly loamy coarse sand
Rock fragments: total range is 45 to 60 percent
40 to 55 percent gravel
5 to 15 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 2 percent
Upper Ck horizons
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Texture: very gravelly coarse sand or extremely gravelly coarse sand
Rock fragments: total range is 50 to 75 percent
45 to 65 percent gravel
5 to 10 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 4 percent
Lower Ck horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: stratified extremely gravelly coarse sand to gravelly sandy loam
Rock fragments: total range is 15 to 70 percent, averaging 35 to 60 percent
30 to 50 percent gravel
5 to 10 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 2 percent
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Haozous, Janude, Kaskan, Lamesilla, Paymaster, and Payter soils. Haozous and Lamesilla soils have AC horizons on the soil surface that are not a part of the mollic epipedon and have sandy skeletal substratum deeper than 60 inches. Janude, Paymaster, and Payter soils average less than 15 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section, do not have significant amounts of medium to very coarse angular granitic sands, and do not have sandy skeletal substratum. In addition, Janude and Kaskan soil have an ustic moisture regime bordering on udic.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Crucitas soils are on low stream terraces of valley floors. They formed in alluvium derived from Precambrian granite, gneiss, and schist. Slopes are 3 to 10 percent. Elevation ranges from 6,100 to 7,900 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 13 to 15 inches with about 45 percent falling as rain from high-intensity convective thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual air temperature is 47 to 50 degrees F. The frost-free period is 140 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Encantado, Levante, and Resolana soils. Encantado soils are sandy-skeletal, lack mollic epipedons and have calcic horizons, and occur on backslopes of erosional fan remnants. Levante soils are sandy, do not have diagnostic horizons, and occur on narrow flood plains of valley floors. Resolana soils are loamy-skeletal, have calcic horizons, and occur on north-facing backslopes of erosional fan remnants.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; low surface runoff; permeability is moderately rapid in the surface mantle and subsoil, and rapid or very rapid in the substratum. Crucitas soils are subject to rare flooding.
USE AND VEGETATION: Crucitas soils are used for urban development, livestock grazing, cordwood products, and recreation. The historic climax vegetation is blue grama, pricklypear, Bigelow's rubber rabbitbrush, Apachie plume, two-needle pinyon, and oneseed juniper. The ecological site is Juniperus monosperma-Pinus edulis/Fallugia paradoxa-Chrysothamnus nauseosus/Bouteloua gracilis(F036XB136NM).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Crucitas soils are of small extent on the southeastern Espanola Basin part of the Basin and Range 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. Crucitas is a city in New Mexico.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from 0 to about 36 inches. (A, Bw1, Bw2, Bw3, and Bw4 horizons)
Cumulic feature - The presence of a mollic epipedon that is greater than 20 inches thick accompanied by an irregular organic matter distribution between 10 and 50 inches.
Taxonomic version: Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.