LOCATION DARGOL NM COEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Haplustalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Dargol stony loam, forested. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oi--0 inches to 2; decomposed and decomposing forest litter. (0 to 3 inches thick)
E--2 to 8 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) stony loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak thin platy and weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and coarse roots; common fine tubular pores; 10 percent angular cobbles and stones; slightly acid (pH 6.5); gradual wavy boundary. (4 to 7 inches thick)
Bt1--8 to 17 inches; reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) clay, strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist; many large distinct mottles of yellowish brown (10YR 5/4), dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; strong fine and medium angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, slightly sticky and very plastic; many medium and coarse roots; few fine tubular pores; many thick clay films on faces of peds; about 5 to 10 percent angular cobbles; moderately acid (pH 5.8); gradual wavy boundary. (7 to 11 inches thick)
Bt2--17 to 37 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) clay, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; many medium distinct mottles of light brownish gray (10YR 6/2); strong fine and medium angular blocky fine tubular pores; many thick clay films on faces of peds; about 5 to 10 percent angular cobbles; moderately acid (pH 6.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (9 to 22 inches thick)
R--37 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) weathered, fine grained sandstone. Upper fractured portion has soil in it.
TYPE LOCATION: Colfax County, New Mexico; about 18 miles west of Raton; 2.4 miles west of Armstrong Lookout along York Canyon Road and 70 yards north of road. Unsectionized area.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: (Depths are from the mineral soil surface)
Soil Moisture: Continuously moist, in most years, in some parts of the soil moisture control section November through April and July through October. The period of maximum precipitation is May to September. The soil is driest during December to February. Ustic moisture regime.
Depth to lithic contact: 20 to 40 inches.
Rock fragment content: 5 to 15 percent angular sandstone gravel, cobbles, and stones.
Soil reaction: slightly acid or moderately acid
Some pedons are calcareous near the lithic contact
E horizon:
Value : 4 through 7 dry and 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4.
Texture: loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam or clay loam
Bt1 horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 6.
Texture: clay, silty clay, clay loam or silty clay loam
Bt2 horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR through 2.5Y
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 4 through 6.
Texture: clay, silty clay, silty clay loam or clay loam
Other features:
Some pedons have a thin discontinuous A&B or A1 horizons; thin, discontinuous lenses and pockets of weathered shale near the lithic contact; or a thin C horizon.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the,
Crow (MT),
Echolake (CO),
Fortlewis (CO),
Heckly (NM),
Ligocki (NM),
Lubrecht (MT),
Ordnance (NM),
Rittel (MT),
Valnor (NM), and
Zuni (NM) series.
Crow and Ligocki soils: lack a lithic contact within a depth of 40 inches.
Fortlewis soils: have lithic contact at a depth of 20 to 40 inches.
Heckly and Zuni soils: have hues of 2.5YR or 5YR in the control section.
Echolake, Lubrecht, Ordnance, Rittel and Valnor soils: have a paralithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform: on undulating hills, convex mountain slopes, mesas, and ridges.
Elevations: 7,000 to 9,000 feet.
Parent material: fine-textured, cobbly and stony residuum and slope alluvium weathered from interbedded sandstone and shale from the Raton Formation.
Mean annual temperature: 43 degrees to 46 degrees F., and a mean summer temperature of about 53 degrees F.
Mean annual precipitation: 16 to 22 inches with 60 percent falling during the frost-free period.
The frost-free season is 70 to 130 days.
In Arizona, annual precipitation is 16 to 23 inches, annual temperature is 42 to 46 degrees F., and frost free season is 80 to 130 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Fuera soils and the Midnight, Rocio, Rombo, Stout and Vamer soils. Midnight and Rombo soils lack an argillic horizon. Stout and Vamer soils have a lithic contact at depths of less than 20 inches. Fuera and Rocio soils lack a lithic contact above depth to 40 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to high runoff; very slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland, wildlife and recreation. The overstory is a ponderosa pine, scattered Douglas-fir, white fir and pinyon-juniper. The understory is oak, mountain mahogany, Arizona fescue, pine dropseed, junegrass, mountain muhly, Parry's oatgrass and muttongrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern New Mexico and southern Colorado; LRR E, MLRA 49; This series is extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Colfax County, New Mexico, 1974.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the surface to a depth of about 8 inches. ( E horizon)
Argillic horizon - The zone from 8 to 37 inches (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
Lithic contact - The presence of hard sedimentary bedrock at about 35 inches (R horizon).
Remarks: The change in precipitation pattern in the range in characteristics returns the Dargol series to the continental climate conditions typical of Colfax County, New Mexico where the series was established.
Last updated 4/01.
Taxonomic Version: Eighth Edition, 1998.
ADDITIONAL DATA: S66NMex-4-6. Lincoln Lab.