LOCATION DELVALLE NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Ustic Haplocambids
TYPICAL PEDON: Delvalle fine sandy loam--on a tread of a high stream terrace sloping 1 percent to the southwest at 6,675 feet elevation--pastureland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was moist from the surface to 23 inches and dry below.)
A--0 to 3 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/3) fine sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; moderate very thick platy structure parting to weak medium granular; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
Bk1--3 to 10 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/3) fine sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium granular; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few medium, few fine, and common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as very few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 7 inches thick)
Bk2--10 to 19 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) fine sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few medium, few fine, and common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 5 percent gravel; very slightly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as very few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 12 inches thick)
Bk3--19 to 34 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) fine sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; 5 percent gravel; violently effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as common fine irregularly shaped coats on faces of peds and on rock fragments; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 20 inches thick)
Bk4--34 to 54 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; 10 percent gravel; violently effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as common fine irregularly shaped coats on faces of peds and on rock fragments; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); abrupt wavy boundary. (6 to 20 inches thick)
BCk1--54 to 63 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) gravelly sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; 10 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; slightly to strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine and medium irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (9 to 14 inches thick)
BCk2--63 to 72 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) extremely gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; 65 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; very slightly to strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 9 inches thick)
C1--72 to 92 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) very gravelly loamy coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; one lens of fine sandy loam in lower part of horizon; 50 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 20 inches thick)
C2--92 to 105 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; 5 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6).
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; about 3.5 miles southwest of downtown Santa Fe; 125 feet south and 1,475 feet east of the northwest corner of section 33, T.17N., R.9E.; USGS Santa Fe 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; Latitude 35 degrees 40 minutes 2 seconds North and Longitude 105 degrees 59 minutes 42 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. 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 cambic horizon - 12 to 26 inches
Depth to calcareous material (as visible secondary calcium carbonate) - 4 to 15 inches
Depth to sandy or sandy-skeletal material - 27 to 60 inches
Particle-size control section (weighted averages)
Silicate clay content: 6 to 18 percent
Sand content: 55 to 75 percent
Fine sand or coarser content: more than 50 percent
Mica content: 3 to 10 percent (by grain count)
Organic matter content - less than 0.6 percent throughout
Reaction - slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline in the surface and subsurface; moderately alkaline to strongly alkaline in the upper part of the substratum; neutral to moderately alkaline in the lower part of the substratum
Salinity, mmhos/cm - 0 to 2
Sodicity, SAR - 0 to 1 in the surface and subsurface; 0 to 4 in the upper part of the substratum; 0 to 1 in the lower part of the substratum
A horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Rock fragments: total range is 0 to 15 percent
0 to 10 percent gravel
0 to 5 percent cobbles
Bk1 and Bk2 horizons
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2.5 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture: fine sandy loam or sandy loam
Rock fragments: 5 to 10 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 3 percent
Bk3 horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture: fine sandy loam or sandy loam
Rock fragments: 5 to 15 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 4 percent
Bk4 horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture: sandy loam or fine sandy loam; some pedons have BCk horizons with texture of gravelly sandy loam or very gravelly sandy loam
Rock fragments: 5 to 15 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 4 percent
BCk horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: stratified gravelly loamy sand to extremely gravelly coarse sand
Rock fragments: total range is 30 to 75 percent, averaging 35 to 60 percent with:
25 to 40 percent gravel
10 to 20 percent cobbles
Some pedons have subhorizons with as little as 10 percent gravel and as little as 5 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 3 percent
C horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: stratified sand to very gravelly loamy coarse sand; Other features: some pedons have subhorizons with texture of very cobbly coarse sand or extremely cobbly coarse sand; some pedons have thin subhorizons, strata, or lenses of fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or gravelly sandy loam
Rock fragments: total range is 5 to 65 percent, averaging 15 to 35 percent with:
10 to 25 percent gravel
5 to 10 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 1 percent
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Begay, Ignacio, Kitsili, Koshare, Ojito, Parida, Remmit, Sandspring (T), and Turnback series. All of these soils have a combination of value and chroma that exclude the color from being mollic. In addition, Begay, Ignacio, Kitsili, Parida, Sandspring, and Turnback soils have Bw horizons. Ignacio, Ojito, and Turnback soils are moderately deep to bedrock. Koshare soils are over 27 inches to the base of the cambic horizon. Remmit soils have cambic horizons that have Bt designations. In addition, Remmit and Turnback soils are in the Western Great Plains (LRR-G) and are more moist in May and June.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Delvalle soils are on treads of high stream terraces. They formed in alluvium derived from granite, gneiss, and schist. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevation ranges from 6,400 to 7,300 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 Devargas and Riovista soils. Devargas soils are fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, have argillic horizons, and occur on adjacent treads of topographically higher stream terraces. Riovista soils are sandy-skeletal and occur on low stream terraces.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; very low surface runoff; moderately rapid permeability in the upper loamy horizons and very rapid permeability in the underlying sandy material.
USE AND VEGETATION: Delvalle soils are used for urban development, livestock grazing, and recreation. The historic climax vegetation is blue grama, black grama, galleta, ring muhly, and broom snakeweed. The ecological site is Loamy(R036XB112NM).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Delvalle 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. Delvalle is a Spanish surname.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Cambic horizon - The zone from 3 inches to a depth of about 19 inches. (Bk1 and Bk2 horizons)
The horizons from 0 to 34 inches (A, Bk1, Bk2, Bk3) meet all the requirements for a mollic epipedon except organic carbon content.
Taxonomic version: Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.
ADDITIONAL DATA: The series type location has been sampled for the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as soil survey sample number S94NM-049-002.