LOCATION DIAMANTE                NM

Established Series
Rev. JOC/JAW/KLS
01/2023

DIAMANTE SERIES

The Diamante series consists of deep, well drained soils that formed in valley fill alluvial deposits. Diamante soils are on strongly dissected, very old alluvial beds and have slopes of 15 to 80 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 530 mm and the mean annual air temperature is about 4 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey-skeletal, mixed, superactive Ustic Haplocryalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Diamante extremely gravelly loam, forested. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

Oe--0 to 3 cm; forest litter in various stages of decomposition.

A--3 to 8 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) extremely gravelly loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak very fine granular structure; soft, friable; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine pores; 50 percent pebbles and 20 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 13 cm thick)

E1--8 to 38 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) extremely gravelly sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; weak very fine granular structure; soft, friable; many very fine and few medium and coarse roots; many very fine pores; 70 percent pebbles and 15 percent cobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.2); clear smooth boundary. (25 to 50 cm thick)

E2--38 to 81 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) extremely gravelly sandy loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) moist; weak very fine granular structure and single grained; soft, friable, many very fine, fine, and few medium roots; many fine pores; 75 percent pebbles and 10 percent cobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.2); clear wavy boundary. (25 to 50 cm thick)

Bt1--81 to 104 cm; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) very gravelly sandy clay, strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist; strong fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, sticky and plastic; many moderately thick clay films on faces of peds; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine pores; 50 percent pebbles and 10 percent cobbles; moderately acid (pH 5.6); gradual wavy boundary. (20 to 30 cm thick)

Bt2--104 to 155 cm; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) extremely gravelly sandy clay, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, sticky and plastic; thin patchy clay films on faces of peds; few very fine pores; 50 percent pebbles and 15 percent cobbles; moderately acid (pH 5.6).

TYPE LOCATION: Rio Arriba County, New Mexico; NE1/4 SE1/4 section 7, T.21N., R.12E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--4 to 7 degrees C
Mean summer soil temperature--10 degrees C
Depth to top of argillic horizon--more than 60 cm
Depth to base of argillic horizon--150 cm or more
Rock fragment content--45 to 90 percent in a major part of the solum and the C horizon, mainly less than 250 mm in diameter
Reaction--pH 5.6 to 7.3

A horizon
Value--5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture--sandy loam or loam
Rock fragment content--25 to 90 percent total; 15 to 60 percent gravel, 10 to 30 percent cobbles

E horizon
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--7 or 8 dry, 5 or 6 moist
Chroma--1 through 3
Texture--very light sandy loam or loamy sand
Rock fragment content--50 to 90 percent total; 40 to 70 percent gravel, 10 to 30 percent cobbles

Bt horizons
Hue--5YR or 7.5YR
Value--4 through 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma--3 through 8
Texture--sandy clay or cobbly clay
Structure--angular or subangular blocky structure
Rock fragment content--60 to 95 percent total; 50 to 70 percent gravel, 10 to 30 percent cobbles

C horizon, where present
Hue--5YR or 7.5YR
Value--5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma--4 through 6
Texture--light clay or clay loam
Rock fragment content--45 to 90 percent total; 30 to 50 percent cobbles, 10 to 20 percent stones

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bundo, Etoe, Etown, Marosa, Mortenson and Tigeron (T) series. Bundo, Etoe, Marosa and Tigeron soils have less than 35 percent clay in the family control section. Etown soils have Bt horizons at depths of less than 60 cm. Mortenson soils have montmorillonitic mineralogy.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform--strongly dissected mountain valleys and valley sides
Elevations--2450 to 2975 meters
Slope--15 to 90 percent
Parent material-- very old alluvium that is several hundred meters thick
Mean annual precipitation--460 to 640 mm
Mean annual air temperature--3 to 4 degrees C
Mean summer air temperature--10 degrees C
Frost-free period--90 to 110 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: None listed

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderately slow permeability

USE AND VEGETATION: Timber production, rangeland, wildlife habitat, recreation and watershed. Vegetation is mainly Douglas-fir, white fir, limber pine, scattered ponderosa pine, and an understory of shrubs and grasses.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Diamante soils are of small extent in the mountains of northcentral New Mexico; MLRAs 48A and 48B

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Taos Area, New Mexico, 1976

REMARKS: Converted to metric and O horizons were updated to start at zero. Competing series section was not updated. 12/2022

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.