LOCATION DISTERHEFF AZEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Vertic Haplustalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Disterheff very gravelly sandy clay loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 2 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly sandy clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; moderate fine and medium granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine roots; common very fine irregular pores; 40 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.3); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
A2--2 to 6 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) gravelly clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Bt1--6 to 11 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) gravelly clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; common small pressure faces; 20 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--11 to 24 inches; dark red (2.5YR 3/6) clay, dark red (2.5YR 3/6) moist; strong medium prismatic parting to strong medium blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine, few medium and coarse roots; common very fine tubular pores; common small pressure faces; 10 percent gravel; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 10 to 27 inches thick)
Btk--24 to 30 inches; red (2.5YR 5/6) very gravelly clay loam, red (2.5YR 4/6) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine and coarse roots; few to common very fine and fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; common small pressure faces; 40 percent gravel and 10 percent cobble, partially calcium carbonate coated; strongly effervescent, many soft medium and large calcium carbonate masses; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 17 inches thick)
2Bk--30 to 60 inches; pinkish white (7.5YR 8/2) extremely cobbly clay loam, reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) moist; massive; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; 30 percent cobble and 30 percent gravel, partially calcium carbonate coated; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Coconino County, Arizona, about 4.5 miles east of Aubrey Cliffs on Rosewell road; 2000 feet north and 1800 feet west of the southwest corner of Section 5, T. 25 N., R. 6 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: dry in some part for 90 or more days cumulative and is moist in some part for 45 consecutive days during June through October and more than half the time that the soil temperature is above 41 degrees F. The soil is driest during May and June. Aridic ustic soil moisture regime.
Soil Temperature: 49 to 56 degrees F.
Rock Fragments: 5 to 50 percent gravel and cobble; averages less than 35 percent in the particle-size control section
Depth to calcic horizon: 17 to 40 inches
Linear extensibility: 6.0 cm or more from the surface horizon to 40 inches, some pedons have slickensides
A horizon
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 3 to 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
Bt or Btk horizons
Hue: 2.5YR, 5YR, 7.5YR
Value: 3 to 6 dry, 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: clay loam, clay (35 to 50 percent clay)
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
Bk horizons
Hue: 2.5YR, 5YR, 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 8 dry, 5 or 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6 dry, 3 to 6 moist
Texture: loam, clay loam (30 to 35 percent clay)
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: This is Hermshale (AZ) and Retsover (AZ) series. Hermshale and Retsover soils have bedrock at depths of 40 to 60 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Disterheff soils are on fan terraces, fan remnants and stream terraces of plateaus and mesas at elevations of 5,200 to 7,000 feet. They formed in alluvium, residuum and colluvium from sandstone, limestone, shale and basalt. Slopes range from 0 to 50 percent. Mean annual precipitation is 13 to 18 inches. The mean annual air temperature is 47 to 54 degrees F. The frost-free period ranges from 120 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Daze, Deama, Kopie, Partri, Rune, Toqui and Yumtheska soils. In addition is the competing Natank soil. Daze, Deama and Kopie soils have bedrock within 20 inches. Partri soils have a mollic epipedon. Rune soils do not have argillic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium or high runoff; slow and very slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. Vegetation is mainly galleta, blue grama, black grama, sideoats grama, Utah juniper, western wheatgrass, fourwing saltbush, pinion pine, Mormon-tea, winterfat, needleandthread, and bottlebrush squirreltail.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Arizona. The series is extensive. MLRAs 35 & 39.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Navajo County, (Holbrook-Showlow Area), Arizona; 1964.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 6 inches (A1, A2 horizons)
Argillic horizon - The zone from 6 to 30 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Btk horizons)
Calcic horizon - The zone from 30 to 60 inches (2Bk horizon)
Vertic subgroup - Linear extensibility of 6.0 cm or more to 40 inches