LOCATION ELLEDGE AZEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Paleustalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Elledge cobbly loam - woodland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
0i--0 to 1 inches; pine litter and oak leaves.
A--1 to 3 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) cobbly sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium platy structure parting to weak fine granular; slightly hard, friable; common fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick)
E--3 to 8 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly plastic; common fine and medium roots; few fine tubular pores; about 5 percent cobble; slightly acid (pH 6.5); abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
2Bt1--8 to 12 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) cobbly clay, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; few fine tubular pores; common faint clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid (pH 6.5); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 13 inches thick)
2Bt2--12 to 27 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) cobbly clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; few fine distinct brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) redoximorphic features; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few medium roots; few fine tubular pores; many distinct clay films on faces of peds and in pores; slightly acid (pH 6.5); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 20 inches thick)
2Bt3--27 to 31 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) cobbly clay, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; common distinct yellowish red (5YR 5/8) redoximorphic features; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; few fine tubular pores; common faint clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid (pH 6.5); abrupt irregular boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
3R--31 inches; sandstone.
TYPE LOCATION: Navajo County, Arizona; northeast 1/4 sec. 11, T. 9 N., R. 21 E., 3 miles northeast of Forestdale, Arizona and 200 yards east of Highway 60 on north side of small trail.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during December-February and July-September. Driest during May and June. Typic ustic soil moisture regime.
Rock fragments - Averages 15 to 35 percent in the control section, but individual subhorizons range from 5 to 45 percent
Organic matter content - Averages 1 to 3 percent in the upper 7 inches
Reaction - Strongly acid to neutral in the A and E horizons; moderately acid to mildly alkaline in the B horizon
A horizon
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture: Loam, sandy loam
E horizon
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR
Value: 5, 6 or 7 dry, 3, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2, 3 or 4, dry or moist
Bt horizon
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR, 5YR
Value: 4, 5 or 6 dry, 3, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 4, 5 or 6, dry or moist
Texture: Clay, clay loam. Averages 35 to 45 percent clay.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Rotado (NM) series. Rotado soils formed in eolian material over residuum derived from rhyolitic tuff of the Quaternary Age Bandelier Tuff formation
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Elledge soils are on hills and mountains at elevations of 6000 to 6600 feet. Slopes are dominantly 2 to 20 percent and range from 2 to 50 percent. These soils formed in slope alluvium from volcanic rock. The climate is cool, moist continental. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 20 to 24 inches and the mean annual air temperature ranges from 49 to 53 degrees F. The frost-free period ranges from 110 to 130 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Showlow and Telephone soils. Showlow soils do not have E horizons and have calcic horizons. Telephone soils do not have Bt horizons and are shallow and very shallow to bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well or well drained; runoff is slow to medium; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for timber production and livestock grazing. Vegetation is ponderosa pine, pinon pine, juniper, Gambel oak, bull muhly, mountain muhly, Junegrass, pine dropseed, mountain mahogany, ceanothus and some bluestem, manzanita, sideoats grama and spike muhly.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and east central Arizona. The series is extensive. MLRAs 39 & 41.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Navajo County (Holbrook-Showlow Area), Arizona; 1962.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 7 inches (A, E horizons)
Argillic horizon - The zone from 7 to 30 inches (2Bt1, 2Bt2, 2Bt3 horizons)
Lithic contact - The boundary at 30 inches (3R horizon)