LOCATION ENCANTADO NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Aridic Calciustepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Encantado very gravelly sandy loam--on a backslope sloping 21 percent to the south at 6,610 feet elevation--woodland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was dry throughout.)
ABk--0 to 3 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; weak medium platy structure parting to moderate fine granular; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; 40 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; violently effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
Bk1--3 to 9 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) very gravelly loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few coarse, few medium, common fine, and common very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; 40 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; violently effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as many fine and medium irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments, faces of peds, and as soft masses; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 8 inches thick)
Bk2--9 to 22 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) very gravelly coarse sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few coarse, few medium, common fine, and few very fine roots; few fine tubular pores; 35 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as common medium and large irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments, faces of peds, and as soft masses; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 16 inches thick)
BCk1--22 to 33 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) gravelly loamy coarse sand, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few medium, few fine, and few very fine roots; common very fine irregularly shaped pores; 25 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine and medium irregularly shaped coats on faces of peds, rock fragments, and coarse sand grains; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (7 to 13 inches thick)
BCk2--33 to 45 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) very gravelly loamy coarse sand, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; 35 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments and coarse sand grains; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 20 inches thick)
BCk3--45 to 54 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) very gravelly loamy coarse sand, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; 45 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments and coarse sand grains; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 14 inches thick)
C1--54 to 63 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) gravelly loamy sand, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; 20 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as none to very few fine irregularly shaped coats on coarse sand grains; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (7 to 20 inches thick)
C2--63 to 85 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) very gravelly loamy sand, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; 40 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as none to very few fine irregularly shaped coats on coarse sand grains; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6).
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; about 1 mile north-northwest of Agua Fria; 500 feet north and 1,950 feet west of the southeast corner of section 30, T.17N., R.9E.; USGS Agua Fria 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; Latitude 35 degrees 40 minutes 9 seconds North and Longitude 106 degrees 1 minute 29 seconds West, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soil moisture control section is moist in all parts during the 60 days following the winter solstice. It is moist in some part less than 40 percent and moist in all parts less than 25 percent of the time when the soil temperature at 20 inches is above 41 degrees F. The soils are driest in May and June. The soil moisture regime is ustic bordering on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature - 49 to 52 degrees F.
Depth to calcic horizon - 0 to 4 inches
Particle-size control section weighted averages - Silicate clay content: 2 to 8 percent; Sand content: 75 to 90 percent; Fine sand or coarser content: 85 to 95 percent; Rock fragment content: 35 to 60 percent, lithology of fragments is granite, gneiss, and schist
Reaction - moderately alkaline in the surface and upper horizons; moderately alkaline to strongly alkaline in the lower horizons
Salinity, mmhos/cm - 0 to 2 in the surface and upper horizons; 0 to 4 in the lower horizons
Sodicity, SAR - 0 to 1 in the surface and upper horizons; 0 to 4 in the lower horizons
ABk horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3 moist
Texture: very gravelly sandy loam or very cobbly sandy loam
Rock fragments: total range is 35 to 60 percent
25 to 40 percent gravel
10 to 20 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 20 percent
upper Bk horizons
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: very gravelly loam, gravelly sandy loam, or very gravelly sandy loam
Rock fragments: total range is 25 to 50 percent
20 to 40 percent gravel
5 to 10 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 30 percent
Other feature: some pedons have thin Bt horizons that don't meet the requirement of thickness and/or clay increase for an argillic horizon.
lower Bk horizons
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4 dry, 3 through 6 moist
Texture: very gravelly coarse sandy loam or gravelly coarse sandy loam
Rock fragments: total range is 25 to 50 percent
20 to 40 percent gravel
5 to 10 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 20 percent
BCk horizons
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist
Chroma: 2 through 6, dry or moist
Texture: gravelly loamy coarse sand, very gravelly loamy coarse sand, or gravelly loamy sand
Rock fragments: total range is 25 to 55 percent
25 to 50 percent gravel
0 to 5 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 10 percent
Other features: some pedons have texture of very gravelly coarse sand
C horizons
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 through 6, dry or moist
Texture: stratified gravelly loamy sand to very gravelly coarse sand
Rock fragments: total range is 20 to 45 percent
20 to 40 percent gravel
0 to 5 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 2 to 10 percent
Other feature: Some pedons have hard granitic fanglomerate bedrock within 80 inches.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Yuzarra (T) series. Yuzarra soils are moderately deep to bedrock.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Encantado soils are on shoulders and backslopes of erosional fan remnants. They formed in slope alluvium and colluvium derived from granite, gneiss, and schist over residuum weathered from granitic fanglomerate and sandstone. These parent rocks are weakly cemented by calcite and contain some limestone sand grains and gravel. Slopes are 10 to 60 percent. Elevation ranges from 6,000 to 7,900 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 13 to 16 inches with about 45 percent falling as rain from high-intensity convective thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual air temperature is 47 to 50 degrees F. The frost-free period is 130 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Altazano, Buckhorse, Nazario, and Tanoan soils. Altazano soils are coarse-loamy, do not have diagnostic horizons, and occur on frequently flooded inset fans of erosional fan remnants. Buckhorse soils are coarse-loamy, have mollic epipedons and argillic horizons, and occur on toeslopes of erosional fan remnants. Nazario soils are fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal and occur on adjacent narrow summits of erosional fan remnants. Tanoan soils are coarse-loamy and occur on adjacent shoulders and footslopes of erosional fan remnants.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; medium to rapid surface runoff; moderately rapid permeability in the upper part of the profile and rapid to very rapid permeability in the underlying sandy material.
USE AND VEGETATION: Encantado soils are used for urban development, livestock grazing, and recreation. The historic climax vegetation is blue grama, black grama, New Mexico feathergrass, sideoats grama, galleta, two-needle pinyon, and oneseed juniper. The ecological site is Juniperus monosperma-Pinus edulis/Fallugia paradoxa-Chrysothamnus nauseosus/Bouteloua-hirsuita-Bouteloua gracilis(F036XB136NM).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Encantado 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. Encantado is a street name in Santa Fe.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of about 3 inches. (ABk horizon)
Calcic horizon - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of about 22 inches. (ABk, Bk1, and Bk2 horizons)
Particle-size control section The zone from 10 to 40 inches (part of Bk2, BCk1, part of BCk2 horizons)
Series control section The zone from 0 to 60 inches.
This soil was classified using Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.