LOCATION ENCIERRO NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, mixed, superactive, mesic Lithic Argiustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Encierro gravelly loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 3 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/3) gravelly loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky; many very fine roots; many very fine pores; 15 percent sandstone fragments; noncalcareous; mildly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
B1--3 to 5 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) gravelly loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky; many very fine and fine roots; common very fine pores; 15 percent sandstone fragments; noncalcareous; mildly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
B2t--5 to 10 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) light clay, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moist; strong very fine and fine angular and subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, very sticky and plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine pores; many moderately thick clay films on surfaces of peds, as pore lining and on surfaces of pebbles; 10 percent fine rounded pebbles and thin flat fragments; noncalcareous; mildly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)
B3ca--10 to 14 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) heavy clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/3) moist; weak subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, very sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine pores; few fine lime concretions and discontinuous thin coatings on coarse fragments; 15 percent sandstone coarse fragments up to 6 inches in length; calcareous; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
R--14 to 18 inches; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) hard sandstone; very thin discontinuous carbonate coating on upper surface; few wide fractures filled with B horizon-like material.
TYPE LOCATION: Torrance County, New Mexico; SW1/4 of sec. 11, T. 3 N., R. 5 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of solum and depth to bedrock are less than 20 inches. Coarse fragments range from 5 to 35 percent and in size from fine gravel to fragments up to 6 inches in length. The solum is usually leached of lime through the B2t horizon but ranges to slightly calcareous in the lower part of the B2t horizon. The solum is neutral to moderately alkaline. The particle-size control section is heavy clay loam, sandy clay or clay. The clay content ranges from 35 to 50 percent.
The A horizon has hue of 5YR through 10YR, value of 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3.
The B2t horizon has hue of 5YR or 2.5YR, value of 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. It has moderate very fine and fine subangular blocky to strong fine angular blocky structure. The B3ca horizon has value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist, and chroma of 3 or 4. The zone of carbonate accumulation is weak, containing less than 15 percent calcium carbonate equivalent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Apache, Bernal, Cabezon, Kiln, Ledru, and Travessilla series in other families. Apache soils lack a B2t horizon. Bernal soils have 18 to 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section. Cabezon soils have the clay fraction in the control section dominated by montmorillonite. Kiln soils contain 18 to 35 percent clay and 20 to 35 percent coarse fragments in the particle-size control section. Ledru soils have soil temperatures ranging from 59 to 71 degrees F. Travessilla soils lack a B2t horizon, contain less than 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section, and have an ochric epipedon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Encierro soils are on uplands, hills, and mesa tops and have slopes of 5 to 30 percent. They formed in materials weathered from sandstone, limestone, and interbedded shales, and loess. The climate is semiarid. Elevation is 5,500 to 7,000 feet. The mean annual temperature is about 49 to 54 degrees F. The mean annual precipitation is about 12 to 18 inches. The frost-free season is 150 to 180 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bernal, Clovis, La Fonda, Manzano, Oro Grande, Ortiz, Paymaster and Witt soils. Clovis, Manzano and Witt soils contain 18 to 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section and lack a lithic contact. La Fonda and Ortiz soils lack an argillic horizon and a lithic contact. Oro Grande soils are skeletal. Paymaster soils lack a lithic contact within a depth of 20 inches and have less than 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for rangeland. Native vegetation is primarily blue grama, sideoats grama, sacahuista, and some pinyon, juniper, gray oak, and mountainmahogany.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and southwestern New Mexico. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Santa Fe Area, New Mexico, 1970.
REMARKS: It is not possible to separate the Daze series (a tentative series in Arizona) from the Encierro series except on the basis of parent material.
OSED scanned by SSQA. Last revised by state on 7/79.