LOCATION ESTACION PREstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, active, isohyperthermic Fluventic Hapludolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Estacion silty clay loam - pasture
(Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) silty clay loam; moderate medium granular structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many fine roots; few subrounded gravel, 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter; medium acid; clear smooth boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
A--8 to 20 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) gravelly clay loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; many fine to coarse gravel sized subrounded fragments; medium acid; gradual smooth boundary. (10 to 16 inches thick)
2C--20 to 50 inches; dark brown (10YR 4/3) gravelly sand; single grained; nonsticky, nonplastic; about 50 percent coarse gravel; many rounded cobbles 3 to 7 inches in diameter; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Turabo SCD, Puerto Rico, 0.5 mile northwest from kilometer marker 32.8 of highway 1, 50 feet east of the Bairoa River bank.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The soil is slightly acid or medium acid. Depth to the skeletal layers ranges from 16 to 28 inches. Cobbles, 3 to 7 inches in diameter, range from few to many.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 and chroma of 2 or 3. It is clay loam, silty clay loam, gravelly clay loam or gravelly silty clay loam. Gravel ranges from 5 to 20 percent by volume in the upper part to 15 to 30 percent in the lower part.
The 2C horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 3 through 6. Gravel ranges from 35 to 60 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: There is no other series in this family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Estacion soils occur very close to the river banks on nearly level to gently sloping river flood plains with slope gradients ranging from 0 to 2 percent. The soil formed in stratified moderately fine textured sediments over gravelly layers of mixed origin. The climate is humid. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 60 to 80 inches and the mean annual temperature is 76 to 79 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bajura, Coloso, and Dique soils, all of which occur in the river flood plains of the humid areas. The Bajura and Coloso soils are poorly drained. The Dique soils lack the thick dark surface horizons and the gravelly lower C horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly used for pasture. Small area is in sugar cane.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Humid river flood plains of Puerto Rico. The series is of minor extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Soil Survey of Puerto Rico; l942.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - zone from 0 to 20 inches. (Ap and A horizon)
Contrasting materials at 20 inches.