LOCATION FLAKE NM

Established Series
REV: GWC
12/2014

FLAKE SERIES

The Flake series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in fine-loamy alluvium. These nearly level soils are on alluvial flats on basin floors. Slopes range from 1 to 3 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 9 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 64 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, gypsic, thermic Typic Calcigypsids

TYPICAL PEDON: Flake silt loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted)

A--0 to 4 inches (0 to 10 cm); light brown (7.5YR 6/4) silt loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3), moist; 15 percent clay; weak thick platy over moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; many very fine and common fine roots throughout; common fine tubular pores; carbonate, finely disseminated throughout; violently effervescent, 25 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; slightly alkaline, pH 7.7; electrical conductivity 3.0 dS/m (mmhos/cm); very slightly saline; sodium adsorption ratio 1.0; abrupt wavy boundary.

Bk--4 to 10 inches (10 to 25 cm); brown (7.5YR 5/4) silt loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4), moist; 26 percent clay; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; many very fine and common fine roots throughout; common very fine and few fine tubular pores; common fine spherical carbonate masses in matrix; violently effervescent, 30 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; slightly alkaline, pH 7.6; electrical conductivity 3.0 dS/m (mmhos/cm); very slightly saline; sodium adsorption ratio 1.0; clear wavy boundary.

Bky1--10 to 19 inches (25 to 48 cm); pink (7.5YR 7/4) gypsiferous silt loam, strong brown (7.5YR 5/6), moist; 26 percent clay; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; many very fine and common fine roots throughout; few very fine and common fine tubular pores; common fine threadlike carbonate masses and common fine and medium irregular gypsum crystal clusters in matrix; violently effervescent, 19 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 33 percent gypsum; slightly alkaline, pH 7.5; electrical conductivity 2.8 dS/m (mmhos/cm); very slightly saline; sodium adsorption ratio 1.0; clear wavy boundary.

Bky2--19 to 28 inches (48 to 71 cm); brown (7.5YR 5/4) gypsiferous silt loam, strong brown (7.5YR 4/6), moist; 26 percent clay; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; many very fine roots throughout; few very fine and common fine tubular pores; common fine threadlike carbonate masses and common very fine irregular gypsum crystal clusters in matrix; violently effervescent, 17 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 41 percent gypsum; slightly alkaline, pH 7.4; electrical conductivity 5.6 dS/m (mmhos/cm); slightly saline; sodium adsorption ratio 2.0; clear wavy boundary.

Bknyz1--28 to 40 inches (71 to 102 cm); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) gypsiferous clay loam, strong brown (7.5YR 4/6), moist; 32 percent clay; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; moderately hard, firm, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; common fine roots throughout; few very coarse and common fine tubular pores; common fine irregular carbonate masses and many very fine irregular gypsum crystal clusters in matrix; violently effervescent, 31 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 17 percent gypsum; slightly alkaline, pH 7.6; electrical conductivity 21.3 dS/m (mmhos/cm); strongly saline; sodium adsorption ratio 16.0; clear wavy boundary.

Bknyz2--40 to 63 inches (102 to 160 cm); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) gypsiferous clay loam, strong brown (7.5YR 4/6), moist; 34 percent clay; moderate fine, medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; moderately hard, firm, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; few fine tubular pores; common fine irregular carbonate masses and many very fine irregular gypsum crystal clusters in matrix; violently effervescent, 27 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 21 percent gypsum; moderately alkaline, pH 8.4; electrical conductivity 24.6 dS/m (mmhos/cm); strongly saline; sodium adsorption ratio 33.0; clear wavy boundary.

Bnyz--63 to 70 inches (160 to 178 cm); yellowish red (5YR 5/6) gypsiferous clay loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6), moist; 36 percent clay; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; common very fine tubular pores; carbonate, finely disseminated throughout and common fine irregular gypsum crystal clusters and common medium spherical gypsum crystal clusters in matrix; violently effervescent, 31 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 25 percent gypsum; moderately alkaline, pH 8.1; electrical conductivity 23.6 dS/m (mmhos/cm); strongly saline; sodium adsorption ratio 35.0.

TYPE LOCATION: Otero County, New Mexico; about 2.9 miles south and 0.8 miles west of White Sands National Monument Headquarters; located about 1450 feet south and 600 feet east of the northwest corner of sec. 24, T. 18S, R. 7E; USGS Quad Foster Lake; Latitude: 32 degrees, 44 minutes, 11.6 seconds N; Longitude: 106 degrees, 11 minutes, 10.6 seconds W, NAD 83; UTM 0388852 E, 3622703 N, UTM Zone 13.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Typic aridic soil moisture regime. The moisture control section is usually dry all in parts more than three-fourths of the time that the soil temperature exceeds 41 degrees F. at 20 inches.

Mean annual soil temperature: 64 to 68 degrees F.

Clay content: 12 to 40 percent, averages more than 18 percent clay

Depth to calcic horizon: 2 to 28 inches

Depth to gypsic horizon: 8 to 20 inches

Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline

A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 5 to 6 dry, 4 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: fine sandy loam, loam, silt loam, clay loam
Clay: 15 to 35 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Salinity: non-saline to slightly saline

Bk horizon
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR
Value: 5 to 6 dry, 4 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: sandy clay loam, loam, silt loam, silty clay loam
Clay: 18 to 35 percent
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
Salinity: non-saline to slightly saline
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 35 percent

Bky horizons
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: gypsiferous clay loam, gypsiferous silt loam, gypsiferous silty clay loam
Clay: 18 to 35 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Salinity: very slightly saline to moderately saline
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 30 percent
Gypsum: 20 to 45 percent

Bknyz and Bnyz horizons
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: gypsiferous sandy clay loam, gypsiferous clay loam, gypsiferous silt loam
Clay: 18 to 40 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Salinity: moderately to strongly saline
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 20 to 40 percent
Gypsum: 10 to 35 percent

COMPETING SERIES: Ther are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Flake soils are on alluvial flats on basin floors. Slope is 1 to 3 percent. These soils formed from fine-loamy alluvium. Elevation ranges from 3,900 to 4,040 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 8 to 12 inches. Precipitation falls mostly during the months of July through September. The mean annual air temperature is 64 to 70 degrees F. The frost-free period is 180 to 240 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Corvus, Jato, Loki, Talos, Yesum. Corvus soils have petrogypsic horizons between 5 and 20 inches and are on relict dunes and fan piedmonts. Jato and Loki soils have alumno-slica material capping gypsum evaporites and are on relict lakebeds. Talos soils are greater than 40 percent clay in the particle size control section and have argillic horizons. Yesum soils are coarse-loamy and have gypsic horizons within 7 inches from the surface (Leptic).

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; low runoff; moderate to moderately slow permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: The major uses are military exercises and wildlife habitat. Native vegetation is alkali sacaton, fourwing saltbush, burrograss, desert seepweed and iodine bush.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South central New Mexico, limited to the Tularosa Basin and surrounding piedmonts. MLRA 42, Flake is of limited extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Sands Missile Range, Otero County, New Mexico, 2014.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizon and features recognized in this pedon are:

Particle-size control section - the zone from 10 to 40 inches (Bky1, Bky2, Bky3 and Bky4 horizons)

Ochric epipedon- the zone from 0 to 7 inches (A and Bk horizons)

Cambic horizon- the zone from 4 to 10 inches (Bk horizon)

Gypsic horizon- the zone from 10 to 70 inches (Bky, Bknyz, and Bnyz horizons)

Calcic horizon- the zone from 28 to 63 inches (Bky and Bknyz horizons)

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Twelfth Edition, 2014.

Revised for the correlation of White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; October, 2014, NMS

ADDITIONAL DATA: Data from type location NASIS User Site ID S2006NM688015. NSSL Lab Pedon Number 06N1098

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.