LOCATION FORTWINGATE NM+COEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, frigid Vertic Haplustalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Fortwingate loam--in a ponderosa pine woodland on an east facing, convex surface of 3 percent slope at an elevation of 7720 feet. (Colors are for dry soils unless otherwise noted.)
Oi--0 to 1 inch; slightly decomposed pine needles, oak leaves, and grass.
A--1 to 4 inches; dark reddish gray (5YR 4/2) loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) moist; weak thin platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; many very fine, fine, and few medium roots; 2 percent gravel size sandstone fragments; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
Bt--4 to 9 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine, fine, and few medium roots; few very fine irregular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; 2 percent gravel size sandstone fragments; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 12 inches thick)
Btss--9 to 26 inches; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) clay, dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) moist; strong fine and medium prismatic structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few fine and medium roots; few very fine irregular pores; the bottom 1.5 inches is weathered sandstone; few pressure faces and slickensides; many prominent clay films on faces of peds; 1 percent gravel size sandstone fragments; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 17 inches thick)
2R--26 inches; San Andreas limestone
TYPE LOCATION: McKinley County, New Mexico; about 2 miles south-south west of McGaffey, New Mexico; Upper Nutria Quadrangle; about 1650 feet east, 750 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 22, T. 13 N., R. 16 W.; 108 degrees 31 minutes 25 seconds west longitude, 35 degrees 20 minutes 53 seconds north latitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: The SMCS is usually moist, in some part, for more than 90 cumulative days from May through October. It is usually dry, in all parts, for less than 90 cumulative days during the same period. It is continuously moist in some part November through April. The period of maximum precipitation is July through October. The soil is driest during May and June. Typic ustic moisture regime.
Soil Temperature: 42 to 47 degrees F
Particle-size control section: 35 to 50 percent clay
Depth to lithic contact: 20 to 40 inches to dolomitic limestone. Some profiles contact a locally present sandstone bed in the San Andreas Formation.
Vertic properties: pressure faces and slickensides evident between 5 and 40 inches depth. Some pedons have few vertical cracks less than 5mm wide.
A horizon
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Rock fragments: 0 to 25 percent total (fragments are mostly sandstone with lesser amounts of limestone)
0 to 20 percent gravel
0 to 5 percent cobbles
0 to 1 percent stones
Bt horizon
Hue: 2.5YR or 5YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Textures: clay loam, sandy clay or clay
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent sandstone fragments
Reaction: moderately acid or slightly alkaline
Btss horizon
Hue: 2.5YR or 5YR
Chroma: 3 or 4
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent sandstone fragments
Textures: clay loam, clay and sandy clay
Reaction: neutral or slightly alkaline
Some pedons have Btk or Bk horizons immediately above the lithic contact.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competitors.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Fortwingate soils formed in slope alluvium over residuum derived from Chinle sandstone and shale overlying San Andreas limestone. Fort Wingate soils are on uplands, dipslopes of cuestas, sideslopes of hogbacks, hills and ridges. Slopes are 0 to 45 percent. Elevations range from 7,000 to 8,500 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 16 to 20 inches. The mean annual air temperature is 40 to 45 degrees F. The frost-free period is 90 to 110 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Osoridge, Owlrock, Polich, and Zuni soils. The Osoridge and Owlrock soils are shallow to sandstone and limestone respectively and are on ridges. The Polich soils are very deep and are on valley floors. The Zuni soils are moderately deep to gneissic-granite and are on igneous domes.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to very high runoff; moderately slow permeability through the upper portion of the argillic horizon and slow in the lower portion.
USE AND VEGETATION: This series is used for wood products, limited livestock grazing, and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is ponderosa pine, pinyon pine, and Rocky Mountain juniper. The understory is Gambel oak, mountain muhly, Arizona fescue, pine dropseed, bottlebrush squirreltail, prairie junegrass, and muttongrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: West central, New Mexico; MLRAs 35 & 39, LRR-D; MLRAs 48A & 49, LRR-E. This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: McKinley County (Zuni Mountain Area), New Mexico, 1964.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: The zone from 0 to 3 inches. (A horizon)
Argillic horizon: The zone from 3 to 25 inches. (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)
Lithic contact: 25 inches--dolomitic limestone. (2R horizon)
The type location was moved to the McKinley County Area and the classification was revised from Fine, smectitic, frigid Typic Haplustalfs to Fine, mixed, superactive, frigid Vertic Haplustalfs in December 2000.
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999.
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL S94NM 031 001