LOCATION GARCITAS TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, mixed, active, hyperthermic Aquic Arenic Paleustalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Garcitas gravelly loamy fine sand--rangeland.
(Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 7 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loamy fine sand, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak fine granular structure;
slightly hard, very friable; many fine roots; siliceous pebbles comprise about 15 percent by volume; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 12 inches thick)
A2--7 to 24 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) very gravelly loamy fine sand, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) moist; single grained; loose; common fine roots; siliceous pebbles comprise
about 80 percent by volume; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.
(12 to 28 inches thick)
B21tg--24 to 36 inches; white (10YR 8/2) gravelly clay, light gray (10YR 7/2) moist; common medium prominent red (10R 4/6) and reddish yellow (5YR 6/8) mottles; weak medium angular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, sticky and plastic; few fine roots; prominent clay films on faces of peds and in pores;
siliceous pebbles comprise about 25 percent by volume; strongly
acid; gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 18 inches thick)
B22tg--36 to 58 inches; white (10YR 8/2) gravelly clay, light gray (10YR 7/2) moist; common coarse prominent red (10R 4/6) and
few medium light red (2.5YR 6/8) mottles; moderate medium angular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm; sticky and plastic;
thin clay films on faces of peds and in pores; siliceous pebbles comprise about 15 percent by volume; extremely acid; gradual
smooth boundary. (16 to 30 inches thick)
B3--58 to 66 inches; white (10YR 8/2) clay loam, light gray (10YR 7/2) moist; common coarse distinct reddish yellow (7.5YR
7/6) and few medium distinct red (2.5YR 5/8) mottles; weak coarse angular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, slightly
sticky; few thin clay films; siliceous pebbles comprise about 8 percent by volume; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
(6 to 14 inches thick)
C1--66 to 78 inches; white (10YR 8/2) clay loam, light gray (10YR 7/2) moist; common medium faint yellow (2.5Y 8/8) mottles; massive; very hard, firm, slightly sticky, few siliceous pebbles; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 18 inches
thick)
C2--78 to 84 inches; white (10YR 8/2) sandy clay loam, light gray (10YR 7/2) moist; common coarse distinct red (2.5YR 5/8; 10R 4/6) mottles; massive; very hard, firm, slightly sticky; few siliceous pebbles; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: DeWitt County, Texas; from the intersection of U.
S. Highways 183 and 87 in Cuero, Texas, 11 miles southeast of U.
S. Highway 87 to Thomaston, Texas; than 7.5 miles northeast on a county road to a cattle guard at a turn in the road; than 0.1 mile north and 0.5 mile east on a private road; than 0.7 mile north on
a private road to an oil well; and 20 feet west of road in
rangeland.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 50 to 72 inches. Water drains freely from the A1 horizon and is perched in thin layers for brief periods after rains in and above the B21tg horizon.
The A1 horizon is light brownish gray (10YR 6/2), light gray (10YR 7/2), pale brown (10YR 6/3), or very pale brown (10YR 7/3). The
A2 horizon is light gray (10YR 7/2) or very pale brown (10YR 7/3, 7/4, 8/3). The A horizon is gravelly or very gravelly loamy fine sand or fine sand. It is medium acid or slightly acid. Coarse fragments are mostly siliceous pebbles and cobbles, and range from
15 to 80 percent by volume.
The B2tg horizons are light gray (10YR 6/1, 7/1, 7/2), light
brownish gray (10YR 6/2), or white (10YR 8/1, 8/2), and are
mottled in shades of red, yellow, and brown. They are gravelly
clay or gravelly sandy clay. The content of siliceous pebbles
ranges from about 15 to 35 percent by volume and decreases in
volume with increase in depth. They are extremely acid to medium acid. The B3 horizon is clay loam or sandy clay. It is very
stongly acid to medium acid.
The C horizons are variable and are mostly mottled loamy earth
with reaction ranging from very strongly acid to slightly acid.
Some C horizons have weak bedding planes with thin strata of fine sand and coarse fragments.
COMPETING SERIES: These include the
Demona,
Ellen,
Fordtran,
Leming,
Nueces,
Poth,
Rahal,
Sarita,
Straber, and
Tremona series. Demona soils have mean annual soil temperatures of less than 72 degrees F. Ellen soils have more than 35 percent coarse fragments
in the control section. Fordtran and Rahal soils have aquic
moisture regimes. Leming soils are slightly acid through
moderately alkaline in the B2t horizons and contain less than 15 percent coarse fragments in the control section. Neuces and
Sarita soils have loamy control sections and in addition, Sarita soils have sandy A horizons more than 40 inches thick. Poth soils lack gray mottles in the upper part of the B2t horizon. Straber soils have A horizons less than 20 inches thick. Tremona soils
have less than 15 percent coarse fragments in the control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Garcitas soils occupy nearly level to gently sloping weakly convex knolls, low ridges, and stream divides.
Slope gradients are mainly less than 3 percent, but range from 0
to 5 percent. The soil formed in loamy, clayey, and gravelly materials mainly in the Lissie Geologic Formations during the Pleistocene system. Climate is subhumid. Mean annual temperature
is 70 degrees to 74 degrees F., average annual precipitation is 30
to 40 inches, and Thornthwaite P-E index is 44 to 56.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing
Ellen,
Fordtran, Neuces, and
Sarita series and the
Silvern series.
Silvern soils have very gravelly loamy sand surface layers more
than 40 inches thick and loamy B2t horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained; slow runoff; very slow internal drainage; very slow permeability. A temporary perched water table is in the A2 and upper B21t horizons during
the rainy season.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mainly used for native rangeland. Native vegetation is little bluestem, brownseed paspalum, low panicum,
and running live oak. A few small areas have been mined for
gravel
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mainly between the Colorado and
Guadalupe Rivers along the border of the Gulf Coast Prairies of Texas. The series is moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: DeWitt County, Texas; 1973.
REMARKS: These soils were formerly classified in the Planosol
great soil group.