LOCATION GENATS NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, nonacid, mesic Typic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Genats channery loamy fine sand--on a backslope sloping 22 percent to the south at 5,670 feet elevation--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 4 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) channery loamy fine sand, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; weak thin platy structure parting to weak fine granular; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; few fine and very fine irregularly shaped pores; 15 percent channers and 5 percent flagstones; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
2Bw--4 to 8 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) clay, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine and few medium and fine roots; few very fine discontinuous irregularly shaped pores; 5 percent channers; slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
2Cy1--8 to 13 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) gypsiferous silty clay, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; massive, platy rock structure; slightly hard, firm, sticky and plastic; common very fine and fine and few medium roots; few very fine discontinuous irregularly shaped pores; 35 percent soft shale fragments, 5 percent channers; secondary silt size gypsum crystals segregated in many fine and very fine irregularly shaped accumulations in seams and on rock fragments, primary sand size gypsum crystals as few fine masses; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 8 inches thick)
2Cy2--13 to 21 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) gypsiferous silty clay, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive, platy rock structure; slightly hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine discontinuous irregularly shaped pores; 60 percent soft shale fragments, 5 percent channers; secondary silt-size gypsum crystals segregated as few fine irregularly shaped accumulations in seams and on rock fragments, soft masses; primary gypsum crystals as few fine masses; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear smooth boundary. (7 to 10 inches thick)
2C--21 to 27 inches; pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) silty clay, brown (7.5YR 5/2) moist; massive; platy rock structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few fine and medium roots; 80 percent soft shale fragments, 5 percent channers; sand size primary gypsum crystals as very few fine masses; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (6 to 13 inches thick)
2Cr--27 to 60 inches; shale bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, New Mexico; about 6.5 miles northeast of Sheep Springs; 1,000 feet south and 2,340 feet west of northeast corner of section 1, T. 22 N., R. 17 W.; Latitude 36 degrees 10 minutes 29 seconds N and Longitude 108 degrees 36 minutes 11 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The soil moisture control section is assumed to be dry for more than 75 percent of the time (cumulative) when the soil temperature at 20 inches is greater than 41 degrees F. The soil moisture control section is moist in some part from July through September and December through March. Typic aridic moisture regime.
Soil temperature - 53 to 57 degrees F.
Soil depth - 20 to 40 inches to soft bedrock
Silicate clay content, control section weighted average - 35 to 55 percent
Depth to base of calcareous material - 6 to 10 inches
Calcium carbonate equivalent - ranges from 1 to 3 percent in the surface, 0 to 1 percent in the underlying horizons
Soil reaction - ranges from strongly alkaline in the Bw horizon to slightly acid in the C horizons
A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: channery loamy fine sand or channery silt loam
Rock fragments: Total range is 15 to 35 percent
15 to 25 percent channers
0 to 10 percent flagstones
0 to 3 percent stones and boulders
Bw horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Texture: clay, silty clay or silty clay loam
Rock fragments: 5 to 15 percent channers
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 4 to 8
Sodicity, SAR: 13 to 30
Other features: The Bw horizons lack sufficient thickness and redistribution of calcium carbonates to qualify as cambic horizons
Cy horizons
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4
Texture: gypsiferous silty clay or gypsiferous silty clay loam
Rock fragments: 5 to 15 percent channers
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 4 to 8
Sodicity, SAR: 13 to 30
Gypsum content: 1 to 5 percent
Other features: 15 to 60 percent soft shale fragments
C horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4
Texture: silty clay, silty clay loam, gypsiferous silty clay, or gypsiferous silty clay loam
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent channers
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 4 to 8
Sodicity, SAR: 13 to 30
Gypsum content: 1 to 3 percent
Other features: 50 to 80 percent soft shale fragments
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Genats soils are on footslopes and backslopes of plateaus, mesas, structural benches, and escarpments. Genats soils formed in alluvium and residuum derived from cretaceous shale. Slopes are 15 to 60 percent. Elevation ranges from 5,300 to 6,000 feet. Mean annual precipitation is 5 to 8 inches, and the mean annual temperature is 51 to 54 degrees F. The frost-free period is 140 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Benally, Brimhall and Werito soils. Benally soils are deep, fine-loamy, and have natric horizons on adjacent toeslopes. Brimhall soils are deep, coarse-loamy, and have calcic and gypsic horizons. Werito soils have cambic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is rapid. Permeability is slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: Genats soils are used for livestock grazing. Present vegetation is alkali sacaton, galleta, sickle saltbush and mound saltbush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Genats soils are of small extent on the western San Juan Basin portion of the Colorado Plateau province in northwest New Mexico. LRR-D; MLRA 35.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Shiprock Area, Parts of San Juan County, New Mexico and Apache County, Arizona; 1993.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric Epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of 4 inches. (A horizon)
Nonacid reaction class - The lack of effervescence in all parts of the fine-earth fraction of the soil when treated with cold dilute HCL, and accompanied by pHs higher than 5.0.
Paralithic Contact - Soft bedrock at 27 inches.
Keys to Soil Taxonomy - Soils classified according to the Eighth Edition, 1998.