LOCATION HERNANDEZ NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Ustic Haplocalcids
TYPICAL PEDON: Hernandez loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless stated otherwise.)
A--0 to 4 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; moderately calcareous; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick)
Bw--4 to 14 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; moderately calcareous; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 14 inches thick)
Ck1--14 to 45 inches; pink (7.5YR 8/4) clay loam, light brown (7.5YR 6/4) moist; massive; hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; strongly calcareous, with disseminated lime; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual smooth boundary. (20 to 40 inches thick)
Ck2--45 to 60 inches; pink (7.5YR 7/4) clay loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; massive; hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine tubular pores; strongly calcareous, with disseminated lime; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Taos County, New Mexico; 1.6 miles south of Colorado State line and 2 3/4 miles east of Rio Grande Gorge; 0.15 mile north of the road that is just north of Ute Mountain.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Soil moisture: The moisture control section is moist in some part more than 1/4 but less than 1/2 the time the soil temperature at depth of 20 inches exceeds 41 degrees F. It is moist 15 continuous days or less immediately after the soil temperature reaches 41 degrees F. in the spring.
A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry and 3 through 5 moist (Where this horizon has color of a mollic epipedon, it is either too thin or too low in organic carbon to meet the requirements for a mollic epipedon)
Texture: loam, gravelly loam, or clay loam.
B horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry and 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: loam or clay loam
Reaction: slightly or moderately alkaline.
Ck horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 6 through 8 dry and 5 through 7 moist
Chroma of 2 through 4
Texture: loam, clay loam, or gravelly sandy clay loam
Calcium carbonate: many threads and soft masses of lime or lime is disseminated. Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 35 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Abra, Bighams, Bowdish, Copeman, Creel, Darvey, Honlu, Kimera, Kitipes (T), Molen (T), Numa, Peachsprings, and Xenmack series. Abra soils may have horizons up to 15 percent rock fragments in any one horizon, Bighams, Bowdish, Creel, Molen, and Xenmack soils have lithic or paralithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Kitipes soils have alluvial parent material from sandstone and shale. Darvey soils have a moderately deep calcic horizon. Honlu and Peachsprings soils have 15 to 35 percent gravel in the control section. Copeman soils have greater than 35 percent rock fragments in and below the lower particle-size control section. Numa soils have a man-made Ap horizon that borders on a mollic epipedon in color and an anthropic epipedon in content of nitrogen and phosphorus. In addition, Creel, Darvey, Kimera and Numa soils are in the Western Great Plains (LRR-G) and are more moist in May and June.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Hernandez soils formed in mixed alluvium and eolian sediments derived presumably from basalt. Hernandez soils are on upland fans and ridges and have slopes of 0 to 5 percent. Elevations range from 7,000 to 8,000 feet. The soils formed in moderately fine textured alluvium. The mean annual precipitation is about 11 to 13 inches of which approximately 8 inches falls during the period from May through October as intense thunderstorms. The remainder occurs mainly as snow during the period November through April. The mean annual temperature is about 46 degrees to 48 degrees F. The frost-free season is 125 to 135 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Kim, Petaca, and Silva soils. Kim soils lack B2 and calcic horizons. Petaca soils are skeletal and are shallow to basalt. Silva soils have an argillic horizon with more than 35 percent clay.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; medium to slow runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for range, wildlife habitat, and urbanization. Native vegetation is western wheatgrass, needleandthread, galleta, winterfat, blue grama, sand dropseed, fringed sagewort, big sagebrush, broom snakeweed, and rubber rabbitbrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central New Mexico; MLRA 36; the soils are moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Taos County, New Mexico, 1977.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 4 inches (A horizon)
Calcic horizon - The zone from 14 to 45 inches (Bk1 horizon)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999.