LOCATION HOSTA NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Haplustalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Hosta loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 2 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium platy structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; many fine vesicular pores; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)
Bt--2 to 4 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine and common fine roots; common fine irregular pores; few faint bridges of clay films; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
Btk1--4 to 11 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; strong medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine and few fine and medium roots; common fine irregular pores; many prominent clay films on faces of peds; slightly effervescent; few fine filaments and masses of calcium carbonate; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary.
Btk2--11 to 24 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; strong medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; common fine irregular pores; common prominent clay films on faces of peds; strongly effervescent; common fine filaments and masses of calcium of carbonate; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary.
Btk3--24 to 37 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine roots; few fine irregular pores; common prominent clay films on faces of peds; slightly effervescent; few fine masses of calcium carbonate; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary.
Btk4--37 to 51 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine irregular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; slightly effervescent; few fine masses of calcium carbonate; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (The combined thickness of the Btk horizons is 31 to 47 inches)
Bk--51 to 65 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) moist; massive; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine irregular pores; strongly effervescent; common fine filaments of calcium carbonate; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8).
TYPE LOCATION: McKinley County, New Mexico; Horsehead Canyon Quadrangle; 400 feet north and 2,600 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 5, T. 10 N., R. 17 W.; latitude 35 degrees, 7 minutes, 12 seconds and longitude 108 degrees, 39 minutes, 11 seconds.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: The SMCS is usually moist, in all parts, for less than 90 cumulative days from April through October. It is usually dry, in some part, for more than 120 days cumulative days during the same period. It is continuously moist in some part November through April, but not moist all parts for 45 consecutive days from January through April. The period of maximum precipitation is July through October. The soil is driest during May and June. Aridic ustic moisture regime.
Soil temperature: 48 to 55 degrees F.
Rock fragments: less than 5 percent gravel in any horizon
Carbonates: less than 5 percent calcium carbonate equivalent in any horizon
Particle-size control section: 35 to 55 percent clay
A horizon
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4, dry and moist
Texture: clay loam, loam
Reaction: neutral or slightly alkaline
Bt & Btk horizon
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry, 2 to 4 moist
Texture: clay loam, clay, sandy clay loam
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
Bk horizon
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y
Value: 3 to 6, dry and moist
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry and moist
Texture: silty clay loam, silty clay, clay, clay loam, sandy clay loam
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Cuerva (NM), Durango (CO), Erramouspe (NM), Fikel (NM), Montecito (NM), Nogal (NM), Ortiz (NM), Prater (CO), Tinian (NM), and Wilmac (NM) series. Cuerva, Erramouspe, Nogal, Tinian, and Wilmac soils are moderately deep to bedrock. Durango soils are more moist in the spring and drier in the summer. Fikel soils have hue of 5YR and redder. Montecito soils have a calcic within 40 inches of the surface as is a Calcidic Haplustalfs. Ortiz soils are deep to bedrock and have 5 to 15 percent calcium carbonates in the lower part of the solum. Prater soils have more than 5 percent cobble plus stone in all parts of the profile.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Hosta soils are on valley sides, stream terraces, drainageways, and plateaus at elevations of 6,600 to 7,600 feet. These soils formed in stream and fan alluvium from shale and sandstone with some eolian deposits. Slopes are 1 to 8 percent. The average annual precipitation is 14 to 18 inches. Rain falls as intense summer thunderstorms and gentle winter rain or snow. The mean annual temperature is 46 to 53 degrees F. The frost-free period is 100 to 140 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Deschell, Orlie, Toldohn, and Nizhoni soils. Deschell and Orlie are fine-loamy and Toldohn and Nizhoni are clayey and loamy, respectively.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, medium runoff and slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for livestock grazing. Native vegetation is big sagebrush, rabbitbrush, threeawns, western wheatgrass, bottlebrush squirreltail and blue grama.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: West central and Northwest, New Mexico. MLRA 35, LRR-D. This series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: McKinley County Area, New Mexico; McKinley County and Parts of Cibola and San Juan Counties, 2001.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 2 inches (A horizon)
Argillic horizon - The zone from 2 to 51 inches (Bt, Btk1, Btk2, Btk3, Btk4 horizons)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.
The type location was moved in April 2002.
Updated and revised for the correlation of Ft. Defiance Area, AZ715 2/08 DWD