LOCATION KIMBETO NM COEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Calciargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Kimbeto loamy fine sand--on a slightly concave summit sloping 2 percent to the northeast at 5,575 feet elevation--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described the soil was slightly moist from 3 inches to the bedrock contact.)
A--0 to 3 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) loamy fine sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium platy structure parting to weak fine granular; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few medium and common fine and very fine roots; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6) clear smooth boundary. (2 to 9 inches thick)
Bw--3 to 10 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; few very fine discontinuous tubular pores; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 7 inches thick)
2Btkn--10 to 18 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) sandy clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate coarse subangular blocky; hard, firm, slightly sticky and plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few fine and common very fine discontinuous tubular pores; few thin clay films on faces of peds and lining pores, and clay bridging sand grains; strongly effervescent; secondary calcium carbonate segregated in few fine rounded soft masses; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 21 inches thick)
2Bkn1--18 to 22 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) fine sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; violently effervescent; secondary calcium carbonate disseminated and also segregated in common medium irregularly shaped soft masses; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 14 inches thick)
2Bkn2--22 to 29 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) parachannery fine sandy loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/4) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 10 percent soft sandstone fragments; 5 percent gravel; violently effervescent; secondary calcium carbonate disseminated and also segregated as few fine irregularly shaped accumulations on rock fragments; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 16 inches thick)
3Bkn--29 to 42 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) parachannery loamy fine sand, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; common thin strata of soft weathered sandstone; 20 percent soft sandstone fragments; 5 percent channers; violently effervescent; secondary calcium carbonate disseminated and also segregated as few fine irregularly shaped accumulations on the undersides of rock fragments; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)
3Cr--42 inches; soft sandstone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, New Mexico; on the Navajo Indian Reservation about 5 miles east of Newcomb; 1,450 feet north and 450 feet east of the southwest corner of section 25, T. 24 N., R. 17 W. (Projected from BLM cadastral survey 1983, 1984); Latitude 36 degrees 16 minutes 54 seconds N and Longitude 108 degrees 36 minutes 38 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture - Typically, the soil moisture control section is intermittently moist in some part from July to October and December to March. The soil moisture control section is dry in all parts greater than 75 percent of the time (cumulative) that the soil temperature at 20 inches is greater than 41 degrees F. Typic aridic moisture regime.
Soil Temperature - 54 to 57 degrees F.
Soil depth - 40 to more than 60 inches to bedrock
Silicate clay content, control section weighted average - 18 to 27 percent
Depth to calcic horizon - 10 to 31 inches
Soil reaction - ranges from slightly alkaline in the surface to very strongly alkaline in the subsoil
There are commonly 2 to 4 lithologic discontinuities within the profile.
A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: loamy fine sand or fine sandy loam
Bw horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: fine sandy loam or very fine sandy loam
Btkn horizon
Hue - 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 through 6
Texture: sandy clay, fine sandy loam, or loam
Rock fragments: 0 to 10 percent pebbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 10 percent
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 0 to 4
Sodicity, SAR: 0 to 5
Bkn horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 4 through 7 moist
Chroma: 2 through 6
Texture: fine sandy loam or loam
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent pebbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 30 percent
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 2 to 8
Sodicity, SAR: 5 to 30
Other features: 0 to 15 percent soft sandstone fragments
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competitors.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Kimbeto soils are on summits of plateaus and structural benches, dipslopes of cuestas, and treads of high stream terraces. Kimbeto soils formed in eolian material, alluvium and residuum derived dominantly from Cretaceous sandstone. A very deep phase also formed in alluvium, and residuum derived from shale and quartzite. Slopes are 0 to 5 percent. Elevation ranges from 4,800 to 6,100 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 5 to 8 inches with 35 to 60 percent falling as rain from high intensity thunderstorms between July and October. The mean annual temperature is 51 to 54 degrees F. The average frost-free is 140 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Camac, Denazar, Farb, Huerfano, and Nageezi soils. Camac soils are moderately deep and occur on risers of high stream terraces. Denazar soils are sandy and lack natric horizons. Farb soils are very shallow to sandstone bedrock. Huerfano soils are shallow to shale. Nageezi soils are coarse-loamy, lack natric horizons and occur on adjacent high stream terraces.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, slow runoff, moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Kimbeto soils are used for livestock grazing. Present vegetation is alkali sacaton, Indian ricegrass, galleta, shadscale, fourwing saltbush and plains pricklypear.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Kimbeto soils are of moderate extent in the western San Juan Basin and Four Corners Platform portions of the Colorado Plateau province in northwest New Mexico. 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 about 10 inches. (A and Bw horizons)
Argillic horizon - 10 to 18 inches (2Btkn horizon)
Calcic horizon - the zone from about 18 to 29 inches. (2Bk1 and 2Bk2 horizons)
Paralithic contact - the presence of soft sandstone bedrock at about 42 inches.
The classification was changed from Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Haplic Natrargids to Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Calciargids in 2004 because the natric horizon was inconsistent in this series and because the sodium was too deep in the profile to meet the natric criteria. The 3BCkn horizon is too deep in the typical profile for the pedon to have a natric horizon. This horizon fails criterion 2.a. of the required characteristics.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Calcium carbonate equivalence determined with a field volume calcimeter. Salinity values were determined on six pedons including the type location, with a Wheatstone bridge. The values for sodium adsorption ratio where bracketed around values obtained from lab data of the series type location, which was analyzed at the BIA soils laboratory in Gallup, NM. In addition to SAR, the type location has had determination of particle size distribution, pH of paste, EC (mmhos/cm) and calcium carbonate equivalent. The series type location was also reference sampled for the National Soil Survey Laboratory (NSSL) as pedon S85NM-045-005. Another pedon of the Kimbeto series was also sampled for full characterization by the NSSL as pedon S86NM-045-015.
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy Ninth Edition, 2003