LOCATION KLIZHIN NM+AZEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Pachic Haplustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Klizhin fine sandy loam -- on a footslope sloping 19 percent to the southeast at 8,920 feet elevation -- forest. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The surface is covered with 2 inches of slightly decomposed pine needles and other forest litter.
A--0 to 4 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) fine sandy loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; moderate very coarse platy structure parting to weak medium granular; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few medium roots; common very fine and few fine tubular pores; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
AB--4 to 17 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) fine sandy loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few coarse roots; common very fine and few fine tubular pores; 5 percent pebbles; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (3 to 13 inches thick)
Bw1--17 to 31 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) fine sandy loam; black (10YR 2/1) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few coarse roots; common very fine and few fine tubular pores; 5 percent channers; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (7 to 24 inches thick)
Bw2--31 to 49 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak coarse parting to moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few coarse roots; many very fine and few fine tubular pores; 10 percent channers; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (8 to 20 inches thick)
E/Btb--49 to 56 inches; pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) loamy sand; brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine and fine irregular pores; common irregular masses of bleached sand and silt between peds (skeletans); very few clay films on rock fragments and bridges between sand grains; 5 percent pebbles and 5 percent channers; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Btb--56 to 64 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) sandy loam; brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine tubular and irregularly shaped pores; few thin clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 5 percent channers; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, New Mexico; on the Navajo Indian Reservation about 6.5 miles south-southwest of Toadlena; 2,100 feet east and 1,125 feet south of the northwest corner of sec.11, T.22N., R.20W.; Latitude 36 degrees 9 minutes 33 seconds N and Longitude 108 degrees 56 minutes 43 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Typically, the soil moisture control section (SMCS) is moist in all parts from January to May and intermittently moist in some part from June to December. The SMCS is dry in some part less than 60 percent of the time when the soil temperature at 20 inches is above 41 degrees F. Typic ustic moisture regime.
Soil temperature - 41 to 44 degrees F.
Soil depth - 40 to 60 inches or more to hard bedrock
Depth to base of Mollic epipedon - 18 to 35 inches
Silicate clay content, control section weighted average - 3 to 18 percent
Rock fragments - contains up to 10 percent small channers or pebbles in the particle-size control section
Reaction - slightly acid to neutral
Organic matter - more than 1 percent to a depth of 16 inches or more
A and AB horizons - Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 3 through 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 through 3
Texture: fine sandy loam or loamy fine sand
Bw horizons - Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 1 through 3
Texture: fine sandy loam or sandy loam
E/Btb and Btb horizons - Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 6
Texture: fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or loamy sand
Other features: some pedons have C horizons and lack buried horizons
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Breece (CO), Breeton (MT), Chrishall (NM), Coberly (CO), Dotsero (CO), Hedoes (MT), Parshall (ND), Ruso (ND) and Tuntsa (NM) series. Breece soils contain gravelly horizons with fragments of granite, and are more moist during May and June. Breeton and Chrishall soils contain 15 to 35 percent rock fragments. Coberly soils have bedrock at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Dotsero, Hedoes and Parshall soils are calcareous in the lower part of the solum and have secondary calcium carbonate accumulations. Ruso soils have stratified sand and gravel within 40 inches. Tuntsa soils are dry in some part of the moisture control section more than 60 percent of the time that the soil is above 41 degrees F. at a depth of 20 inches, and have mean annual soil temperatures 44 to 47 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Klizhin soils are on footslopes of high plateaus, mesas, and structural benches. Klizhin soils formed in alluvium and residuum derived from Tertiary sandstone. Slopes are 1 to 65 percent. Elevations range from 8,000 to 9,200 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 18 to 24 inches. The mean annual air temperature is 39 to 42 degrees F. The frost-free period is about 60 to 100 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Akhoni and Captom soils. Akhoni soils are shallow to sandstone and occur on adjacent summits of structural benches. Captom soils are deep to soft sandstone bedrock, have argillic horizons, and occur on adjacent backslopes.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to rapid runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Klizhin soils are used for timber production and livestock grazing. Present vegetation is ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and quaking aspen, with an understory of Kentucky bluegrass, Oregongrape, kinnikinnick, mountain snowberry, and Gambel oak.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Klizhin soils are of moderate extent on the Defiance Uplift-Chuska Mountains portion of the Colorado Plateau province in northwest New Mexico and northeast Arizona. MLRA 39.
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:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of about 49 inches (A, BA, Bw1, and Bw2 horizons)
Pachic subgroup - The presence of a mollic epipedon that is greater than 16 inches thick.
Keys to Soil Taxonomy - Soils classified according to the Eighth Edition, 1998.
ADDITIONAL DATA: The original series type location in McKinley County, NM, was sampled for full characterization by the National Soil Survey Laboratory (NSSL) as S86NM-031-004.