LOCATION KOSHARE NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Ustic Haplocambids
TYPICAL PEDON: Koshare very fine sandy loam--on a planar toeslope sloping 7 percent to the northwest at 6,030 feet elevation--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was dry throughout.)
A--0 to 3 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) very fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate very thick platy structure parting to weak medium granular; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine and common very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; 2 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
Bk1--3 to 19 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and many very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 10 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 16 inches thick)
Bk2--19 to 30 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; 10 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 14 inches thick)
Bk3--30 to 42 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; 10 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 19 inches thick)
BCk1--42 to 55 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) very fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; few fine and common very fine tubular pores; 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (9 to 16 inches thick)
BCk2--55 to 72 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; few fine and common very fine tubular pores; one stratum of gravelly loamy coarse sand 5 to 10 inches thick at the base of horizon; 10 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 28 inches thick)
BCk3--72 to 83 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) very fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 20 inches thick)
2BCk4--83 to 96 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; 25 percent gravel; slightly and strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 13 inches thick)
3BCk5--96 to 120 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) very fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as very few fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; on the Pojoaque Indian Reservation about 0.75 mile southwest of Cuyamungue; 1,000 feet east and 1,200 feet north of the southwest corner of section 20, T.19N., R.9E.; USGS Horcado Ranch 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; Latitude 35 degrees 51 minutes 33.5 seconds North and Longitude 106 degrees 0 minutes 51 seconds West, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soil moisture control section is intermittently moist in some part from July to October and December to March. The soils are driest in May and June. The soil moisture regime is aridic bordering on ustic.
Mean annual soil temperature - 52 to 54 degrees F.
Depth to base of cambic horizon - 27 to 43 inches
Volcanic glass content: 5 to 15 percent in the coarse silt plus sand fraction
Lithology of rock fragments: granite, gneiss, schist, or sandstone
Reaction - slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline in the surface; moderately alkaline in the subsoil and substratum
Salinity, mmhos/cm - 0 to 2
Sodicity, SAR - 0 to 4
Particle-size control section (weighted averages)
Silicate clay content: 8 to 14 percent
Sand content: 50 to 75 percent
Fine sand or coarser content: 15 to 40 percent
Rock fragment content: 5 to 10 percent gravel
Mica content: 1 to 5 percent (by grain count)
A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Rock fragments: 0 to 10 percent gravel
Bk horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, or loam
Rock fragments: 5 to 10 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 2 to 8 percent
Upper BCk horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: very fine sandy loam or fine sandy loam
Rock fragments: 5 to 10 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 2 to 8 percent
Lower BCk or C horizons
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 through 6, dry or moist
Texture: very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loamy very fine sand; some pedons have stratified horizons of very fine sandy loam to gravelly coarse sand; some pedons have strata of gravelly coarse sand or gravelly loamy sand;
Rock fragments: 5 to 15 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 2 to 8 percent
Other features: some pedons have 15 to 40 percent soft sandstone or siltstone (pararock) fragments over paralithic contacts between 60 and 80 inches
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Begay(UT), Delvalle(NM), Ignacio(NM), Kitsili(NM), Ojito(NM) (T), Parida(NM), Remmit(CO), Sandspring(AZ) (T), and Turnback(WY) series. Begay and Kitsili soils do not have significant amounts of mica in the silt and sand fractions. Delvalle soils are less than 27 inches to the base of the cambic horizon. Ignacio soils are moderately deep to hard bedrock. Ojito and Turnback soils are moderately deep to soft bedrock. Parida and Sandspring soils have hues of 10YR. In addition, Parida soils also have 15 to 35 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section. Remmit soils have hues of 10YR and 2.5Y. In addition, Remmit and Turnback soils are in the Western Great Plains (LRR-G) and are more moist in May and June.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Koshare soils are on toeslopes of ridges and hills, and treads of fan remnants. They formed in eolian material and alluvium derived from Precambrian granite, gneiss, and schist and Tertiary micaceous sandstone and siltstone. Slopes are 2 to 15 percent. Elevation ranges from 5,400 to 6,800 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 9 to 12 inches with about 45 percent falling as rain from high-intensity convective thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual air temperature is 50 to 52 degrees F. The frost-free period is 150 to 170 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Ojito soil and the Innacutt, Quarteles, El Rancho, and Walkibout soils. Innacutt soils do not have diagnostic horizons and occur on inset fans and narrow flood plains of gulches. Ojito soils occur on adjacent beveled summits, shoulders, and footslopes. Quarteles soils are loamy, very shallow to soft bedrock, do not have diagnostic subsurface horizons, and occur on adjacent backslopes. El Rancho soils are fine-silty and occur on toeslopes of ridges and hills. Walkibout soils are coarse-silty, do not have diagnostic subsurface horizons, and occur on side slopes of gulches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; low surface runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Koshare soils are used for urban development, livestock grazing, irrigated cropland, and recreation. The historic climax vegetation is blue grama, sand dropseed, spike dropseed, galeta, black grama, Bigelow's rubber rabbitbrush. The ecological site is Sandy (R036XB113NM).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Koshare soils are of moderate extent on the southeastern Espanola Basin part of the Basin and Range province in northcentral New Mexico. The MLRA is 36.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; Santa Fe Area Soil Survey Update; 2008. Koshare is a the name of a group of Indian dancers.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of about 3 inches. (A horizon)
Cambic horizon - The zone from 3 to about 42 inches. (Bk1, Bk2, and Bk3 horizons)
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 40 inches (Bk1, Bk2, and part of the Bk3 horizon)
Series control section - The zone from 0 to 60 inches.
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy Tenth Edition, 2006.