LOCATION LATENE NM+AZEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Petronodic Haplocalcids
TYPICAL PEDON: Latene loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 11 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, friable; many fine roots; common fine tubular pores; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (9 to 13 inches thick)
Ck1--11 to 37 inches; pink (7.5YR 8/4) gravelly loam, light reddish brown (2.5YR 7/4) moist; massive; very hard, very firm; few fine roots; few fine tubular pores; 25 percent caliche gravel; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual boundary. (20 to 30 inches thick)
Ck2--37 to 50 inches; pink (7.5YR 7/4) gravelly sandy loam, strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist; massive; soft, very friable; common fine pores; 15 percent caliche gravel; strongly calcareous; strongly alkaline (pH 8.7).
TYPE LOCATION: Valencia County, New Mexico; 20 feet northwest of ranch road that is 1.6 miles northeast of New Mexico Highway 6 which is 12 miles southeast of intersection of New Mexico Highways 6 and 47.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the calcic horizon: 9 to 20 inches
Mean annual soil temperature: 59 to 72 degrees F.
Soil moisture: The moisture control section is dry in all parts more than 3/4 of the time (cumulative) the temperature at a depth of 20 inches exceeds 41 degrees F. Typic aridic moisture regime.
A horizon
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4
Texture: loam or fine sandy loam
This horizon contains about 5 percent lime nodules in some pedons
Ck horizon
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 through 8 dry and moist
Chroma: 2 through 6
Texture: fine sandy loam, loam or silt loam
Clay content: less than 18 percent clay
Rock fragments: 10 to 30 percent caliche gravel
Hardness: upper 18 inches of the Ck horizon ranges from slightly hard to very hard
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 20 to 35 percent (estimated).
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Lavic, Monger and Wink series. Lavic and Monger soils are in the Mohave Desert (MLRA 30) receive mostly winter precipitation and are usually dry from April through November. Wink soils have strongly cemented caliche in layers and fragments; they have calcic horizons at depths greater than 20 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Latene soils are on gently sloping to rolling alluvial fans and stream terraces at elevations of 3,900 to 6,000 feet. Slopes are mainly 1 to 10 percent. The soils formed in mixed old calcareous alluvium. The climate is semiarid to arid continental. At the type location the annual temperature is about 59 degrees F. and the average annual precipitation is 8 inches and freeze-free period is 185 days. Much of the precipitation falls during the summer in heavy thundershowers of short duration. The Thornthwaite P-E Index is 14.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Caliza, Madurez, and Tres Hermanos soils and the competing Nickel and Wink soils. Caliza soils have more than 35 percent rock fragments in the control section. Madurez and Tres Hermanos soils have an argillic horizon and average more than 18 percent clay in the control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; slow or medium runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for native rangeland. Some tracts are subdivided for building developments. Native plants are black grama, sand dropseed, mesa dropseed, Indian ricegrass, galleta, and broom snakeweed.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Latene soils occur in southern New Mexico and are of moderate extent. MLRA 40 and 42.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Valencia County (East Valencia Area), New Mexico, 1971.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 11 inches. (A horizon)
Calcic horizon - the zone from 11 to 50 inches. (Ck1, Ck2 horizons)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999
These soils were formerly included in the Laveen series.