LOCATION LATIERRA NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Argiustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Latierra gravelly coarse sandy loam--on a toeslope of an erosional fan remnant sloping 7 percent to the southeast at 6,490 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) gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; 20 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.6); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
Bt1--3 to 7 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) gravelly coarse sandy loam, very dark brown (7.5YR 2.5/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; common very fine irregularly shaped pores; few faint clay bridges between sand grains; 25 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 9 inches thick)
Bt2--7 to 12 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/3) gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few coarse, few medium, few fine, and common very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores and few very fine tubular pores; few faint and few distinct clay bridges between sand grains; 25 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.8); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 7 inches thick)
Btk1--12 to 20 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) and brown (7.5YR 5/3) gravelly coarse sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few medium, few fine, and common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; few faint clay bridges between sand grains; 25 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as common fine irregularly shaped coats on faces of peds and on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 15 inches thick)
Btk2--20 to 26 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) gravelly sandy clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure; moderately hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium, few fine, and common very fine roots; few fine and few very fine tubular pores; few distinct clay films on faces of peds and few distinct clay bridges between sand grains; 20 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as common fine irregularly shaped coats on faces of peds and on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 13 inches thick)
Bk--26 to 37 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) gravelly coarse sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and few very fine roots; few fine and common very fine tubular pores; 25 percent gravel; violently effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as many fine irregularly shaped coats on faces of peds and on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 19 inches thick)
BCk--37 to 46 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) very gravelly loamy coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; few lenses of very gravelly coarse sand and gravelly coarse sandy loam; 50 percent gravel; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as common fine irregularly shaped coats on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (9 to 19 inches thick)
C1--46 to 60 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few coarse, few medium, few fine, and few very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 10 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary.
C2--60 to 83 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) very gravelly loamy coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few coarse, few medium, few fine, and few very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; few thin strata of loam; 45 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary.
C3--83 to 110 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) gravelly coarse sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; common thin strata and lenses of gravelly loamy coarse sand; 30 percent gravel; slightly effervescent, moderately alkaline (pH 8.0). (Combined thickness of the C horizons is more than 60 inches.)
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; about 1 mile west-southwest of the old Horcado Ranch; 2,300 feet east and 2,450 feet north of the southwest corner of section 14, T.18N., R.8E.; USGS Horcado Ranch 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; Latitude 35 degrees 47 minutes 25.5 seconds North and Longitude 106 degrees 3 minutes 49 seconds West, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soil moisture control section is moist in all parts during the 60 days following the winter solstice. It is moist in some part less than 40 percent and moist in all parts less than 25 percent of the time when the soil temperature at 20 inches is above 41 degrees F. The soils are driest in May and June. The soil moisture regime is ustic bordering on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature - 50 to 52 degrees F.
Thickness of mollic epipedon - 11 to 20 inches
Depth to calcareous material - 11 to 20 inches
Depth to base of argillic horizon - 24 to 36 inches
Lithology of rock fragments: granite, gneiss, and schist
Organic matter content - 1 to 4 percent in the mollic epipedon
Reaction - neutral in the surface; neutral to slightly alkaline in the upper part of the subsoil; moderately alkaline in the lower part of the subsoil and in the upper part of the substratum; slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline in the lower part of the substratum.
Salinity, mmhos/cm - 0 to 1 in the surface, subsoil, and upper part of the substratum; 0 to 4 in the lower part of the substratum
Sodicity, SAR - 0 to 1
Particle-size control section (weighted averages)
Silicate clay content: 10 to 18 percent
Sand content: 55 to 70 percent
Fine sand or coarser content: 50 to 65 percent
Rock fragment content: 20 to 30 percent gravel
A horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2.5 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Rock fragments: 20 to 30 percent gravel
Other features: some pedons also have thin, overlying AC horizons in recent alluvial mantles.
Bt1 and Bt2 horizons
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2.5 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture: gravelly coarse sandy loam or gravelly sandy loam
Rock fragments: 20 to 30 percent gravel
Btk1 and Btk2 horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Texture: gravelly coarse sandy loam, gravelly sandy loam, gravelly sandy clay loam, or gravelly loam
Rock fragments: 20 to 30 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 5 percent
Bk horizon (not in all pedons)
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: gravelly coarse sandy loam, gravelly sandy loam, gravelly loam, gravelly sandy clay loam, or very gravelly coarse sandy loam
Rock fragments: 15 to 30 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 3 to 8 percent
BCk and C horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry, 3 through 6 moist
Texture: stratified very gravelly coarse sand to loam
Rock fragments: total range is 10 to 50 percent, averaging 20 to 40 percent gravel
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 5 percent
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Julesburg,
Mainter,
Manter,
Mawer,
Torrington,
Truckton, and
Vitrina series. Julesburg, Mainter, Manter, Mawer, Torrington, and Truckton soils average less than 15 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section and the solum.
Torrington soils are moderately deep to soft bedrock.
Truckton soils are noncalcareous to depths of more than 60 inches.
Vitrina soils have an aridic moisture regime bordering on ustic.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Latierra soils are on toeslopes of eroded fan remnants. They formed in slope alluvium derived from Precambrian granite, gneiss, and schist. Slopes are 5 to 15 percent. Elevation ranges from 5,500 to 7,300 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 12 to 14 inches with about 45 percent falling as rain from high-intensity convective thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual air temperature is 48 to 50 degrees F. The frost-free period is 140 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Lamesilla and Levante soils. Lamesilla soils have recent alluvial mantles over thick mollic epipedons and occur on adjacent, frequently flooded inset fans. Levante soils are sandy and occur on narrow flood plains of arroyos.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; low surface runoff; moderately rapid and moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: Latierra soils are used for urban development, livestock grazing, and recreation. The historic climax vegetation is blue grama, black grama, galleta, sideoats grama, oneseed juniper, twoneedle pinyon. The ecological site is Gravelly(R036XB114NM).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Latierra soils are of small 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. Latierra is a suburb of Santa Fe.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 12 inches. (A, Bt1, and Bt2 horizons)
Argillic horizon - The zone from 3 to 26 inches. (Bt1, Bt2, Btk1, and Btk2 horizons)
Particle-size control section - The zone from 3 to 23 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Btk1, and part of the Btk2 horizon)
Series control section - The zone from 0 to 60 inches.
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.