LOCATION LINGUA                  TX

Established Series
Rev. LEL/JLR/ACT
10/2012

LINGUA SERIES

The Lingua series consists of soils that are very shallow to shallow to basalt bedrock. They are well drained soils that have moderately permeable surface layers over very slowly permeable igneous bedrock. They formed in residuum weathered mainly from basalt of the Cottonwood Springs Formation. These gently undulating to very steep soils are on hills and mountains. Slopes range from 1 to 60 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 12 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 66 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, nonacid, thermic Lithic Ustic Torriorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Lingua very gravelly sandy clay loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

A--0 to 8 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/3) very gravelly sandy clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate fine granular; slightly hard, friable; many very fine and fine roots; 50 percent subrounded basalt gravel; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)

R-- 8 to 60 inches; unweathered basalt bedrock, noneffervescent.

TYPE LOCATION: Brewster County, Texas; from the junction of U.S. Highway 90 and Texas Highway 118 in Alpine, 33.5 miles south on Texas Highway 118 entrance of 02 Ranch headquarters, 5.3 miles west on road to 02 Ranch headquarters, 2.5 miles northwest through Cottonwood Springs, 2.0 miles west on ranch road to road junction, 1.2 miles southeast and west on ranch road, site is 50 feet south of road in range. Duff Springs U.S.G.S. Quadrangle sheet. Latitude: 29 degrees, 55 minutes, 14.0 seconds N; Longitude: 103 degrees, 41 minutes, 50.0 seconds W. UTM coordinates: 625755 m E, 3310696 m N, Zone 13.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture - Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July-September. The soil is moist for less than 90 cumulative days during the growing season in the control section. The soil does not receive significant amounts of moisture in the moisture control section during winter months. Ustic aridic soil moisture regime.

Depth to igneous bedrock: 4 to 15 inches

Clay content: 18 to 35 percent

Organic carbon content: less that 2 percent

Coarse fragments: 35 to 80 percent; mostly gravel but some cobbles

Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline

Rock fragments cover 60 to 90 percent of the soil surface

A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 3 to 5, dry or moist
Chroma: 2 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam
Effervescence: noncalcareous and noneffervescent in the upper part, and ranges to slightly effervescent in the lower part
Calcium carbonate content: 0 to 1 percent

R horizon
Unweathered basalt bedrock
The unweathered bedrock has fractures greater than 4 inches apart
Calcium carbonate coatings are present in vertical fractures of some pedons

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Coyanosa (TX), Lampshire (AZ), and Reduff (TX) series. Coyanosa soils average less than 18 percent clay. Lampshire soils have clay content less than 20 percent in the particle size control section. Reduff soils have more than 2 percent organic carbon and hues of 2.5YR and 5YR.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Lingua soils are on hills and mountains. Slopes are 1 to 60 percent. The soils formed in residuum weathered mainly from basalt of the Cottonwood Springs Formation. Mean annual precipitation is 10 to 15 inches, and mean annual air temperature is 62 to 68 degrees F. Frost free period is 210 to 250 days, and elevation is 3,500 to 5,000 feet.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Chilicotal, Ohtwo, Sauceda, Scotal, and Reduff series. Chilicotal soils are very deep, have a calcic horizon, and developed on alluvial fans. Ohtwo soils are very deep, have a cambic horizon, and developed in colluvium deposited below escarpments. Sauceda and Scotal soils are calcareous to the surface, formed from tuff, and are on similar positions.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability of the soil material is moderate. Permeability of the basalt bedrock is very slow to impervious. Runoff is low on 1 to 5 percent slopes, medium on 5 to 20 percent slopes, and high on slopes greater than 20 percent.

USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for livestock grazing. Native vegetation is desert grassland with scattered woody plants. Woody plants include whitethorn acacia, knifeleaf condalia, prickly pear, cholla, spiny allthorn, dalia, and nolina. Grasses are black grama, sideoats grama, spider threeawn, and Arizona cottontop. Forbs include eriogonum, wild buckwheat, and noseburn.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: West Texas. MLRA 42. The soil is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Brewster County, Texas, 1997. The name is coined from Terlingua Creek. Lingua soils were formerly included in the Lajitas series.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 8 inches (A horizon). The soil meets all requirements for the mollic epipedon, except some part of the epidpedon is moist for less than 90 days cummulative in normal years during times when the soil temperature at a depth of 20 inches is 41 degrees F.

Lithic contact - the boundary at 8 inches (R horizon)

Ustic feature - the soil has an aridic moisture regime that borders on the ustic moisture regime.

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Eleventh Edition, 2010

Update and revisions for the recorrelation of Brewster County, TX, Main Part; series updated to clarify differences between competing series June 2008, Marfa MSSL.

Revised for the correlation of Big Bend National Park, TX, Oct. 2010, CEM

Revised for the correlation of Presidio County, Texas ; Oct, 2012, WWJ

ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL S94TX-43-001

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.