LOCATION LITLE                   NM+CO

Established Series
Rev. DSP-BDS-JBC-ACT
05/2017

LITLE SERIES

The Litle series consists of moderately deep, well drained, very slowly permeable soils that formed in residuum derived from calcareous, moderately saline, and gypsiferous clayey shale. Litle soils are on uplands and have slopes of 1 to 9 percent. The mean annual precipitation is 14 to 18 inches. The mean annual air temperature is about 52 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, mesic Ustic Haplocambids

TYPICAL PEDON: Litle clay, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

A--0 to 3 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay, reddish brown (2.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine granular structure with upper 1 inch being weak medium platy; hard, firm; scattered limestone fragments on surface; many fine fibrous roots; strongly calcareous; mildly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 10 inches thick)

By--3 to 13 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) clay, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; moderate medium and coarse angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; few shale fragments; few threads of salt or gypsum; common fine fibrous roots; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 14 inches thick)

Bky--13 to 22 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) clay; olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; weak medium angular blocky structure; very hard, extremely firm; few fine fibrous roots; thin lenses of shale; common distinct threads of calcium carbonate and gypsum crystals; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 20 inches thick)

Cr--22 to 60 inches; olive brown, gray and yellow shale that contains lenses of gypsum crystals, many prominent threads of calcium carbonate between shale layers; strongly calcareous.

TYPE LOCATION: Harding County, New Mexico; 500 feet north and 200 feet west of the SE corner section 9, T.21 N., R.25E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum is about 20 to 30 inches thick. Depth to shale ranges from 20 to 40 inches. The control section is 35 to 55 percent clay.

The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6 dry, 3 or 4
moist, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is silt loam, clay loam, silty clay loam or clay.

The B horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is clay, silty clay or silty clay loam.

The Cr horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 to 5
moist, and chroma of 2 to 4. It has crystals of gypsum amounting to 2 to 12 percent in the form of crystals, threads and masses. Gypsum averages less than 1.5 percent by weight.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Camino, Gish, and Losmarios series. Similar soils are the Anamite, Colona, Dominquez, Galisteo, Heldt, and Vermejo series. Camino soils have a paralithic contact between 40 and 60 inches. Gish and Losmarios soils are very deep. Anamite soils have thermic temperature. Bufton soils do not have a paralithic contact within depth of 60 inches. Colona, Dominquez, and Heldt soils have smectitic mineralogy. Galisteo and Vermejo soils do not have a cambic horizon. Galisteo soils also have hue less yellow than 10YR. Ordway soils have more than 1.5 percent gypsum in the control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Litle soils are on uplands. They formed in fine textured, calcareous, moderately saline, gypsiferous fine textured material weathered from shale. Slopes are dominantly 1 to 3 percent but range from 1 to 9 percent. The average annual precipitation is 14 to 18 inches. The average annual temperature is 50 to 55 degrees F. The frost free season is 140 to 160 days. Elevations range from 4,400 to 6,700 feet.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Berthoud, La Brier, Manzano, Mion, and Penrose soils. Berthoud, La Brier, and Manzano soils have a mollic epipedon and an argillic horizon. Penrose soils are shallow to limestone. Mion soils do not have a cambic horizon.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is very slow. Runoff is very high.

USE AND VEGETATION: Native rangeland. Vegetation is principally western wheatgrass, alkali sacaton, blue grama, galleta, sideoats grama, and vine mesquite.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Principally in northern New Mexico and possibly adjoining Colorado. The series is of moderate extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: PHOENIX, ARIZONA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Harding County, New Mexico (Mansker Project), 1969.

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

Ochric epipedon: 0 to 3 inches. (A horizon)

ADDITIONAL DATA: Information is available from sample S63(67)NM-11-42, Laboratory Number 67L 749.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.