LOCATION MAVERICK                TX

Established Series
CLN-WJG-GWH
11/2010

MAVERICK SERIES

The Maverick series consists of soils that are moderately deep to densic material, well drained soils. These gently sloping to strongly sloping soils formed in calcareous, saline clayey residuum weathered from Cretaceous and Tertiary mudstone. Slope ranges from 1 to 10 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 22 degrees C (72 degrees F) and mean annual precipitation is about 610 mm (24 in).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, hyperthermic Aridic Haplustepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Maverick clay in rangeland; elevation is 270 m (886 ft). (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

A--0 to 13 cm (0 to 5 in); grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate fine and very fine angular blocky; very hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; common fine roots; few fine pores; few wormcasts; very slightly effervescent; slightly saline; few quartzite pebbles in soil and on surface; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (thickness of the A horizon is 5 to 25 cm [2 to 10 in])

Bkz--13 to 53 cm (5 to 21 in); light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) clay, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; moderate fine and medium angular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; common fine roots; few fine pores; few streaks and pockets of grayish brown clay; shiny pressure surfaces of peds; 2 percent fine calcium carbonate masses; few threads of neutral salts; violently effervescent; moderately saline; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (thickness of the Bkz horizon is 20 to 76 cm [8 to 30 in])

Bkyz--53 to 66 cm (21 to 26 in); pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) clay, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) moist weak angular blocky structure; very hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; 10 percent masses, films and threads of gypsum, calcium carbonate and other salts; few fine faint yellow and brownish yellow masses of iron accumulation; violently effervescent; moderately saline; moderately alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (thickness of the Bkyz horizon is 0 to 23 cm [0 to 9 in])

Cdkyz--66 to 203 cm (26 to 80 in); pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) fractured weathered mudstone bedrock; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) moist; moderate fine and medium platy rock structure; very hard, firm; horizontal spacing between cracks is less than 10 cm (4 in); 2 percent pockets and threads of calcium carbonate and other salts; few seams of gypsum crystals about 12 mm (1/2 in) thick; few fine faint brownish yellow masses of iron accumulation; violently effervescent; moderately saline; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Maverick County, Texas; from Eagle Pass, 2.3 miles east of courthouse on U.S. Highway 277, 3.9 miles northeast on U.S. Highway 57, 50 feet south into rangeland. Eagle Pass East,Texas USGS topographic Quadrangle; Latitude: 28 degrees, 45 minutes, 6.2 seconds N; Longitude: 100 degrees, 25 minutes, 37.8 seconds W,; NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: An aridic ustic moisture regime. The soil moisture control section is moist in some or all parts for less than 90 consecutive days in normal years. June to August and December to February are the driest months, while September to November and March to May are the wettest months.
Solum thickness: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 in) to densic material (weathered mudstone bedrock)
Mean annual soil temperature: 22 to 24 degrees C (72 to 76 degrees F)
Particle-size control section (weighted average)
Clay content: 35 to 55 percent
Coarse Fragments: 0 to 5 percent
CEC/clay ratio: 0.6 to 1.00

A horizon
Hue: 10YR to 5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: clay loam, silty clay, clay or their gravelly or very gravelly counterparts
Clay content: 30 to 55 percent
Coarse fragments: 0 to 50 percent
Base saturation: 80 to 100 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 15 percent
EC (dS/m): 2 to 4
Gypsum: 0 to 2 percent
SAR: 13 to 20
Effervescence: very slightly or slightly effervescent
Reaction: slightly to strongly alkaline

Bkz and Bkyz horizons (Bw Where present)
Hue: 10YR to 5Y
Value: 5 to 7
Chroma: 2 to 6
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam, or clay
Clay content: 35 to 55 percent
Redox accumulations: none to few, fine to medium, faint or distinct, with diffuse to sharp boundaries.
Coarse fragments: 0 to 10 percent
Pararock fragments: 0 to 5 percent
Base saturation: 100 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 25 percent, averaging less than 15 percent. Where the percentage is greater than 15 percent, the horizon is less than 15 cm (6 in) thick
Identifiable secondary carbonate: 1 to 20 percent, fine or medium, films, masses, threads on surfaces of peds and within peds
EC (dS/m): 4 to 16
Gypsum: 0 to 10 percent
SAR: 13 to 20
Effervescence: strong or violent effervescence
Reaction: slightly or moderately alkaline

Cdkyz horizon
Hue: 10YR to 5Y
Value: 5 to 7
Chroma: 2 to 6
Texture: clay or clay loam
Clay content: 35 to 55 percent
Gypsum: 0 to 10 percent
Effervescence: strong or violent effervescence
Reaction: slightly or moderately alkaline

Cdkyz is uncemented, weathered mudstone or claystone densic bedrock. This material can be intermingled with weakly cemented sandstone.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series in the same family. Similar soils are the Calendar (NM), Catarina (TX), Colview (CO), Garceno (TX), Viboras (TX), and Verick( TX) series.
Calendar and Colview soils: are in a mesic soil temperature regime; in addition, Calendar soils have mixed mineralogy.
Catarina soils: are very deep and have slickensides.
Garceno soils: have mixed mineralogy and are very deep.
Viboras soils: have mixed mineralogy and hues of 7.5YR or redder.
Verick soils: are shallow over weathered sandstone.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: residuum derived from Cretaceous and Tertiary shale
Landform: ridges and interfluves
Slope: 1 to 10 percent
Mean annual air temperature: 22 to 24 degrees C (72 to 76 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation: 432 to 660 mm (17 to 26 in)
Precipitation pattern: moist spring and fall months and dry summers and winter months
Frost-free period: 260 to 345 days
Elevation: 76 to 274 m (250 to 900 ft)
Thornthwaite annual P-E indices: 20 to 32

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Brundage, Catarina, Chacon, Garceno, Montell, Pryor, and Verick series.
Brundage soils: are on terraces, have a natric horizon and are in the fine-loamy family.
Chacon soils: very deep; on a slightly lower position; have a mollic epipedon.
Catarina and Montell soils: on a lower position
Pryor soils: on a slightly lower position; have a calcic horizon.
Verick soils: shallow; on summit positions of ridges; have less than 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is slow. Runoff is medium on slopes less the 1 percent, high on slopes of 1 to 5 percent and very high on 5 to 10 percent slopes.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The grasses consist of a sparse cover of curlymesquite, hairy tridens, tobosa, red grama, and threeawn. Woody vegetation is mostly scrubby mesquite, blackbrush, guayacan, and twisted acacia. The ecological site is Rolling Hardland, PE 19-31 (R083BY431TX).

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Rio Grande Plain, Texas; LRR I; MLRA 83B. The series is of large extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Maverick County, Texas, 1911.

REMARKS: Classification change from Ustollic Camborthids to Aridic Haplustepts based on geographic distribution of the series, rainfall patterns, and vegetative production and composition.
Particle size control section: 25 to 66 cm (10 to 26 in).
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 13 cm (0 to 5 in) (A horizon).
Densic contact: the contact with weathered mudstone bedrock at 66 cm (26 in) (Cdkyz horizon).

ADDITIONAL DATA: Sampled for Texas State Dept. of Highways and Public Trans. data in Maverick County (S70TX162-014), Zavala County (S77TX507-002), and LaSalle County (THD-84-TX-283-5). NSSL data number S02TX-505-005 from Zapata Co. Particle-size analysis was performed at the local project office for 2 pedons from Duval County and 3 pedons from McMullen County.

TAXONOMIC VERSION: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Eleventh Edition, 2010.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.