LOCATION MENEFEE                 UT+CO NM

Established Series
Rev. GWL/SJJ/KLS
04/2018

MENEFEE SERIES

The Menefee series consists very shallow and shallow, well drained soils that formed in slope alluvium or colluvium over residuum derived from shale. Menefee soils are on hillslopes, mesas, breaks and mountainsides. Slope ranges from 2 to 80 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 356 mm and the mean annual air temperature is 8.9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, active, calcareous, mesic, shallow Aridic Ustorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Menefee clay loam - rangeland. (Colors are for air dry soils unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 5 cm; brown (10YR 4/3) clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak thin platy structure that parts to weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky, and moderately plastic; few fine roots; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 cm thick)

Bw--5 to 25 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky, and moderately plastic; many fine, medium and coarse roots; few fine pores; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); clear wavy boundary. (15 to 43 cm thick)

Bk--25 to 36 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky, and moderately plastic; many fine, medium and coarse roots; few fine pores; violently effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7); gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 30 cm thick)

Cr--36 cm; decomposing fractured shale.

TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, Utah; 20 kilometers east of Monticello school and 61 meters north of U. S. Highway 160; in Sec. 12, T.34S., R.25E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature is 8.3 to 12.2 degrees C.
Reaction (pH): 7.4 to 9.0

Depth to decomposing shale (paralithic contact) ranges from 20 to 50 cm. Very thin eolian deposits give irregular patterns of slightly more brown color and sandier texture on the surface.

A horizon
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 through 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Rock fragments: 0 to 30 percent
Reaction (pH): 7.4 to 8.4

Bw and Bk horizon
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist
Chroma: 2 through 5, dry or moist
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam, silt loam or loam
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Reaction (pH): 7.4 to 9.0
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent; some pedons contain up to 35 percent soft siltstone or shale para-fragments

COMPETING SERIES:
Sojourn (AZ) - have hues of 2.5YR or 5YR

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform - hillslopes, knolls, mesas, breaks, plateaus and mountain slopes
Elevation - 1,430 to 2,440 meters
Slopes - 2 to 80 percent
Parent material - slope alluvium or colluvium over residuum weathered from shale or siltstone
Mean annual air temperature - 6.7 to 11.1 degrees C.
Mean annual precipitation - 305 to 410 mm
Frost-free period - 90 to 160 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: None listed.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; rapid runoff; moderately slow or slow permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for rangeland, woodland, recreation, and wildlife habitat. Vegetation is pinyon, juniper, gambel oak, serviceberry, Morman tea, antelope bitterbrush, birchleaf mountain mahogany, sagebrush, owl clover, Indian ricegrass, and galleta grass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Utah, Western Colorado and Northern New Mexico. LRR D, E; MLRA 35, 36, 47, 48A. Large extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Western Colorado Reconnaissance, 1939.

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon include:
Paralithic contact - 36 cm to fractured bedrock
Particle-size control section - 0 to 36 cm

Menefee soils have a mesic temperature regime and are in an ustic soil moisture regime bordering on aridic.

The classification was changed in 1992 from Typic Ustorthents to Aridic Ustorthents.

Classification is based on the assumption that the soil does not have a cambic or calcic horizon. Laboratory data is needed to verify carbonate content.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.