LOCATION MINLITH NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, thermic Lithic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Minlith loamy sand, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soils unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 3 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) loamy sand, reddish brown (5YR 5/4) moist; single grained; loose; common very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 10 percent gravel; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
C--3 to 9 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) very gravelly loamy sand, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable; common very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
Ck--9 to 13 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) very gravelly loamy sand, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable; common very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 50 percent carbonate coated pebbles, 15 percent carbonate coated cobbles; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick)
2R--13 inches; lime coated basalt.
TYPE LOCATION: Dona Ana County, New Mexico; SE corner of NE1/4 section 17, T.29S., R.3W.; 1 mile east of Mt. Riley Ranch west boundary along the Mexican Border; at the extra large border marker.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July-September and December-February. Driest during May and June. Typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Depth to bedrock: 10 to 20 inches
Rock fragments range from in the A horizon and in the C horizon.
Mean annual soil temperature is 59 to 69 degrees F.
A horizon
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4
Texture: loamy sand, sand, or fine sand
Rock fragments: 5 to 20 percent
C horizon
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4
Texture: very gravelly loamy sand or very gravelly loamy fine sand
Rock fragments: 35 to 65 percent
The Ck horizon ranges up to 15 percent in calcium carbonate, ranging from disseminated to some coatings on basalt fragments.
The underlying basalt is fractured in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competitors.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: These soils are nearly level to rolling on uplands with 1 to 15 percent slopes. Elevation ranges from 4,000 to 4,700 feet. The soils formed in coarse textured material of eolian origin and fractured carbonate coated basalt fragments. The average annual precipitation is 8 to 10 inches. The mean annual temperature is 57 to 65 degrees F. and the mean annual summer temperature is 80 to 84 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Luxor, Onite, and Pintura series. Luxor and Onite soils have an argillic horizon. Pintura soils have less than 35 percent rock fragments in the control section. Onite and Pintura soils lack bedrock within depth of 40 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; slow runoff; rapid permeability to the bedrock.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used as rangeland. The vegetation is creosotebush, broom snakeweed, Mormon tea, cholla cactus and mesquite.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern New Mexico. This soil occurs in LRR-D, MLRA 42. This series is moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dona Ana County, New Mexico, 1977.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 3 inches (A horizon)
Entisol feature - The absence of diagnostic subsurface horizons
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999.