LOCATION MONZA NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, thermic Ustic Haplargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Monza gravelly sandy loam - rangeland (colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted).
E--0 to 2 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) gravelly sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; 20 percent gravel; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary (1 to 4 inches thick).
Bt1--2 to 4 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) gravelly sandy loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine roots; 20 percent gravel; coatings of reddish brown silicate clay on sand grains and fine gravel; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary (2 to 5 inches thick).
Bt2--4 to 8 inches; red (2.5YR 4/6) very gravelly sandy clay loam, dark red (2.5YR 3/6) moist; moderate fine and very fine granular structure; slightly hard to very hard, friable, moderately sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; reddish clay films as coatings on gravel; 45 percent gravel; breaks out as aggregates of fine earth and bedrock fragments mainly less than 3 cm. in diameter; the reddish color has permeated many of the rock fragments; a few fragments are very pale brown (10YR 8/2), light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4), pink (7.5YR 7/4) and dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2); slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary (3 to 5 inches thick).
Crtk--8 to 12 inches; dominantly very pale brown (10YR 8/2) fractured bedrock, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) moist; some parts are dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2); horizon has cracks, most of which are in two major directions, nearly vertical and horizontal, the nearly vertical ones are about 2 to 10 cm apart, and quite continuous vertically; these cracks are 1/2 to 1 mm wide and are discontinuously filled with fine earth; the horizontal cracks range from 1/2 cm to about 10 cm apart; some of the thinner rock material between cracks is platy or blocky, with some plates and blocks being 1/2 to 2 cm thick; a smaller number of cracks are diagonal; most bedrock fragments extremely hard, a few are hard or very hard; interiors of some fragments stained red (2.5YR 4/6) or reddish brown (5YR 4/4), reddish brown (2.5YR 5/4); a few roots between fragments; surfaces of some fragments effervesce strongly, interiors are noneffervescent; calcium carbonate filaments on surfaces of some fragments; slightly alkaline; gradual irregular boundary (4 to 6 inches thick).
Crtk2--12 to 37 inches; dominantly very pale brown (10YR 8/2) fractured bedrock, very pale brown (10YR 8/2) moist; some parts dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2); massive; extremely hard; few fine roots; fragment surfaces stained with reddish brown clay; strongly effervescent in places; calcium carbonate occurs as few fine irregular filaments; few fine irregular black filaments and coatings; the two major directions of cracks as in the overlying horizon are also apparent here; the nearly vertical ones are most distinct and common, ranging from about 2 to 10 cm apart and tend to be somewhat wider than the vertical cracks, ranging from about 1 to 3 mm wide; slightly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary (20 to 40 inches thick).
Cr--37 to 60 inches; fractured monzonite bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Dona Ana County, New Mexico; NE 1/4, SW 1/4 of section 36, T.21 S., R.3 E.; 106 degrees 35 minutes 22 seconds west longitude and 32 degrees 27 minutes 13 seconds north latitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during December through April and for more than 20 days cumulative during July through September. Driest during May and June. Ustic aridic soil moisture regime.
Soil temperature: 59 to 66 degrees F.
Depth to free carbonates: 4 to 19 inches
Clay content: 10 to 30 percent
Rock fragments: more than 35 percent in the particle size control section
Depth to fractured bedrock: less than 20 inches
Depth to paralithic contact: 20 to 40 inches
E horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 5YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Bt horizon
Hue: 5YR, 2.5YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 4 through 6, dry or moist
Texture: sandy loam, sandy clay loam
Crtk horizons
Hue: 2.5YR through 2.5Y
Value: 4 through 8 dry, 3 through 7 moist (highly variable due to difference in degree of bedrock staining)
Chroma: 2 through 6, dry or moist
Cr horizon
Fractured monzonite bedrock
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Caralampi (AZ), Coxwell (NM), Hartpeak (CA), Holliday (NM), Hoppswell (NV), Hyrhy (AZ) and Maloy (AZ) series. Caralampi, Holliday, Hoppswell, and Maloy soils are very deep. Coxwell soils are moderately deep to granite. Hyhry soils are moderately deep to paralithic contact and do not have highly fractured bedrock above paralithic contact. Hartpeak soils are moderately deep to lithic contact.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Monza soils are on bedrock piedmonts, hills and ridges. Slopes are 2 to 25 percent. Elevations range from 5,000 to 6,000 feet. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 10 to 13 inches. The mean annual air temperature ranges from 57 to 63 degrees F. The frost-free period is about 160 to 190 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Aladdin, Caralampi, Coxwell, Hawkeye, Nolam, Onate and Summerford soils. Aladdin, Onate and Summerford soils are coarse-loamy. Caralampi and Nolam soils formed in thick alluvium. Coxwell soils formed in 20 to 40 inches of alluvium over weathered bedrock. Other associated soils are unnamed soils that also formed in monzonite, but in which depth to an R horizon ranges from 20 to more than 40 inches. Monza soils are also associated with occasional areas of rock outcrop.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderate runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. Vegetation includes snakeweed, yucca, prickly pear, fluffgrass, blue grama, cholla and beargrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern New Mexico. The series is of small extent. MLRA is 42.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Desert Project, Dona Ana County, New Mexico; 1997.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 4 inches (E, Bt1 horizons)
Argillic horizon - The zone from 2 to 8 inches (Bt1, Bt2 horizons)
Fractured bedrock - The zone from 8 to 37 inches (Crtk1, Crtk2 horizons)
Paralithic contact - The boundary at 37 inches (Cr horizon)
This series represents an identified soil within the Desert Soil-Geomorphology Project, Las Cruces, New Mexico. The project was a study of soils and geomorphology in an arid and semi-arid environment. The series is extensively referenced in many documents, publications and thesis. Revision outside the project area is discouraged in order to preserve the historical concept for research.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data for a similar pedon nearby (S70 NMex-70-1 are on pp. 948-951 in Gile, L.H. and R.B. Grossman. 1979. The Desert Project Soil Monograph. National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia.
Updated competing series section 3/13/08, CEM