LOCATION MOUNT HOME COEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, calcareous, frigid Typic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Mount Home very cobbly sandy loam - grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 5 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very cobbly sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; moderate, fine, granular structure; soft, very friable; 60 percent cobbles and some pebbles; calcareous; moderatley alkaline; gradual, wavy boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
AC--5 to 17 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very cobbly sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak, coarse, subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very firable; 60 percent cobbles and some pebbles; calcareous; moderately alkaline; gradual, wavy boundary. (4 to 14 inches thick)
Ck--17 to 60 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very cobbly sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable; 60 percent cobbles and some pebbles; vosob;e secpmdaru calcium carbonate occuring as concretions, in thin seams and streaks, and as coatings on the coarse fragments; calcarous; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Alamosa County, Colorado; 1,500 feet east and 1,200 feet south of the NW corner of Sec. 31, T. 28 S., R. 73 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Mean annual soil temperature ranges from 44 to 46 degrees F, and mean summer soil temperature ranges from 61 to 64 degrees F. Depth to uniformly calcareous material ranges from 0 to 16 inches. Depth to continuous subhorizons of genetically concentrated visible secondary calcium carbonate and/or sulfate ranges from 12 to 40 inches. The control section is usually very cobbly sandy loam with clay ranging 5 to 18 percent in the fine earth fraction and more than 35 percent sand coarser than very fine sand. Rock fragments range from 35 to 80 percent and range in size from 1/2 to 10 inches in diameter, but are dominantly larger than 3 inches in diameter.
The A horizon has hue of 2.5Y through 7.5YR, value of 5 through 7, 3 through 6 moist, and chroma of 1 through 4. It is mildly or moderately alkaline.
The C horizon has hue of 2.5Y through 7.5YR, value of 6 or 7, 5 or 6 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is moderately or strongly alkaline and has 2 to about 14 percent calcium carbonate equivalent in the fine earth fraction.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the (T)Hermering series. Hermering soils have more than 18 percent clay in the particle size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Mount Home soils are on alluvial fans and valley side slopes. Slope gradients are 2 to 30 percent. The soils formed in veru cobbly and gravelly alluvium from mixed rock. The average annual precipitation is 6 to 9 inches with peak periods of precipitation in the spring and early summer. The mean annual temperature is 42 to 44 degrees F, and the mean summer temperature is 59 to 62 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Costilla and Uracca soils. Costilla soils are coarse textured. Uracca soils have mollic epipedons and argillic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well to somewhat excessively drained; slow runoff; rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used principally as native pastureland; however, they are irrigated under sprinkler systems in some localities. Principal native vegetation is needleandthread grass, Indian ricegrass, blue grama, fourwing saltbush, and thickspike wheatgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-central Colorado. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Alamosa County, Colorado, 1974.
REMARKS: Last updated by the state 5/81.
The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Lakewood MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.