LOCATION MUDGETTS                NM

Established Series
Rev. AJM, WJG
08/2018

MUDGETTS SERIES

The Mudgetts series consists of deep, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from limestone and sandstone sources over a petrocalcic horizon. Mudgetts soils are on stream terraces and alluvial fans. Slopes are 1 to 10 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 14 inches and mean annual temperature is about 62 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Ustic Petrocambids

TYPICAL PEDON: Mudgetts very fine sandy loam--on a stream terrace sloping 1 to 2 percent to the south east at 4,513 feet elevation-National Parkland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described on April 6th, 2011, the soil was dry from 0 to 19 inches and slightly moist throughout the rest of the profile to bedrock.)

A1--0 to 3 cm, (0 to 1.2 in); yellowish red (5YR 5/6) very fine sandy loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores and few fine tubular pores; non effervescent (about1 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); five percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.3); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)

A2--3 to 15 cm, (1.2 to 5.9 in); reddish brown (5YR 5/3) silt loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few medium and common fine tubular pores; non effervescent (about1 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); three percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual smooth boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)

Bw1--15 to 48 cm, (5.9 to 18.9 in); reddish brown (5YR 4/4) silt loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine wedge-shaped aggregates; very hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine and common very fine roots; few fine and medium tubular pores; many discontinuous, distinct pressure faces on vertical faces of peds; 3 reversible trans-horizon cracks per meter; non effervescent (about1 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); three percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.2); diffuse smooth boundary. (10 to 15 inches thick)

Bw2--48 to 108 cm, (18.9 to 42.2 in); red (2.5YR 4/6) silty clay loam, dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine wedge-shaped aggregates; extremely hard, friable, very sticky and very plastic; very few fine and common very fine roots; few fine and medium irregularly shaped pores along vertical ped faces; very many discontinuous, distinct pressure faces on vertical faces of peds; 3 reversible trans-horizon cracks per meter; non effervescent (about1 percent calcium carbonate equivalent); seven percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (20 to 30 inches thick)

Bkkm--108 to 200 cm, (42.5 to 78.7 in); very strongly cemented petrocalcic horizon consisting of cemented calcium carbonate with embedded rock fragments

TYPE LOCATION: Eddy County, New Mexico; 1 mile up-trail from the intersection of Carlsbad National Park Loop Road and Guadalupe Ridge Trail, and 40 yards to the NW; USGS Serpentine Bends 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; UTM zone 13 546356 Northing 3560465 Easting NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: In normal years this soil is driest during May and June and moist in the upper part for up to 90 cumulative days during the growing season. The soil moisture regime is aridic bordering on ustic.

Mean annual soil temperature - 63 to 65 degrees F
Depth to base of ochric epipedon - 4 to 8 in (10 to 20 cm)
Depth to bedrock contact: 32 to 53 in (80 to 135 cm)

Particle-size control section weighted averages -
Silicate clay content: 27 to 35 percent
Sand content: 10 to 30 percent, fine sand or coarser content: 5 to 15 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent total; 0 to 10 percent gravel; 0 to 1 percent cobbles
Calcium Carbonate Equivalent: 0 to 5 percent

A horizons
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 3 to 5 dry or moist
Chroma: 4 to 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Texture: loam, silt loam, silty clay loam
Clay content: 10 to 25 percent
Rock fragments content: 0 to 15 percent gravel; 0 to 1 percent cobbles

Bw horizons
Hue: 5YR, 2.5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 3 to 5 dry or moist
Chroma: 4 to 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam, and silt loam.
Clay content: 25 to 35 percent
Rock fragments content: 0 to 15 percent gravel; 0 to 1 percent cobbles

Bkkm horizons
Strongly cemented to indurated petrocaclcic horizon with embedded rock fragments

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: MUDGETTS soils are on treads of stream terraces and alluvial fans. They formed in alluvium derived from Permian aged limestone and sandstone. Slopes are 1 to 15 percent. Elevation ranges from 4,000 to 5,500 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 12 to 16 inches with about 45 percent falling as rain from high-intensity convective thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual air temperature is 61 to 63 degrees F. The frost-free period is 172 to 186 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Lechuguilla, Choza, and Pinery soils. Lechuguilla soils are Shallow to limestone bedrock and occur on upland slopes of mountains and hills. Choza soils are shallow to petrocalcic horizons and have a loamy-skeletal particle size family class. Pinery soils are very deep, have a mollic epipedon and a carbonatic mineralogy class as well as a loamy skeletal particle size class.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; low to negligible surface runoff; saturated hydraulic conductivity ranges from 0.1 to 10 m/sec through the solum.

USE AND VEGETATION: Mudgetts soils are used for rangeland, National Park recreation, and wildlife habitat. The current vegetation consists of grasses such as sideoats grama, cane bluestem, blue grama, plains lovegrass, and sand dropseed; shrubs such as vine mesquite, catclaw mimosa, and redberry juniper; and forbs such as desert verbena, and scarlet globemallow.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mudgetts soils are of small extent in the Guadalupe Mountains section of the Basin and Range province in south eastern New Mexico. The MLRA is 70D.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Eddy County, New Mexico; Soil Survey of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, 2012.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon- The zone from the soil surface to a depth of about 6 inches (15 cm). (A horizons)
Cambic Horizon- The zone from 6 to 43 inches (15 to 108 cm). (Bw horizons)
Petrocalcic Horizon- The zone from 43 to 53 inches (108 to 134 cm). (Bkkm horizon)
Particle-size control section- The zone from 10 to 40 inches (25 to 100 cm). (in the Bw horizons)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Eleventh Edition, 2010.
Revised for the correlation of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, October, 2016, NMS

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.