LOCATION NARBONA NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, frigid Arenic Haplustalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Narbona very flaggy sand -- on a convex backslope sloping 22 percent to the east at 8,480 feet elevation -- forest. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was dry from the soil surface to 20 inches and moist from 20 to 66 inches.) The surface is covered with 1 inch of pine needles, twigs, oak leaves, and other forest litter.
A-- 0 to 4 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) very flaggy sand, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; moderate thick platy structure parting to weak medium granular; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few medium and fine, and many very fine roots; few very fine interstitial and vesicular pores; 15 percent flagstones, 10 percent cobbles, 10 percent stones and 5 percent channers; neutral (pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick)
E-- 4 to 14 inches; pinkish gray (7.5YR 7/2) very channery sand, brown (7.5YR 5/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few coarse and fine, and common medium and very fine roots; few very fine irregular pores; 20 percent channers, 10 percent pebbles, 10 percent stones and 5 percent flagstones; neutral (pH 6.8); clear wavy boundary. (7 to 11 inches thick)
E and Bt-- 14 to 22 inches; pinkish gray (7.5YR 7/2) very channery sand (E part), brown (7.5YR 5/3) moist, with yellowish red (5YR 5/6) loamy sand lamellae (Bt part), yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few coarse, medium, and fine, and common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; clay coatings on sand grains in few thin lamellae less than 1 cm thick, totaling less than 1 inch(Bt part); 20 percent channers, 10 percent pebbles, 10 percent stones and 5 percent flagstones; neutral (pH 6.8); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 19 inches thick)
Bt1-- 22 to 48 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) very stony sandy clay loam; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few fine and common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; few thin clay films on faces of peds and many clay bridges between sand grains; 20 percent stones, 15 percent pebbles, 10 percent channers and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.6); gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 25 inches thick)
Bt2-- 48 to 66 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) very stony sandy loam; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; few thin clay films on faces of peds and common clay bridges between sand grains; 20 percent stones, 15 percent pebbles, 10 percent channers and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.6).
TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, New Mexico; on the Navajo Indian Reservation about 7.5 miles south of Toadlena; about 1,600 feet west and 400 feet north of the southeast corner of section 17, T.22N., R.19W.; Latitude 36 degrees 8 minutes 5 seconds North, and Longitude 108 degrees 53 minutes 11 seconds West.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Typically, the soil moisture control section (SMCS) is moist in all parts from January to May and intermittently moist in some part from June to December. The SMCS is moist in all parts greater than 40 percent of the time (cumulative), when the soil temperature at 20 inches is 41 degrees F or higher.
Soil temperature - 42 to 45 degrees F.
Depth to albic horizon - 3 to 5 inches
Depth to loamy subsoil - 20 to 40 inches
Depth to base of argillic horizon - 60 inches or more
Silicate clay content, control section weighted average - 18 to 30 percent
Rock fragment content, control section weighted average - 35 to 60 percent
A horizon - Chroma: 2 or 3
Organic carbon content: 0.6 to 2 percent
Texture: very flaggy sand or very flaggy loamy sand
Rock fragments: Total range is 35 to 60 percent
15 to 25 percent flagstones, 5 to 10 percent
are longer than 10 inches
10 to 15 percent cobbles
5 to 10 percent stones or boulders
5 to 10 percent channers, 0 to 5 percent
are longer than 3 inches
E horizon - Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Organic carbon content: 0 to 0.6 percent
Texture: very channery sand or very channery loamy sand
Rock fragments: Total range is 35 to 60 percent
5 to 10 percent pebbles
20 to 30 percent channers, 5 to 10 percent
greater than 3 inches long
5 to 10 percent flagstones, 0 to 5 percent
greater than 10 inches long
5 to 10 percent stones
Other features: Some pedons contain texture modifiers which are very
gravelly, very cobbly or very flaggy
E and Bt horizon - Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4
Organic carbon content: 0 to 0.6 percent
Texture: very channery sand or very channery loamy sand
Rock fragments: Total range is 35 to 60 percent
5 to 10 percent pebbles
20 to 30 percent channers, 5 to 10 percent
greater than 3 inches long
5 to 10 percent flagstones, 0 to 5 percent
greater than 10 inches long
5 to 10 percent stones
Other features: Few thin lamellae less than 1 cm thick,
totaling less than 1 inch; which have dry value of 5 and
chroma as high as 6;
Some pedons contain texture modifiers which
are very flaggy or very stony.
Bt horizons - Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 4 through 6
Organic carbon content: 0 to 0.6 percent
Texture: very stony sandy clay loam or very stony sandy loam
Clay content: 18 to 30 percent
Rock fragments: Total range is 35 to 60 percent
10 to 15 percent pebbles
5 to 10 percent channers, 0 to 5 percent
greater than 3 inches long
5 to 10 percent cobbles
15 to 25 percent stones
Other features: Some pedons contain texture modifiers which are very
flaggy, very cobbly or very gravelly
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competitors.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Narbona soils are on ridges of broad stable landslides and on small landslides of escarpments. These soils formed in colluvium derived from Tertiary sandstone. Slopes are 15 to 70 percent. Elevations are 7,600 to 9,000 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 16 to 20 inches with more than 50 percent falling as snow from winter storms; mean annual temperature is 40 to 43 degrees F.; and the average frost-free period is 80 to 110 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Deza and Zilditloi soils. Deza soils are non-skeletal, have an argillic horizon composed of lamellae and occur on adjacent toeslopes and footslopes. Zilditloi soils are non-skeletal and lack argillic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium or rapid runoff; rapid permeability in the epipedon and moderate in the subsoil.
USE AND VEGETATION: Narbona soils are used for timber production and limited livestock grazing. Present vegetation is ponderosa pine and Douglas fir with an understory of Gambel oak, nodding bromegrass, earth sedge, silvery lupine, and Oregon-grape.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Narbona soils are of moderate extent on the Defiance Upwarp-Chuska Mountains portion of the Colorado Plateau province in northwest New Mexico and northeast Arizona. MLRA 35.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Shiprock Area, Parts of San Juan County, New Mexico and Apache County, Arizona; 1993.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of 22 inches. (A, E and E/Bt horizons)
Albic horizon - The zone from 4 to 22 inches. (E and E/Bt horizons)
Arenic subgroup - The presence of 22 inches of soil material coarser than loamy very fine sand overlying the argillic horizon. (A, E and E/Bt horizons)
Argillic horizon - The zone from 22 to 66 inches. (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)
Keys to Soil Taxonomy - Soils classified according to the Eighth Edition, 1998.