LOCATION OHKE NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Torrifluventic Haplustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Ohke sandy loam--on a slightly convex part of a low stream terrace sloping 2 percent to the southwest at 6,895 feet elevation--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was dry from the surface to 55 inches, slightly moist from 55 to 80 inches, and dry below 80 inches.)
A1--0 to 3 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; weak thin platy structure parting to weak fine granular; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine and common very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; very few, 1-4 mm wide pieces of charcoal; 10 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.6); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
A2--3 to 10 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak medium granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; common very fine irregularly shaped pores; very few, 1-4 mm wide pieces of charcoal; 20 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.8); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 9 inches thick)
AC--10 to 14 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/3) gravelly loamy coarse sand, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; very few, 1-4 mm wide pieces of charcoal; 25 percent gravel; very slightly effervescent in spots; neutral (pH 6.8); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 9 inches thick)
C1--14 to 22 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) and brown (7.5YR 4/3) gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/3) with dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; one thin lense of sandy loam; 15 percent gravel; very slightly effervescent in spots; neutral (pH 7.0); clear irregular boundary.
C2--22 to 29 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) very gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; 45 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt smooth boundary.
C3--29 to 49 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) and brown (7.5YR 4/3) gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 5/3) with dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common laminae of gravelly coarse sandy loam; 20 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt smooth boundary.
C4--49 to 85 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) stratified gravelly coarse sand and very gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; few laminae of loamy coarse sand and one stratum of coarse sand; 25 to 50 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.2); clear smooth boundary.
C5--85 to 98 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/3) sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; 10 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); gradual smooth boundary.
C6--98 to 106 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) gravelly loamy sand, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; 20 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0). (Combined thickness of the C horizons is more than 80 inches)
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; about 5.5 miles southeast of Seton Village within the nonsectionized Canada de los Alamos Land Grant; USGS Seton Village 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; Latitude 35 degrees 31 minutes 30.5 seconds North and Longitude 105 degrees 53 minutes 10.5 seconds West, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soil moisture control section is moist in all parts during the 60 days following the winter solstice. It is moist in some part less than 40 percent and moist in all parts less than 25 percent of the time when the soil temperature at 20 inches is above 41 degrees F. The soil is driest in May and June. The soil moisture regime is aridic ustic.
Mean annual soil temperature - 49 to 52 degrees F.
Thickness of mollic epipedon - 10 to 19 inches
Lithology of rock fragments: granite, gneiss, and schist
Organic matter content - 1 to 3 percent in the mollic epipedon
Calcium carbonate equivalent - the surface is noncalcareous with 0 percent; 0 to 3 percent in lower C horizons, non-secondary (disseminated) in nature
Salinity, mmhos/cm - 0 to 1 in the surface, subsurface, and upper part of the underlying material; 0 to 2 in the lower part of the underlying material
Reaction - neutral in the surface; neutral to slightly alkaline in the subsurface and underlying material
Particle-size control section (weighted averages)
Silicate clay content: 0 to 8 percent
Rock fragment content: 15 to 35 percent
A1 horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Rock fragments: 5 to 15 percent gravel
A2 horizon
Value: 3 through 5 dry, 2.5 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture: gravelly coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, gravelly loamy coarse sand, or loamy sand
Rock fragments: 10 to 25 percent gravel
AC horizon
Value: 3 through 5 dry, 2.5 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture: stratified gravelly coarse sandy loam to gravelly coarse sand; some pedons have thin strata or lenses of sandy loam or gravelly loam
Rock fragments: total range is 5 to 35 percent, averaging 15 to 30 percent gravel
upper C horizons
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Texture: stratified gravelly loamy coarse sand to very gravelly coarse sand; pedons have thin subhorizons, strata, laminae, and lenses with texture ranging from sand to silt loam
Rock fragments: total range is 15 to 50 percent, averaging 25 to 40 percent gravel
lower C horizons
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Texture: stratified sandy loam to gravelly loamy coarse sand; pedons have thin subhorizons, strata, laminae, and lenses with texture of fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, very gravelly loamy coarse sand, or very gravelly coarse sand
Rock fragments: total range is 5 to 35 percent, averaging 10 to 25 percent gravel
Other features: some pedons have buried B horizons with texture of loam below 40 inches
COMPETING SERIES: At present, there are no other series in this family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ohke soils are on low stream terraces of valley floors. They formed in alluvium derived from Precambrian granite, gneiss, and schist. Slopes are 1 to 3 percent. Elevation ranges from 6,100 to 7,700 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 13 to 15 inches, with about 45 percent falling as rain from high-intensity convective thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual air temperature is 47 to 50 degrees F. The frost-free period is 140 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Altazano, Buckhorse, and Dondiego soils. Altazano soils are coarse-loamy, do not have ochric epipedons, and occur on adjacent flood plains of valley floors and also on inset fans of erosional fan remnants. Buckhorse soils are coarse-loamy, have argillic horizons, and occur on toeslopes of erosional fan remnants. Dondiego soils are fine-loamy, have thick mollic epipedons, and occur on adjacent lower portions of low stream terraces.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; very low surface runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Ohke soils are used for urban development, livestock grazing, and recreation. The historic climax vegetation is black grama, oak, galleta, oneseed juniper, and blue grama. The ecological site is Hills(R036XB124NM).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Ohke soils are of small extent on the southeastern Espanola Basin part of the Basin and Range province in northcentral New Mexico. The MLRA is 36.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; Santa Fe Area Soil Survey Update; 2008. The name "Ohke" is taken from the name of a Tewa village at the San Juan Pueblo north of Espanola
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of about 14 inches. (A1, A2, and AC horizons)
Fluventic feature - Alluvial stratification with texture finer than loamy fine sand and an irregular organic-carbon distribution.
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 40 inches (AC, part of the C1, C2, and part of the C3 horizon)
Series control section - The zone from 0 to 60 inches.
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.