LOCATION PALACID NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Ustic Haplargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Palacid very gravelly sandy loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 4 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) very gravelly sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak medium granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; many fine and common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 5 percent cobbles, 50 percent pebbles; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
AB--4 to 8 inches; dark brown (10YR 4/3) loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common medium and few fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 10 percent pebbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); diffuse wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
Bt--8 to 14 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common medium and few fine roots; common very fine and few fine tubular pores; 10 percent pebbles; few thin clay films on faces of peds and in pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); diffuse wavy boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
Btk--14 to 45 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) clay loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few medium fine and very fine roots; few fine and common very fine tubular pores; 10 percent pebbles; few thin clay films on faces of peds; common medium soft masses of calcium carbonate; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); diffuse smooth boundary. ( 20 to 31 inches thick)
Bk--45 to 68 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few medium and fine roots; few fine and common very fine tubular pores; 20 percent pebbles; common medium irregular soft masses of calcium carbonate; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Rio Arriba County, New Mexico; about 4 miles north of Chimayo, along Arroyo Palacio, State Plane Coordinates 1,845,600 north and 588,400 east. 105 degrees, 57 minutes, 02 seconds west longitude; 36 degrees, 04 minutes, 24 seconds north latitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: Usually dry, but is intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section December through March and July through September. The soil is driest during May and June.
Soil Temperature: 50 to 54 degrees F.
Particle-size Control Section - 30 to 40 percent sand and 20 to 35 percent clay.
Rock fragments: 10 to 15 percent, mainly pebbles with up to 5 percent cobbles
Depth to base of argillic horizon: 40 to 50 inches
Depth to calcium carbonate: 10 to 15 inches
Calcium Carbonate equivalent: less than 15 percent
A horizon - Chroma: 2 or 3; Combined thickness of A and AB horizons (when present) is too thin to qualify for a mollic epipedon.
Bt horizon - Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR. Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist. Chroma: 3 through 5. Texture: clay loam and loam Rock fragments: 10 to 15 percent pebbles.
Bk horizon - Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist. Chroma: 3 or 4. Texture: clay loam, gravelly clay loam and gravelly loam. Other features: common soft masses of calcium carbonates. Rock fragments: 15 to 30 percent pebbles
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Balon(AZ), Barx(UT), Bowbac(WY), Buckle(NM), Cambria(WY), Cerrillos(NM), Clovis(NM), Cushman(WY), Decolney(T)(WY), Fattig(MT), Fernando(NM), Flaco(NM), Forkwood(WY), Fort Collins(CO), Gaddes(AZ), Gapbutte(T)(AZ), Hagerman(NM), Harbord(CO), Hiland(WY), Los Alamos(NM), Maysdorf(WY), Millett(AZ), Oelop(NM), Olney(CO), Penistaja(NM), Pokeman(WY), Potts(WY), Progresso(CO), Pugsley(WY), Rauzi(T)(WY), Scholle(NM), Spangler(WY), Spenlo(UT), Stoneham(CO), Sundance(CO), Tapia(NM), Threetop(WY), Toluca(MT), Tuweep(AZ), and Yenlo(CO) series. Balon, Decolney, Gaddes, Rauzi and Spenlo soils are noncalcareous to depth of 35 inches or more. Barx, Cerrillos, Clovis, Fernando, Hiland, Los Alamos, Millett, Scholle, Sundance, Tapia, Toluca, and Tuweep soils have calcic horizons. Bowbac, Cushman, Fattig, Flaco, Gaddes, Gapbutte, Hagerman, Pokeman, Progresso, Pugsley, and Spangler soils have lithic or paralithic contact at depths between 20 and 40 inches. Buckle soils are calcareous at 20 to 35 inches. Cambria and Stoneham soils are less than 13 inches deep to the base of the Bt horizon. Oelop soils have have Bt horizons with a base less than 40 inches deep. Forkwood, Fort Collins, Harbord, Olney, Potts, and Threetop soils are moist in some part periodically during April, May, and June. Maysdorf soils have Bt horizons with hue of 5YR or 2.5YR. Olney, Penistaja and Yenlo soils have 40 to 75 percent sand with more than 35 percent fine sands or coarser.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Palacid soils formed in alluvium and colluvium derived from mixed sources. They are on hills and ridges. Slopes range from 10 to 50 percent. Elevations are 5800 to 7200 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 10 to 12 inches. The mean annual air temperature is 48 to 52 degrees F. and the frost- free season is 120 to 150 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Chita, and Parida soils. Chita soils are at slightly higher elevations, are typically on north slopes and are in an Ustic moisture regime. Parida soils are in a coarse-loamy family.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Palacid soils are well drained with rapid runoff and moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Palacid soils are used for livestock grazing and for wildlife habitat. The natural vegetation pinque, black grama, blue grama, broom snakeweed, Indian ricegrass, galleta, sideoats grama, mountainmahogany, and yucca.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northcentral, New Mexico; The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, 1989.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 8 inches. (A and AB horizons) (this layer is too thin to qualify as a mollic epipedon)
Argillic horizon - the zone from about 8 to 45 inches. (Bt and Btk horizons)
Ustollic feature - organic carbon content and soil moisture regime meets the requirement for "Ustollic".
In October 2000, taxonomic classification was converted to the closest match found in Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition 1999. No update was made to horizon nomenclature, competing series section, etc. Other placements may be more appropriate after a complete update.