LOCATION PENDERO NM+TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, thermic Typic Haplargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Pendero fine sand -- rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 1 inch; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) crushed, fine sand, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) crushed, moist; 5 percent clay; weak medium platy structure; loose, nonsticky, nonplastic, noneffervescent by HCl, 1 normal; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
Bw--1 to 5 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) crushed, loamy fine sand, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) crushed, moist; 8 percent clay; weak medium platy structure; loose, nonsticky, nonplastic; common very fine roots throughout; noneffervescent by HCl, 1 normal; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
Bt1--5 to 17 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) crushed, loamy fine sand, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) crushed, moist; 12 percent clay; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable, soft, nonsticky, nonplastic; common very fine roots throughout; common fine vesicular pores; 25 percent distinct clay films on all faces of peds and 35 percent distinct clay bridging between sand grains; noneffervescent by HCl, 1 normal; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--17 to 25 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) crushed, loamy fine sand, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) crushed, moist; 12 percent clay; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable, soft, nonsticky, nonplastic; few very fine roots throughout; common fine vesicular pores; 20 percent distinct clay films on all faces of peds and 30 percent distinct clay bridging between sand grains; noneffervescent by HCl, 1 normal; slightly alkaline; abrupt irregular boundary. (Combined thickness of Bt horizons is 15 to 30 inches)
Btk1--25 to 45 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) crushed, loamy fine sand, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) crushed, moist; 8 percent clay; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable, soft, nonsticky, nonplastic; few very fine roots throughout; few fine tubular pores; 25 percent distinct clay films on all faces of peds and 30 percent distinct clay bridging between sand grains; 1 percent fine threadlike carbonate masses throughout; slightly effervescent, by HCl, 1 normal; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
Btk2--45 to 66 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) crushed, loamy fine sand, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) crushed, moist; 8 percent clay; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable, soft, nonsticky, nonplastic; few very fine roots throughout; few fine tubular pores; 30 percent distinct clay bridging between sand grains and 35 percent distinct clay films on all faces of peds; 1 percent fine threadlike carbonate masses; 2 percent nonflat angular 0.1- to 0.4-inch fragments; slightly effervescent, by HCl, 1 normal; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btk horizons is 30 to 48 inches)
Bk--66 to 80 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) crushed, loamy fine sand, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) crushed, moist; 8 percent clay; massive; nonsticky, nonplastic; 1 percent fine threadlike carbonate masses; 2 percent nonflat angular 0.1- to 0.4-inch fragments; slightly effervescent, by HCl, 1 normal; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Otero County, New Mexico; approximately 3.1 miles north and 3.7 miles east of Oro Grande; 2,150 feet east and 1,950 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 4, T. 22 S. , R. 9 E. UTM zone 13, 403425E, 3587477N; NAD 27; USGS Oro Grande North topographic quadrangle; latitude 32 degrees 25 minutes 18.85 seconds north and longitude 106 degrees 01 minutes 37.59 seconds west.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: The moisture control section is usually dry in all parts more than three-fourths of the time that the soil temperature exceeds 41 degrees F. Typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 63 to 67 degrees F.
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 8 to 12 percent
A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Bw horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Bt horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Btk horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 4 to 6, dry or moist
Coarse fragments: mixed igneous fragments; 0 to 5 percent gravel size fragments
Bk horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 4 to 6, dry or moist
Coarse fragments: mixed igneous fragments; 0 to 5 percent gravel size fragments
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing soils.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: eolian sands
Landform: sand sheet on basin floors
Slope: 2 to 5 percent
Mean annual temperature: 62 to 66 degrees F.
Mean annual precipitation: 8 to 10 inches
Precipitation pattern: precipitation falls mostly during the months of July through September. The driest months are March and April. Precipitation during the months of January, February, and March is less than 13 percent of the total.
Frost-free period: 200 to 240 days
Elevation: 3,900 to 4,200 feet
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Copia,
Elizario,
Foxtrot,
Hueco,
Mcnew, and
Nations soils.
Copia soils do not have argillic horizons and are on sand sheets on the basin floor.
Elizario soils have calcic horizons and are on slightly depressed alluvial flats of the basin floor.
Foxtrot, Hueco, and Nations soils are moderately deep to a petrocalcic horizon and are on the basin floor.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained. Permeability is moderately rapid. Runoff is very low .
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for livestock grazing. Vegetation is of the desert shrub type consisting of mesa dropseed, spike dropseed, sand dropseed, threeawns, sand sage, broom snakeweed, fourwing saltbush, and mesquite.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Trans-Pecos of Texas and southern New Mexico; LRR D, MLRA 42; small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Otero County, New Mexico; 2001.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Particle-size control section: The zone from 5 to 25 inches. (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)
Ochric epipedon: The zone from 0 to 7 inches. (A , Bw, and Bt1 horizons, mixed to 7 inches)
Argillic horizon: The zone from 5 to 66 inches. (Bt1, Bt2, Btk1, and Btk2 horizons)