LOCATION PHILMONT NM
Established Series
Rev. AJM
12/2022
PHILMONT SERIES
The Philmont series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in fine textured alluvium and residuum derived from Cretaceous-aged shale. Philmont soils are on interfluves of plateaus or fan remnant toeslopes and have slopes of 0 to 6 percent. The mean annual precip. is about 16 inches and mean annual soil temperature is about 53 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Argiustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Philmont silt loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 10 cm (0 to 4 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and very fine roots; common fine tubular pores; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 7 inches thick)
A2--10 to 28 cm (4 to 11) inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silty clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium prismatic structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and plastic; many fine and very fine roots; common fine tubular pores; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)
Bt--28 to 41 cm (11 to 16 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) silty clay, dark brown(10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; very hard, very firm, slightly sticky and very plastic; common fine roots; common fine tubular pores; thick clay films on faces of peds; calcareous; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick)
Btk1--41 to 53 cm (16 to 21 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silty clay, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, slightly sticky and very plastic; few fine roots; common fine tubular pores; many thick clay films on faces of peds; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (5 to 14 inches thick)
Btk2--53 to 76 cm (21 to 30) inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silty clay, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and very plastic; few fine roots; common fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent, calcium carbonate segregated into medium, irregular, soft masses; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (6 to 14 inches thick)
BCk--76 to 163 cm (30 to 64 inches); light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) silty clay loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and plastic; few fine roots; few fine vesicular and few fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; calcium carbonate segregated into few fine irregular soft masses; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Colfax County, New Mexico; 75 feet south and 1,400 feet east of the NW corner section 26, T.26N., R.24E. (estimated Lat: 36.4647, Lon: -104.3617)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 40 to 80 inches. The mollic epipedon is 7 to 20 inches thick. Depth to the argillic horizon ranges from 2 to 10 inches. Depth to pedogenic lime ranges from 10 to 20 inches. The soil temperature regime is mesic, and the moisture regime is aridic-ustic.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5 dry and chroma of 2 or 3. It is silt loam, loam, clay loam or silty clay loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. The textures range from silty clay, clay, silty clay loam, or clay loam and has 35 to 50 percent clay.
The Btk horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 3 through 5. The textures range from silty clay, clay, silty clay loam or clay loam and has 35 to 50 percent clay. The calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 1 to 10 percent.
Where a Bk or BCk horizon exists, it has a hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist, and a chroma of 3 through 5. The textures range from loam, clay loam, silty clay, or silty clay loam and has 22 to 40 percent clay. The calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 1 to 10 percent.
Other features: Some profiles, where a history of heavy grazing, plowing, or other heavy utilization has taken place, will have an eroded version of the A horizon. In these cases, the Bt or Btk horizon may be close to or at the surface, and the soil will not meet criteria for mollic epipedons. The surface textures will not likely be a loam or silt loam, but something higher in clay. Some profiles have a C or Cr horizon where weathered shale material is encountered or influences the profile somewhere below 40 inches. Few to no fragments are found in this profile.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Abrazo(MLRA 38),
Cantina(MLRA 35),
Celsosprings(MLRA 35),
Carnero(MLRA 70A),
Charette(MLRA 70A),
Concho(MLRA 35),
Judd(MLRA 38),
Quivera(MLRA 35),
Remunda(MLRA 42C),
Rond(MLRA 39),
Roundtop(MLRA 39), and
Xeribrush(MLRAs 36 and 48A) series.
Abrazo and
Carnero soils have bedrock at depths of 20 to 40 inches.
Concho soils are colder (7.8-11.6 oC MAAT), receive a share of their bulk annual precipitation in the winter, have colors as red as 2.5YR, and slickensides.
Cantina soils are deep to indurated basalt bedrock.
Celsosprings and
Charette soils formed in volcanic parent materials and have volcanic fragments in the profile.
Judd soils are shallow to weathered conglomerate.
Rond and
Roundtop soils are derived from limestone parent materials and have colors redder that 7.5YR and limestone bedrock contact at some depth within 60 inches.
Remunda soils receive the bulk of their growing season moisture starting during a period starting in July, and they form from mixed sedimentary and igneous parent materials and therefore have colors as red as 5YR.
Xeribrush series are colder (7.2 to 10 oC MAAT) and drier (305 to 406 mm MAP) and have colors as yellow as 2.5Y and a steeper slope range to 35 percent.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Philmont soils are on interfluves of plateau treads and fan remnants. The soils formed in fine textured residuum weathered from shale, mantled with some amount of loamier loess. This material is 1 to 3 meters (4 to 10 feet) thick over weathered shale.
Slope Range: from 0 to 7 percent
Soil moisture: An ustic moisture regime bordering on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature: 9.4 to 14.4 degrees C (49 to 58 degrees F)
Mean annual air temperature: 8.3 to 12.8 degrees C (47 to 55 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation: 381 to 457 mm (15 to 18 in) with more than 3/4 received during the period of April through September.
Frost-free period: 130 to 175 days
Elevation: 1615 to 2195 m (5300 to 7200 ft)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Colmor,
La Brier,
Litle,
Mion,
Seelez and
Vermejo soils of MLRA 70A. Colmor, Litle, Mion, Seelez and Vermejo soils lack argillic horizons. La Brier soils are in bottomland or swale positions and have slickenslides within a depth of 10 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for native range. Vegetation is blue grama, wolftail, buffalograss, western wheatgrass, and galleta. Where irrigated, alfalfa, small grain, and feet sorghums are common crops.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern New Mexico, LRR G, in MLRA 70A along the Canadian Plateaus of the Southwestern Great Plains; LRU 70A.1 (Canadian Plateaus). The series is extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Colfax County, New Mexico, 1974.
REMARKS: This series name was coined to honor the historic Boy Scout Camp, Philmont Ranch, located at the mouth of the Cimarron River where it enters the Canadian Plateaus of MLRA 70A in Cimarron, NM of Colfax County.
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Typical Pedon from Pedon ID: S1974NM007050
KSSL Lab Pedon #s: 94P0009; 94P0008 -This lab pedon was correlated to a non-existing series of Philmont.
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy twelfth Edition, 2014
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.