LOCATION RING                    NM+CO

Established Series
Rev. GWA/BDS/KLS
09/2022

RING SERIES

The Ring series consists of deep, well drained soils that formed in fine to coarse textured material weathered from sandstone, shale, and igneous intrusive rocks. These soils are on gently sloping to strongly sloping outwash terraces. Slopes range from 0 to 9 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 430 mm and the mean annual air temperature is about 6 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey-skeletal, smectitic, frigid Typic Haplustalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Ring cobbly loam, forested. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

Oe--0 to 3 cm; decomposed and decomposing forest litter. (0 to 5 cm thick)

A--3 to 18 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) cobbly loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate very fine granular structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky; many very fine, fine, and few coarse roots; many fine pores; 10 percent stones, cobbles, and gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 15 cm thick)

Bt1--18 to 38 cm; brown (7.5YR 5/4) cobbly sandy clay, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, sticky, very plastic; common fine and very fine and few coarse roots; many fine pores; few very fine tubular pores; common moderately thick clay films on faces of peds and rock fragments; 25 percent stones, cobbles, and gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Bt2--38 to 71 cm; brown (7.5YR 5/4) cobbly sandy clay, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, sticky, very plastic; few fine and coarse roots; few very fine tubular pores; many moderately thick clay films on faces of peds and rock fragments; 50 percent stones, cobbles, and gravel; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.

Bt3--71 to 101 cm; brown (7.5YR 5/4) cobbly sandy clay, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, sticky, very plastic; few fine and very fine and few coarse roots; few very fine tubular pores; common moderately thick clay films on faces of peds and rock fragments; 65 percent stones, cobbles, and gravel; neutral gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of Bt horizons - 65 to 100 cm)

C--101 to 154 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) cobbly sandy clay loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; massive; hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few fine, medium and coarse roots; few very fine tubular pores; 50 percent stones, cobbles, and gravel; neutral.

TYPE LOCATION: Colfax County, New Mexico; about 19 km southwest of Vermejo Park Headquarters; 533 meters north and 30 meters west of Ring Place Cowcamp Cabin.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--7 degrees C
Mean summer soil temperature--16 C
Thickness of Solum--75 to 114 cm
Rock fragment content--20 to 65 percent; 45 percent stones, 40 percent cobbles and 15 percent gravel in the particle-size control section
Some pedons have lenses and pockets of sandstone and shale at a depth of 127 cm
Some pedons lack an O horizon

A horizon
Value--4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma--2 or 3 dry or moist
Rock fragment content--10 to 40 percent

Bt1 horizon
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--4 or 5 dry and moist
Chroma--2 through 4 dry and moist
Texture--sandy clay or heavy sandy clay loam
Clay content--35 to 50 percent
Sand content--45 to 60 percent
Rock fragment content--20 to 35 percent

Bt2 and Bt3 horizons
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--4 or 5 dry and moist
Chroma--2 through 4 dry and moist
Texture--sandy clay or heavy sandy clay loam
Clay content--35 to 50 percent
Sand content--45 to 60 percent
Rock fragment content--40 to 65 percent

C horizon
Hue--10YR or 7.5YR
Value--4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma--4 through 6 dry and moist
Texture--sandy clay loam
Clay content--20 to 35 percent
Rock fragment content--45 to 75 percent

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Crest and Pinata series. Crest and Pinata soils have dry value of 6 or more and moist value of 4 or more in the A horizon or in the upper 18 cm, where mixed.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform--outwash terraces
Elevation--2450 to 2600 meters
Slope--0 to 9 percent
Parent Material--material weathered from sandstone, shale, and igneous intrusive rocks
Mean annual precipitation--410 to 460 mm, with about 60 percent falling during the frost-free period
Mean annual air temperature--3 to 7 degrees C
Mean summer temperature--14 degrees C

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: None listed

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, moderately slow permeability

USE AND VEGETATION: Native range, wildlife, recreation, limited timber production, and watershed. The principal plants are ponderosa pine, blue grama, Kentucky bluegrass, mountain muhly, and pine dropseed.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Ring soils are moderately extensive in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado; MLRAs 48A and 49

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Colfax County, New Mexico, 1974

REMARKS:
Converted to metric, updated formatting, and O horizons were updated to start at zero. Competing series section was not updated. 7/2022

Ring series was formerly classified in the clayey, skeletal, mixed family of Mollic Eutroboralfs.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.