LOCATION ROTAGILLA NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Lithic Haplustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Rotagilla very gravelly loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated).
A--0 to 2 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) crushed, very gravelly loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) crushed, moist; 18 percent clay; weak fine granular structure; loose; nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots throughout; and 49 percent nonflat subangular 0.1- to 3-inch monzonite gravel, 10 percent nonflat subangular 3- to 10-inch monzonite cobbles; noneffervescent by HCl, 1 normal; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
Bw1--2 to 7 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) crushed, very gravelly loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) crushed, moist; 22 percent clay; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots throughout; few fine dendritic tubular pores; 40 percent nonflat subangular 0.1- to 3-inch monzonite gravel, 15 percent nonflat subangular 3- to 10-inch monzonite cobbles; noneffervescent by HCl, 1 normal; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (3 to 10 inches thick)
Bw2--7 to 16 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) crushed, very gravelly loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) crushed, moist; 24 percent clay; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots throughout; few fine dendritic tubular pores; 40 percent nonflat subangular 0.1- to 3-inch monzonite gravel, 5 percent nonflat subangular 3- to 10-inch monzonite cobbles; noneffervescent by HCl, 1 normal; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 15 inches thick)
R--16 inches; thickly bedded massive monzonite.
TYPE LOCATION: Dona Ana County, New Mexico; approximately 3.5 miles west and 6 miles south of White Sands; 1,800 feet west and 200 feet north of the southwest corner of sec. 21, T. 23 S., R. 4 E.,. USGS Organ Peak topographic quadrangle; latitude 32 degrees 17 minutes 11 seconds north and longitude 106 degrees 32 minutes 55 seconds west. UTM zone 13S, 354440E, 3573010 N, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: The moisture control section is usually dry in some or in all parts for six-tenths or more of the time that the soil temperature exceeds 41 degrees F. Some part of the epipedon is moist for more than 90 cumulative days in most years when the soil temperature exceeds 41 degrees F. Aridic ustic moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature - 55 to 59 degrees F.
Thickness of mollic epipedon - 8 to 20 inches
Depth to lithic contact - 8 to 20 inches
Particle-size control section (weighted average)
Clay content: 18 to 27 percent
Coarse fragment content: 35 to 60 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly acid
A horizon:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3, dry or moist
Coarse fragments: monzonite fragments; 50 to 60 percent total fragments, 45 to 60 percent gravel, 0 to 15 percent cobbles
Bw horizons:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 to 4 moist
Chroma: 1 to 4, dry or moist
Coarse fragments: monzonite fragments; 35 to 60 percent total coarse fragments, 30 to 60 percent gravel, 0 to 15 percent cobbles.
Texture: loam or clay loam
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Arbol (NM),
Faraway (AZ),
Oro Grande (NM),
Seralin (NV), and
Yaquican (AZ) series.
Arbol soils are derived from tuff and have greater than 60 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section.
Faraway and Yaquican soils receive greater than 16 inches precipitation.
Oro Grande soils are neutral to moderately alkaline.
Seralin soils are derived from limestone.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: Colluvium from monzonite
Landform: Mountain tops and flanks
Slope: 35 to 90 percent
Mean annual temperature: 54 to 57 degrees
Mean annual precipitation: 14 to 16 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: 130 to 170 days
Elevation: 5,800 to 6,800 feet
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Thaad,
Poblano, and
Chuzzie soils.
Thaad soils are moderately deep to bedrock and are on mountain flanks and bases.
Chuzzie soils are deep and are on stream terraces.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderately slow. Runoff is very high.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for livestock grazing. Vegetation is of the Pinyon-Juniper-Oak savannah type consisting of blue grama, sideoats grama, hairy grama, bull muhly, alligator juniper, mountain mahogany, and pinyon pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern New Mexico; LRR D, MLRA 42. The series is of minor extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dona Ana County, New Mexico; 2000.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Particle-size control section: The zone from 10 to 16 inches. (Bw1 and Bw2 horizons)
Mollic epipedon: The zone from 0 to 16 inches. (A, Bw1, and Bw2 horizons)
Lithic contact: The contact with bedrock at 16 inches. (R horizon)
The assignment of the cation exchange capacity is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.
The classification was changed to an Aridic Lithic subgroup in 2007.
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy Tenth edition, 2006.