LOCATION RYMAN COEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic Pachic Haplocryolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Ryman clay loam - in quaking aspen woodland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
Oe--0 to 2 inches; partially decomposed organic material.
A1--2 to 8 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 7 inches thick)
A2--8 to 19 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 14 inches thick)
A3--19 to 25 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; 10 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary.
C1--25 to 29 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) cobbly clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) moist; massive; very hard, friable, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; 15 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary.
C2--29 to 36 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) cobbly clay, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; massive; extremely hard, very firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; 10 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones; neutral (pH 6.8); clear wavy boundary.
C3--36 to 41 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) stony clay, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; extremely hard, very firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; 5 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles, and 15 percent stones; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the C1, C2, and C3 horizons is 13 to 32 inches)
C4--41 to 62 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) cobbly clay, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; extremely hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; 10 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; neutral (pH 7.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Dolores County, Colorado; 200 feet west and 750 feet south of the northeast corner, sec. 25, T. 41 N., R. 13 W.; Groundhog Mountain USGS Quad; lat. 37 degrees, 47 minutes, 34 seconds N., and Long. 108 degrees, 14 minutes, 39 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: (Depths are measured from the top of the mineral soil)
Soil moisture regime: udic; dry in some part of the moisture control section for less than 45 cumulative days (typic udic subclass).
Mean annual soil temperature: 37 to 41 degrees F
Mean summer soil temperature: 47 to 56 degrees F.
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 16 to 30 inches.
Particle-size control section:
Clay content: 35 to 45 percent
Rock fragment content: 5 to 35 percent; gravel and cobbles are dominant
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 2 to 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3, dry or moist
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral
C horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 3 or 5 moist
Chroma: 1 to 6, dry or moist
Texture fine earth fraction: clay loam or clay, with cobbly or stony modifiers in some pedons.
Rock fragment content: 5 to 35 percent
Stone content: 0 to 15 percent
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series at present. The
Hoosan series may be a competitor when the classification is updated.
Hoosan: have horizons of secondary carbonate accumulation.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: slope alluvium or colluvium derived dominantly from interbedded sandstone and shale.
Landform: mesas and structural benches.
Slopes: 1 to 40 percent.
Elevation: 8,000 to 10,500 feet.
Mean annual temperature: 35 to 40 degrees F.
Mean annual precipitation: 22 to 35 inches.
Frost free season: 40 to 70 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Adel,
Baird Hollow,
Leaps,
Nordicol, and
Seitz soils.
Adel soils are fine-loamy.
Baird Hollow and Nordicol soils are skeletal and have an argillic horizon.
Leaps soils have a thinner mollic epipedon.
Seitz soils do not have a mollic epipedon and are clayey-skeletal.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow or rapid runoff; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for summer livestock grazing, timber production, and wildlife habitat. Principal native vegetation is quaking aspen woodland with an understory of slender wheatgrass, boxleaf myrtle, aspen peavine, Thurber's fescue, and elk sedge.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Colorado. MLRA 48A. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dolores County (San Miguel Area), Colorado, 1987.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon (pachic feature): The zone from 2 to 25 inches (A1, A2, and A3 horizons)
Particle-size control section: The zone from 12 to 42 inches (part of the A2, the A3, C1, C2, C3, and part of the C4 horizon)
Keys to Soil Taxonomy: Series classified according to Eighth Edition, 1998
The 06/2002 revision changes the moisture regime subclass from ustic to typic udic. This was done during correlation of the Animas-Dolores soil survey. This is based on the plant community - the current schema places the quaking aspen/mountain snowberry plant community in the typic udic subclass. Other phases of Ryman with big sagebrush are no longer considered with the series concept.
The 06/2002 revision changes the clay mineralogy class from mixed to smectitic. This is supported by lab data from similar soils.