LOCATION SACAHUISTA              NM

Established Series
AJM, LSP, NMS
08/2018

SACAHUISTA SERIES

The Sacahuista series consists of very shallow and shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium from limestone and dolomite. Sacahuista soils are on back slopes of hills and on mountain flanks and scarps. Slope ranges from 1 to 100 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 15 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 59 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, nonacid, thermic Lithic Ustic Torriorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Sacahuista very cobbly loam, national park and wilderness area. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered by approximately 20 percent gravel, 5 percent channers, 15 percent cobbles, 10 percent flagstones and 5 percent stones.

A1--0 to 4 inches (0 to 10 cm); dark brown (10YR 3/3) very cobbly loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2), moist; 21 percent clay; weak medium subangular blocky parts to moderate medium granular structure; common very fine roots and common fine roots; many medium interstitial and common very fine interstitial and common fine interstitial pores; 10 percent gravel and 30 percent cobble and 10 percent stone; 1 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; neutral, pH 6.6; clear smooth boundary.

A2--4 to 9 inches (10 to 21 cm); brown (10YR 4/3) extremely cobbly loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2), moist; 22 percent clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; common fine and medium roots and many very fine roots; common very fine, fine and medium interstitial pores; 5 percent gravel and 50 percent cobble and 5 percent stone; 0.8 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; neutral, pH 7.1; clear smooth boundary.

Bk--9 to 13 inches (21 to 32 cm); dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) extremely flaggy loam, very dark brown (7.5YR 2.5/3), moist; 20 percent clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; common very fine, fine and medium roots and few coarse roots; common very fine, fine and medium interstitial pores; common medium prominent irregular weakly cemented carbonate nodules on bottom of rock fragments; 5 percent gravel and 30 percent cobble and 30 percent flagstone; very slightly effervescent, 4.3 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; slightly alkaline, pH 7.4; abrupt wavy boundary.

R--13 inches (32 cm); indurated dolomite bedrock.

TYPE LOCATION: Eddy County, New Mexico; located on a south-facing mountain flank, 1.8 miles west along the Loop Road of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, just south of a water tank. Approximately 6 miles west of Whites City; USGS Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico 7.5 minute quadrangle; 32.16995N, -104.47699E, NAD83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil Moisture: In normal years this soil is driest during May and June and moist in the upper part for up to 90 cumulative days during the growing season. The soil moisture regime is aridic bordering on ustic, therefore too dry to qualify for a mollic epipedon.

Mean annual soil temperature: 59 to 66 degrees F, thermic temperature regime.

Thickness of ochric epipedon: 4 to 20 in (10 to 50 cm)
Depth to lithic contact: 4 to 20 in (10 to 50 cm)

Control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 18 to 27 percent
Sand content: 15 to 40 percent
Rock fragment content: 35 to 65 percent total; 10 to 50 percent gravel or channers; 5 to 25 percent cobbles; 0 to 25 percent stones or flagstones; 0 to 2 percent boulders
Calcium carbonate equivalent of the less than 2 mm fraction: 1 to 30 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent of the less than 20 millimeter fraction: 10 to 15 percent
Organic matter: 3 to 8 percent

A horizon
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR
Value: 3 to 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 to 3 dry or moist
Texture: loam, silt loam, silty clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 27 percent
Rock fragment content: 20 to 60 percent total; 5 to 50 percent gravel or channers; 5 to 60 percent cobbles; 0 to 25 percent stones or flagstones; 0 to 2 percent boulders
Effervescence: none to very slight
Reaction: neutral to slightly alkaline

Bk horizon
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR
Value: 3 to 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture: loam, silt loam, silty clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 27 percent
Rock fragment content: 30 to 65 percent total; 5 to 50 percent gravel or channers; 5 to 60 percent cobbles; 5 to 50 percent stones or flagstones; 0 to 2 percent boulders
Effervescence: very slight
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES:
The competing series are the Coyanosa, Lampshire, Lingua, and Reduff. Coyanosa soils are shallow or very shallow to sandstone bedrock and have less than 1 percent organic matter. Lampshire soils are very shallow and have 2 percent or less organic matter. Lingua soils are shallow or very shallow to basalt bedrock and have less than 2 percent organic carbon. Reduff soils are shallow or very shallow to tuffaceous bedrock, have less than 2 percent organic carbon, and have 2.5YR or 5YR colors.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sacahuista soils are on slopes and summits of mountains, hills and ridges. Slope ranges from 1 to 100 percent. These soils formed in residuum, colluvium and eolian materials that overlie indurated limestone or dolomite bedrock. Elevations are 3,400 to 7,000 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 12 to 16 inches. Precipitation falls mostly as high intensity rain during afternoon thunderstorms from July to September. Mean annual air temperature is 57 to 61 degrees F. The the frost-free period is 212 to 246 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Kimrose, Bascal, and Biduya soils. Kimrose and Bascal are both alluvial soils on fan remnants. Kimrose is shallow to a petrocalcic and Bascal is very deep. Biduya soils occur at higher elevations or cooler aspects where the temperature regime is mesic.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well to somewhat excessively drained; low to very high runoff.

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for grazing, recreation and wildlife habitat. The dominant grasses are curlyleaf muhly, hairy grama, black grama, sideoats grama, slim tridens and threeawn; the dominant shrubs are redberry juniper, lechuguilla, sotol, torreys yucca, skeletonleaf goldeneye, ocotillo and roemers acacia; jimmy fern is a common forb.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Sacahuista soils are extensive in the Guadalupe Mountains section of the Basin and Range province in south eastern New Mexico. The MLRA is 42.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Eddy County Area, New Mexico; Soil survey of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, 2016. The name is adopted from a prolific local flowering bear grass of the lily family (Nolina texana). The word Sacahuista is from Aztec words meaning thorn grass.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in the profile are:

Ochric epipedon - 0 to 13 inches (A and Bk horizons)

Lithic contact - 13 inches (top of R layer)

Particle-size control section - 0 to 13 inches (A and Bk horizons)

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Twelfth Edition, 2014.

Revised for the correlation of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, October, 2016, NMS
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.