LOCATION SANOSTEE NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Ustic Calciargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Sanostee loamy fine sand--on a southeast facing mesa toeslope of 4 percent at 6,210 feet elevation--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the pedon was moist from 1 to 2 inches and dry below.)
A--0 to 2 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) loamy fine sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak thin platy structure parting to weak fine granular; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few medium and very fine roots; 5 percent fine channers; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
2Bt--2 to 10 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy clay loam, strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium and fine and common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; few thin patchy clay films on faces of peds and lining pores and common bridges between sand grains; slightly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated in very few fine irregularly shaped filaments in lower part of horizon; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 15 inches thick)
2Btk--10 to 15 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) sandy clay loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium and fine and common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; few thin clay films lining pores and bridging sand grains; fine 5 percent channers; strongly effervescent; secondary calcium carbonates segregated in common, fine and medium, irregularly shaped accumulations on faces of peds, rock fragments and sand grains; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick)
3Bk--15 to 24 inches; white (10YR 8/1) loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 5 percent soft siltstone fragments; violently effervescent; matrix is impregnated with secondary calcium carbonate; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 15 inches thick)
3BCky--24 to 28 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) with brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) with yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 20 percent soft siltstone fragments; 5 percent small channers; secondary gypsum crystals segregated as very few fine irregularly shaped accumulations on faces of peds and in small masses; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated in common, fine and medium irregularly shaped accumulations on faces of peds, and on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
3C--28 to 32 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; massive, platy rock structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and very fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; 20 percent soft sandstone fragments; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated in very few fine irregularly shaped accumulations on sand grains and rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
3R--32 inches; sandstone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, New Mexico; on the Navajo Indian Reservation about 6 miles south-southeast of Sanostee, New Mexico; 1,950 feet north and 1,500 feet east of the southwest corner of section 2, T. 24 N., R. 19 W; Latitude 36 degrees 20 minutes 29 seconds N and Longitude 108 degrees 50 minutes 24 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Typically, the soil moisture control section is dry in all parts from April 15 to July 1. It is intermittently moist in some part from July 1 through October and December to April 15. Ustic aridic soil moisture regime.
Soil temperature - 52 to 54 degrees F.
Soil depth - 20 to 40 inches to hard bedrock
Silicate clay content, control section weighted average - 18 to 30 percent, greater than 40 percent sand
Depth to base of the argillic horizon - 10 to 25 inches
Depth to calcium carbonates - 0 to 10 inches
Depth to the calcic horizon - 14 to 26 inches
Reaction - ranges from slightly alkaline in the surface, to strongly alkaline in the subsoil and substratum
A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Salinity, d/Sm: less than 2
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent gravel or small channers
Bt and Btk horizons
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 4 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: sandy clay loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam
Salinity, dS/m: 2 to 4
Sodicity, SAR: 0 to 5
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 15 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent gravel or fine channers
Bk horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 6 to 8 dry, 5 to 7 moist
Chroma: 1 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: loam, sandy clay loam, sandy loam
Salinity, dS/m: 4 to 8
Sodicity, SAR: 5 to 13
Calcium carbonate equivalence: 15 to 40 percent in at least one subhorizon 6 inches or more thick
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent gravel or small channers
Reaction: moderately to strongly alkaline
Other features: 0 to 15 percent soft, slakable siltstone and sandstone fragments
Some pedons have horizons of silt loam or silty clay loam
BC and C horizons
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 5 or 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: loam, sandy clay loam, sandy loam
Salinity, dS/m: 4 to 8
Sodicity, SAR: 5 to 13
Calcium carbonate equivalence: 5 to 10 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent gravel or small channers
Reaction: moderately to strongly alkaline
Gypsum: 0 to 5 percent present as fine sand sized secondary crystals
Other features: 5 to 20 percent soft, slakable siltstone and sandstone fragments
Some pedons have horizons of silt loam or silty clay loam
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Alvey (UT),
Barx (UT),
Cabreros (NM),
Cerrillos (NM),
Clovis (NM),
Fernando (NM),
Flaco (NM),
Horchata (NM),
Maysdorf (WY),
Millett (AZ),
Palabria (NM),
Progresso (CO),
Scholle (NM),
Selpats (WY),
Solirec (UT),
Spenlo (UT),
Threetop (WY),
Tuweep (AZ) and
Wineg (AZ) series.
Alvey, Barx, Cerrillos, Clovis, Fernando, Maysdorf, Millett, Selpats, Scholle, Solirec, Spenlo, Tuweep and Wineg soils are very deep to a lithic contact. Horchata, Progresso and Threetop soils are moderately deep to a lithic contact. Flaco soils contain less than 40 percent sand. Cabreros soils are moderately deep to a paralithic contact.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sanostee soils are on toeslopes of mesas, structural benches, and dipslopes of cuestas. They formed in eolian material, alluvium and residuum derived from Cretaceous sandstone and siltstone. Surfaces have thin local eolian deposits. Slopes range from 1 to 10 percent. Elevation ranges from 5,900 to 6,800 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 9 to 14 inches about half of which falls as rain from high intensity thunderstorms between July and October. The remainder falls as gentle rain or snow between December and mid-April. The mean air annual temperature is 50 to 52 degrees F. The average frost-free period is 130 to 150 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Doakum and Farview soils. The Doakum and Farview soils are located on benches and mesa rim areas and are very shallow to sandstone.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Sanostee soils are used for livestock grazing. Present vegetation is blue grama, galleta, alkali sacaton, Indian ricegrass, Bigelow sagebrush, fourwing saltbush, small cacti and widely scattered Utah juniper.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Sanostee soils are of small extent on the Four Corners Platform portion of the Colorado Plateau province in northwest New Mexico. MLRA 35.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Shiprock Area, Parts of San Juan County, New Mexico and Apache County, Arizona; 1993.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 2 inches (A horizon)
Argillic horizon - The zone from 2 to 15 inches (2Bt and 2Btk horizons)
Calcic horizon - The zone from 15 to 24 inches (3Bk horizon)
Lithic contact - The presence of hard sedimentary bedrock at about 32 inches (3R horizon)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006
ADDITIONAL DATA: Percent gypsum and SAR values are estimated. Salinity values were determined on three pedons, including the type location, with a Wheatstone bridge. Calcium carbonate equivalence determined with a field volume calcimeter. The type location has been sampled for determination of organic carbon and particle-size. It was reference sampled for the National Soil Survey Laboratory (NSSL) as pedon #S86NM-045-16. Samples were also analyzed at the BIA soils laboratory in Gallup, NM.