LOCATION SEDONA                  AZ

Established Series
Rev. BAL/PDC
08/2012

SEDONA SERIES


The Sedona series consists of shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium from shale and mudstone on hills. Slopes range from 3 to 15 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 18 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 60 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, thermic, shallow Typic Rhodustalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Sedona extremely channery loam - woodland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 2 inches; red (2.5YR 4/6) extremely channery loam, dark red (2.5YR 3/6) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine roots; many very fine tubular pores; 5 percent flagstones, 55 percent channers; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)

Btk1--2 to 10 inches; red (2.5YR 4/6) extremely channery silty clay loam, dark red (2.5YR 3/6) and dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure, soft, very friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; many very fine and fine and common medium and coarse roots; common very fine and fine and few medium tubular pores; 20 percent flagstones, 40 percent channers; common faint coats of calcium carbonate on undersides of rock fragments; few faint clay films on ped faces; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear wavy boundary. (7 to 10 inches thick)

Btk2--10 to 18 inches; red (2.5YR 4/6) extremely flaggy silt loam, dark red (2.5YR 3/6) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine through medium and few coarse roots; common fine through medium and few coarse tubular pores; 25 percent flagstones, 35 percent channers; common faint coats of calcium carbonate on underside of rock fragments; few faint clay films on ped faces; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); abrupt irregular boundary. (7 to 10 inches thick)

Cr--18 to 60 inches; fractured weathered mudstone of the Hermit Shale Formation.

TYPE LOCATION: Yavapai County, Arizona; located about 2,565 feet north and 1,950 feet west of the southeast corner of section 12, T. 17 N., R. 5 E.; 34 degrees, 52 minutes, 7.2 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees, 47minutes, 04.9 seconds west longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil Moisture: Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July-August and December-January. Driest during May and June. Aridic ustic soil moisture regime.

Soil Temperature: 59 to 62 degrees F.

Clay content: Averages 18 to 35 percent in the particle size control section

Rock fragments: Averages 35 to 60 percent, mostly channers and flagstones

Depth to paralithic contact: 12 to 18 inches

A horizon
Hue: 2.5YR, 5YR
Value: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Chroma: 4 or 6, dry or moist
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 1 percent
Organic matter content: 0.5 to 1.0 percent

Btk horizons
Value: 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 4 or 6, dry or moist
Reaction: moderately or strongly alkaline
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 2 to 5 percent
Organic matter content: less than 0.5 percent
Texture: silty clay loam, silt loam, loam, clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent

Cr horizon
May extend to 60 inches or more. Usually highly fractured but may have zones of unfractured indurated bedrock below 20 inches.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sedona soils are on hills at elevations of 3,700 to 5,000 feet. Slopes range from 3 to 15 percent. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium from shale and mudstone. The mean annual precipitation is 16 to 20 inches. The mean annual air temperature is 57 to 60 degrees F. The frost-free period is 180 to 220 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Turist and Vortex soils. Vortex soils are very deep and Turist soils have cambic horizons and are very shallow to bedrock.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to rapid runoff; moderately slow permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for wildlife habitat, livestock grazing and urban land. Vegetation includes manzanita, ceanothus, silktassel, sideoats grama, yucca, agave, pinyon pine, one seed juniper, and Arizona cypress.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Arizona. Sedona soils are of limited extent. MLRA is 38. Name is derived from the City of Sedona.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Yavapai County, Arizona; Soil survey of Black Hills-Sedona Area, Arizona, Parts of Coconino and Yavapai Counties; 1996.

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 18 inches (Btk1, Btk2 horizons)

The Rhodic feature is lithochromic

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy Eleventh Edition, 2010

Revised for the correlation of Black Hills-Sedona, AZ, August 2012, CEM


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.