LOCATION SEELEZ                  NM

Established Series
Rev. PGM/BDS
12/2022

SEELEZ SERIES

Typically, Seelez soils have brown and yellowish brown, noncalcareous, fine sandy loam surface horizons and light yellowish brown, calcareous, fine sandy loam and loamy sand C horizons.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, nonacid, mesic Typic Ustorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Seelez fine sandy loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A1--0 to 2 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) fine sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky and weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable; many fine and very fine roots; common fine pores; mildly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)

AC--2 to 15 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure; soft, very friable; many fine and very fine roots; common fine tubular pores; mildly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (8 to 30 inches thick)

C1ca--15 to 36 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) light fine sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure; soft, very friable; few fine and very fine roots; common fine tubular pores; strongly calcareous in few fine lime filaments; mildly alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (10 to 30 inches thick)

C2ca--36 to 68 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5,/4) loamy sand and fine sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable; few fine and very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; moderately calcareous; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Colfax County, New Mexico; about 5 miles northeast of Maxwell; about 1,100 feet north and 2,975 feet east of the SW corner of section 33, T.28N., R.23E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Mean annual soil temperature ranges from 47 to 53 degrees F. and mean summer soil temperature is about 68 degrees F. Depth to calcareous material ranges from 10 to 30 inches. Surface horizons with value of 5 dry and 3 moist and chroma of 3 are less than 7 inches thick. The soil is mildly to moderately alkaline throughout. The soil moisture regime borders on aridic. The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist, and chroma of 3 or 4, dry and moist. It is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or heavy loamy fine sand. The AC horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR and chroma of 3 or 4 moist. The C horizon is mainly fine sandy loam or sandy loam and ranges to loamy sand in the lower part. It ranges from moderately to strongly calcareous.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Butche, Embry, Hersh, Moret, Sarben and Terra series. Butche, Moret and Terra soils have a lithic contact at a depth of less than 20 inches. Embry and Sarben soils have an aridic moisture regime bordering on Ustic. Hersh soils lack a Cca horizon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Seelez soils are on uplands at elevations of 5,800 to 7,000 feet. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent. The soils formed in coarse-textured eolian deposits derived from mixed materials. The climate is semiarid with mean annual temperature of 45 to 51 degrees F. and a mean summer temperature of about 66 degrees F. Annual precipitation ranges from 14 to 18 inches with about 70 percent falling during the frost-free period.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Colmor, Dalhart, Litle, Mion, Penrose, and Philmont soils. Colmor and Philmont soils have mollic epipedons. Dalhart soils have an argillic horizon. Litle soils are moderately deep and have fine texture. Mion and Penrose soils are shallow over bedrock and have fine texture.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; slow runoff; rapid permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Native rangeland, irrigated cropland, wildlife, and watershed. Vegetation is sand dropseed, blue grama, yucca, and annuals.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern New Mexico; possibly Colorado and Wyoming. The series is of moderate extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: PHOENIX, ARIZONA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Colfax County, New Mexico, 1974.

OSED scanned by SSQA. Last revised by state on 6/74.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.