LOCATION SERVILLETA         NM+AZ
Established Series
Rev. JBC/LWH
12/2003

SERVILLETA SERIES


The Servilleta series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in loess and material weathered from basalt. Servilleta soils are on basalt flows and have slopes of 1 to 5 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 13 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 48 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, mesic Ustic Haplargids

TYPICAL PEDON: Servilleta silty clay loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A1--0 to 3 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) silty clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, sticky and plastic; common fine roots; common fine interstitial pores; 5 percent gravel and cobbles; neutral (pH 7.2); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)

B21t--3 to 10 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) silty clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; common fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; many thin clay films on faces of peds; neutral (pH 7.3); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)

B22t--10 to 16 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) heavy silty clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, very sticky and plastic; common fine roots; common fine tubular pores; thin patches of clay films on faces of peds; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 7 inches thick)

B3ca--16 to 25 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) silty clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium prismatic and fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, very sticky and plastic; few fine roots; common fine and medium tubular pores; moderately calcareous, lime segregated into soft masses and filaments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 9 inches thick)

Cca--25 to 34 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) silty clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; strongly calcareous, disseminated lime; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); abrupt wavy boundary. (7 to 11 inches thick)

R--34 inches; patchy lime coated fractured basalt.

TYPE LOCATION: Taos County, New Mexico; 80 feet southwest of the NE corner of section 6, T.27N., R.10E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to calcareous material ranges from 13 to 20 inches. Thickness of solum ranges from 16 to 28 inches. Depth to bedrock ranges from 20 to 40 inches.

The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. It is silt loam or silty clay loam. This horizon usually has granular structure but some pedons are platy. It is soft or slightly hard.

The B2t horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 through 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4. It is heavy silty clay loam or light clay. This horizon has moderate medium subangular blocky or weak medium prismatic structure. It is hard or very hard. The reaction ranges from neutral to mildly alkaline.

The Cca horizon has hue of 10YR through 5YR. It is moderately or strongly calcareous and moderately or strongly alkaline. Carbonates are disseminated or segregated into soft masses and filaments.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Arnhart (T), Arp (t), Aso (T), Baca, Bessemer (T), Carlito, Cerrillos (T), Hesper, Lonti, Malposa, Manzanola (T), Mughouse, Norrest, Panky, Ploey, Quackenbush, Recluse, Rencalson, Renohill, Silver, Tobish, Ulm and Wyarno series. Arp, Baca, Hesper, Manzanola, Mughouse, Panky, Recluse, Rencalson, Renohill, Ulm and Wyarno soils have montmorillonitic mineralogy. Arnhart, Aso, Bessemer, Carlito, Cerrillos, Lonti, Malposa, Poley, Quackenbush and Silver soils lack a lithic contact within 40 inches of the surface. Norrest soils have hue of 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y in the B2t horizon. Tobish soils contain 20 to 40 percent rock fragments in the B2t horizon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Servilleta soils are on gently sloping basalt flows. Slopes are usually 1 to 5 percent. These soils formed in loess and residuum weathered from basalt. At the type location the average annual precipitation is 13 inches with peak periods of precipitation in July and August. The mean annual air temperature is about 46 to 50 degrees F. Elevations range from about 6,000 to 8,000 feet. The frost free season ranges from 125 to 140 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Silver soils and the Harvey, Petaca and Prieta soils. Harvey soils lack a lithic contact within 40 inches of the surface. Harvey and Petaca soils have a control section with less than 35 percent clay. Petaca and Prieta soils have bedrock at depths of 20 inches or less.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for pasture and rangeland. Native vegetation is big sagebrush, blue grama, western wheatgrass and widely spaced pinyon pine and oneseed juniper.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: High intermountain valleys of north central New Mexico. The series is moderately extensive.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Taos Area, New Mexico, 1976.

REMARKS:

Additional Data: NSSL data number S77 005 008

In October 2000, taxonomic classification was converted to the closest match found in Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition 1999. No update was made to horizon nomenclature, competing series section, etc. Other placements may be more appropriate after a complete update.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.