LOCATION SHAVASH TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, siliceous, active, thermic Lithic Haplustalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Shavash stony loamy fine sand, on a plane 2
percent slope, in rangeland.
(Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 4 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) stony loamy fine sand;
dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine granular structure; hard, friable; many fine roots; fragments of sandstone 10 to 36 inches
in diameter cover about 10 percent of the surface; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
A2--4 to 10 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) loamy fine sand, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; single grained; slightly hard, friable;
few fine roots; few fine fragments of chert and sandstone;
slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
B2t--10 to 16 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) sandy clay loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist, with common medium
distinct yellowish red and yellow mottles; moderate fine
subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm; few fine roots; many medium pores; few fine fragments of chert; few thin clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
R--16 to 18 inches; very strongly cemented brown sandstone.
TYPE LOCATION: Palo Pinto County, Texas; from the intersection of Farm Road 4 and 129 in Santo, Texas, north on Farm Road 4 for 4.2 miles to the intersection of Farm Road 4 and an unnumbered paved road; then west on paved road 0.5 mile to north end of Palo Pinto Lake dam; then 0.6 mile west on paved road and 20 yards north in rangeland.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness and depth to very
strongly cemented or indurated sandstone ranges from 10 to 20
inches. Coarse fragments of sandstone and chert in the solum
range from 0 to 15 percent by volume. Some pedons have fragments
of sandstone ranging from 10 to 36 inches in diameter that are
mostly imbedded in the A horizons. The stones cover 0 to 15
percent of the surface.
The A1 horizon has hue of 7.5YR and 10YR, value of 3 through 5, chroma of 2 through 4. In most pedons, the A2 horizon is 1 to 2 units of value or chroma greater than the A1 horizon. The A
horizon is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or their stony
counterparts. Reaction is neutral or slightly acid.
The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR and 10YR, value of 5 through 7, chroma of 3 through 8 with reddish and yellowish mottles. This horizon is sandy clay loam or clay loam with clay content of 20 to
35 percent. It ranges from medium through slightly acid. Base saturation ranges from 50 to 75 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other soils in the same family. Other similar soils are the
Cosh,
Exray,
Kokernot,
Ligon,
Oben,
and
Vashti series. Cosh, Exray, and Ligon soils have hue redder
than 5YR. Kokernot soils have mixed mineralogy and 15 to 35
percent coarse fragments in the Bt horizons. Oben soils lack
mottles in the B2t horizon and lack a lithic contact to sandstone. Vashti soils are more than 20 inches thick and have gray mottles
in the Bt horizons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Shavash soils are on broad gently sloping ridgetops. Slopes range from 1 to 5 percent. The soil formed in materials weathered from Pennsylvanian age sandstone. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 26 to 30 inches. The mean annual temperature ranges from 64 degrees to 66 degrees F. and the Thornthwaite P-E indices range from 38 to 48.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Exray
and
Vashti series and the
Bonti,
Owens, and
Truce series. Exray
and Bonti soils are on lower lying ridgetops, have loamy surfaces
and clayey Bt horizons. Vashti soils occupy similar landscapes. Owens and Truce soils are on escarpments and steeper areas below Shavash soils. Owens soils lack B2t horizons and Truce soils have sola thicker than 40 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for rangeland. Native vegetation
includes little bluestem, dropseeds, annuals, and greenbrier with
an overstory of post oak and blackjack oak.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central Texas mainly in the
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
Central Rolling Red Prairies land resource area. The series is of moderate extent.
Series Proposed: Palo Pinto County, Texas; 1976. The name is coined.
REMARKS: These soils were formerly classified in the Reddish
Prairie great soil group.