LOCATION SHOEGAME AZ+NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Ustic Haplocalcids
TYPICAL PEDON: Shoegame very cobbly sandy loam, extremely stony -- on a planar low stream terrace sloping 3 percent to the east at 5,780 feet elevation -- rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was dry throughout.)
A--0 to 4 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) very cobbly sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium platy structure parting to weak medium granular; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; few very fine irregular pores; 20 percent cobble, 10 percent gravel, 10 percent stones, and 5 percent boulders; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
Bk1--4 to 13 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) very gravelly loamy coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few medium and fine and common very fine roots; 45 percent gravel and 5 percent cobble; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as common fine thin coatings on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (4 to 11 inches thick)
Bk2--13 to 19 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) cobbly fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few medium and fine and common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 10 percent cobble, 5 percent gravel, and 5 percent stones; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped accumulations on faces of peds and common medium thin coatings on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
Bk3--19 to 44 inches; pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) extremely cobbly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/2) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few coarse and fine and common very fine roots; 35 percent cobble, 20 percent gravel, and 10 percent stones; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as many medium and large thin coatings on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear irregular boundary. (14 to 27 inches thick)
BCk--44 to 65 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) extremely stony coarse sand, weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few coarse, fine, and very fine roots; 40 percent stones, 20 percent cobble, and 5 percent gravel; slightly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine and medium thin coatings on rock fragments; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8).
TYPE LOCATION: Apache County, Arizona; on the Navajo Indian Reservation about 4 miles southeast of Teec Nos Pos; 600 feet north and 1,150 feet east of the southwest corner of section 18, T.40 N., R.31 E.; Latitude 36 degrees 52 minutes 10 seconds North and Longitude 109 degrees 3 minutes 50 seconds West.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soil moisture control section is intermittently moist in some part from July to October and December to mid-April. Driest during May and June. Ustic aridic soil moisture regime.
Soil temperature - 52 to 54 degrees F.
Depth to calcic horizon - 3 to 10 inches
Clay content - less than 8 percent
Reaction - slightly to moderately alkaline
Organic carbon content - less than 0.29 percent
A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent
10 to 15 percent gravel
20 to 30 percent cobble
3 to 10 percent stones
2 to 5 percent boulders
Bk1 and Bk2 horizons
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Texture: stratified fine sandy loam to loamy coarse sand; averaging loamy coarse sand or coarse sand
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent
20 to 30 percent gravel
15 to 25 percent cobble
0 to 5 percent stones
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 10 percent
Bk3 and BCk horizons
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Texture: stratified sand to coarse sand
Rock fragments: 50 to 70 percent
5 to 10 percent gravel
20 to 25 percent cobbles
25 to 35 percent stones
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 3 to 8 percent
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Cascajo (CO) and Jaconita (NM) series. Cascajo soils are in the Western Great Plains (LRR-G MLRA 69) and are moist in May and June. Jaconita soils have redder hues.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Shoegame soils are on low stream terraces. They formed in alluvium derived from Tertiary quartz diorite and Jurassic and Cretaceous sandstone. Slopes are 2 to 5 percent. Elevation ranges from 5,000 to 6,400 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 8 to 12 inches with 35 to 60 percent falling as rain from high-intensity thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual air temperature is 50 to 52 degrees F. The frost-free period is 130 to 150 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Blanding, Millett, and Strych soils. Blanding soils are fine-silty and occur on eolian-mantled toeslopes. Millett soils are fine-loamy with argillic horizons on treads of fan terraces. Strych soils are loamy-skeletal and occur on risers of fan terraces.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained; slow runoff; moderately rapid permeability due to textures of fine sandy loam. Rare flooding frequency.
USE AND VEGETATION: Shoegame soils are used for livestock grazing. Present vegetation is Indian ricegrass, blue grama, sand dropseed, Utah juniper, Wyoming big sagebrush, and Bigelow rubber rabbitbrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Shoegame soils are of small extent on the Blanding Basin and Four Corners Platform portions of the Colorado Plateau province in northeast Arizona and 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 4 inches (A horizon)
Calcic horizon - The zone from 4 to 44 inches (Bk1, Bk2, Bk3 horizons)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Calcium carbonate equivalent determined with a field volume calcimeter. Organic carbon values are estimated.