LOCATION SOLEDAD NM+AZEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, thermic Typic Haplargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Soledad very gravelly sandy loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 2 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium platy and weak very fine granular structure; soft, very friable; very few roots; 50 percent gravel; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
Bt1--2 to 7 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) very gravelly sandy loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; weak fine and medium granular structure; soft and slightly hard, very friable; common roots; gravel have faint reddish stains; 50 percent gravel; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (1 to 6 inches thick)
Bt2--7 to 12 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) extremely gravelly sandy loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; few roots; sand grains and gravel have faint reddish clay films; 65 percent gravel; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
Bt3--12 to 20 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) extremely gravelly sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; few roots; discontinuous clay films and stains on gravel; 60 percent gravel and 5 percent cobble; generally noneffervescent with some weak effervescence in lower part; moderately alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (4 to 12 inches thick)
Bk1--20 to 28 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) extremely gravelly sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4)moist; single grain; loose; few roots; 65 percent gravel; thin, discontinuous calcium carbonate coatings on gravel, mainly on undersides; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
Bk2--28 to 37 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) extremely gravelly sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; massive and single grain; hard and loose; no roots; 55 percent gravel and 10 percent cobble; thin discontinuous filamentary calcium carbonate coatings on and between gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary.
C--37 to 58 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) extremely gravelly loamy sand, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive and single grain; soft and loose; no roots; 65 percent gravel; few patchy calcium carbonate coatings on undersides of gravel; weakly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Dona Ana County, New Mexico; about 0.1 mile north of arroyo; in the northeast 1/4 of the northeast 1/4 of section 21, T. 23 S., R. 3 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July-September and December-April. Driest during May and June. Typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Soil temperature: 59 to 72 degrees F.
Buried horizons: Some pedons contain buried soils, some of which have prominent argillic and calcic horizons
A horizon
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 6, dry or moist
Texture: sandy loam, loamy sand
Rock fragments: 0 to 75 percent gravel or cobble
Bt horizons
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 4 through 6, dry or moist
Texture: sandy loam, loam
Clay content: 8 to 19 percent
Rock fragments: 35 to 75 percent gravel or cobble
Bk and C horizons
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: loamy sand, sand, sandy loam, loam
Rock fragments: 10 to 75 percent gravel or cobble
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 14 percent. A few pedons have discontinuous bands but does not qualify as a calcic horizon
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ashmed (NV), Bitter (CA), Blind (AZ), Bluebird (AZ), Highland (NV), Khyber (CA), Nellake (CA), Tiefort (), Timosea (CA), Topawa (AZ), Twobitter (CA), and Werewolf (CA) series. Ashmed soils have a SAR of 13 to 35 in the argillic horizon. Bitter soils are less than 30 inches deep to the base of the argillic and have loamy sand and sand textures below the argillic. Bluebird soils are less than 23 inches to the base of the argillic. Highland soils have a lithic contact within 40 inches. Khyber soils are dominated by 2 to 5 millimeter gravel and have secondary silica cementation in the lower part of the subsoil. Nellake soils average less than 20 percent clay in the argillic horizon and less than 15 percent clay in the subsoil. Timosea soils are dry in the soil moisture control section from May to December. Twobitter soils have accumulations of gypsum in the particle-size control section. Topawa soils have hue of 2.5YR or 5YR and mean annual soil temperatures of 69 to 72 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Soledad soils are on coalescent fan piedmonts. Slopes are 1 to 5 percent. Elevations are 3700 to 4700 feet. The soils formed in sediments derived mainly from acid igneous rocks. The mean annual air temperature is about 60 to 70 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation is about 8 to 13 inches. The frost-free period is 200 to 260 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Monterosa, Terino, Nolam, Casito, Onite, and the competing Pinaleno soils. Monterosa, Terino, and Casito soils have a petrocalcic horizon. Nolam soils have a calcic horizon. Onite soils have a argillic horizon with less than 20 percent rock fragments.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for livestock grazing and
wildlife habitat. The present vegetation consists of snakeweed, mesquite, fluffgrass, Mormon-tea, and creosotebush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Arizona and New Mexico. The series is moderately extensive. MLRA is 40 and 42.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Pima County, Arizona. Soil survey of Tohono O'odham Nation, Arizona; 1992.
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 20 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3 horizons)
This series represents an identified soil within the Desert Soil-Geomorphology Project, Las Cruces, New Mexico. The project was a study of soils and geomorphology in an arid and semi-arid environment. The series is extensively referenced in many documents, publications and thesis. Revision outside the project area is discouraged in order to preserve the historical concept for research.
ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon was sampled as pedon S67NM-7-4. (L.H. Gile and R.B. Grossman, 1979; The Desert Project Soil Monograph. Document PB80-135304. National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va.