LOCATION SUNRAY TX+OK

Established Series
Rev. CLG-WMR-SLM
10/2022

SUNRAY SERIES

The Sunray Series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in loamy, calcareous eolian sediments of Pleistocene age. These soils occur on nearly level to very gently sloping eolian plains and interfluves. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 483 mm (19 in) and the mean annual air temperature is about 13 degrees C (55 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Calcidic Paleustolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Sunray loam, on a 1 percent slope, in native rangeland at an elevation of about 1071 m (3514 ft). (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 25 cm (0 to 10 in); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2), very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2), moist; loam; moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable; many fine roots; common worm casts; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline, pH 8.0; clear smooth boundary. (18 to 33 cm thick [7 to 13 in])

Btk1--25 to 56 cm (10 to 22 in); light brown (7.5YR 6/4), strong brown (7.5YR 5/6), moist; clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic parting to weak fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable; few clay films; common carbonate coats; common worm casts; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline, pH 8.1; clear smooth boundary. Thickness of the upper Bt and Btk horizons is 15 to 42 cm [6 to 17 in])

Btk2--56 to 114 cm (22 to 45 in); pink (7.5YR 7/4), brown (7.5YR 5/4), moist; clay loam; weak coarse prismatic parting to weak fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable; few fine pores; few clay films; few worm casts; few fine irregular weakly coherent carbonate nodules and common very fine and fine irregular noncoherent cemented carbonate masses; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline, pH 8.4; diffuse smooth boundary.

Btk3--114 to 132 cm (45 to 52 in); reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6), strong brown (7.5YR 5/6), moist; clay loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable; common fine pores; few clay films; few carbonate coats; few fine threadlike weakly coherent carbonate nodules; violently effervescence; moderately alkaline, pH 8.4; gradual smooth boundary. Combined thickness of the lower Btk horizons is 43 to 170 cm [17 to 67 in])

2Btk4--132 to 178 cm (52 to 70 in); reddish yellow (5YR 6/6), yellowish red (5YR 5/6), moist; clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable; few clay films; few carbonate coats; few fine threadlike weakly coherent carbonate nodules; fragments; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline, pH 8.0; gradual smooth boundary.

2Btk5--178 to 213 cm (70 to 84 in); yellowish red (5YR 5/8), yellowish red (5YR 4/6), moist; clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm; few clay films; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline, pH 8.0. Combined thickness of the 2Btk horizons is 0 to 127 cm [0 to 50 in])

TYPE LOCATION: Sherman County, Texas; from the intersection of US Highway 287 and Texas State Highway 15 in Stratford; about 10.5 mi (16.9 km) east on Texas State Highway 15; 200 ft (61 m) south into native rangeland.

USGS topographic quadrangle: Stevens SW, TX
Latitude: 36 degrees, 19 minutes, 40.76 seconds N
Longitude: 101 degrees, 52 minutes, 51.98 seconds W
Datum: WGS84

Decimal Degrees:
Latitude: 36.3279877
Longitude: -101.8811035

UTM Northing: 4024182
UTM Easting: 241380
UTM zone 14S

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: An ustic moisture regime bordering on aridic. The soil moisture control section is dry in some or all parts for more than 180 but less than 205 days, cumulative, in normal years. July through August and December through February are the driest months. These soils are intermittently moist in September through November and March through June.

Solum thickness: More than 203 cm (80 in)
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 18 to 33 cm (6 to 13 in)
Depth to secondary calcium carbonate: 18 to 51 cm (6 to 20 in)
Depth to argillic horizon: 18 to 33 cm (6 to 13 in)
Thickness of argillic horizon: 15 to 42 cm (6 to 17 in)
Depth to calcic horizon: 35 to 60 cm (14 to 24 in)
Depth to lithologic discontinuity (where present): 76 to 152 cm (30 to 60 in)

Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Section range: upper Btk horizon
Total clay content: 20 to 35 percent
Silicate clay content: 18 to 33 percent
Clay-sized carbonate content: 0 to 2 percent
Total sand content: 20 to 60 percent
Rock fragments: 1 to 5 percent; fine to medium gravel; strongly to very strongly cemented calcium carbonate nodules

A or Ap horizons:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 3 to 5, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3 dry or moist
Texture: loam or clay loam
Total clay content: 15 to 30 percent
Clay-sized carbonate content: 0 to 2 percent
Sand Content: 20 to 50 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 5 percent
Effervescence: slight to violent
Reaction (pH): moderately alkaline (7.9 to 8.4)

Upper Btk horizons:
Hue: 7.5YR to 10YR
Value: 5 or 6, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6 dry or moist
Texture: sandy clay loam, loam, or clay loam
Total clay content: 20 to 35 percent
Clay-sized carbonate content: 0 to 2 percent
Sand Content: 20 to 60 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 7 percent
Visible secondary calcium carbonate: 1 to 15 percent by volume as films, filaments, masses, nodules, and finely disseminated carbonates.
Effervescence: strong or violent
Reaction (pH): moderately alkaline (7.9 to 8.4)

Lower Btk horizons:
Hue: 2.5YR to 7.5YR
Value: 5 to 8, 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 4 to 6 dry or moist
Texture: sandy clay loam, loam, or clay loam
Total clay content: 20 to 35 percent
Clay-sized carbonate content: 4 to 10 percent
Sand Content: 20 to 60 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 45 percent
Visible secondary calcium carbonate: 10 to 45 percent by volume as films, filaments, masses, nodules, and finely disseminated carbonates.
Effervescence: strong or violent
Reaction (pH): moderately to strongly alkaline (7.9 to 9.0)

2Btk horizons:
Hue: 2.5YR to 7.5YR
Value: 5 or 6, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 6 to 8 dry or moist
Texture: sandy clay loam, loam, or clay loam
Total clay content: 20 to 35 percent
Clay-sized carbonate content: 0 to 4 percent
Sand Content: 20 to 60 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 20 percent
Visible secondary calcium carbonate: 1 to 15 percent by volume as films, filaments, masses, nodules, and finely disseminated carbonates.
Effervescence: strong or violent
Reaction (pH): moderately alkaline (7.9 to 8.4)

COMPETING SERIES: These is the Texline soils in the same family. Similar soils include Bovina series.
Texline soils: occur in slightly drier soil temperature regimes of MLRA 77D and are less calcareous in the subsoil
Bovina soils: occur in a slightly warmer soil temperature regime

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: loamy calcareous eolian sediments of Pleistocene age
Landscape: High Plains
Landform: eolian plains or interfluves
Slope: 0 to 5 percent
Mean annual precipitation: 406 to 559 mm (16 to 22 in)
Thornthwaite annual P-E Index Values: 25 to 36
Mean annual air temperature: 11.7 to 13.9 degrees C (53 to 57 degrees F)
Frost-free period: 170 to 200 days
Elevation: 853.4 to 1,463 meters (2,800 to 4,800 ft)

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the Capps, Conlen, Dalhart, Dumas, Gruver, Kerrick, Oslo, Plack, Sherm, and Spurlock series.
Capps and Conlen soils: occur on similar landscape positions; and do not have qualifying argillic horizons
Dalhart soils: occur on higher landscape positions; have an ochric epipedon; and do not have a calcic horizon within 100cm (40in) of the soil surface
Dallam soils: occur on higher landscape positions; have an ochric epipedon; and have a calcic horizon greater than 60 cm (24 in) below of the soil surface
Dumas soils: occur on higher landscape positions; and have a calcic horizon greater than 60 cm (24 in) below the soil surface
Gruver and Sherm soils: are on higher landscape positions; and have more than 35 percent silicate clay in the particle-size control section
Kerrick soils: occur on slightly lower landscape positions; do not have an argillic horizon; and have a petrocalcic within 50 to 100 cm (20 to 40 in) of the soil surface
Oslo soils: occur on similar landscape positions; and have a fine-silty particle-size family
Plack soils: occur on slightly lower landscape positions; do not have an argillic horizon; and have a petrocalcic within 10 to 50 cm (4 to 20 in) of the soil surface.
Spurlock soils: occur on similar landscapes; and have an ochric epipedon

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage: well drained
Permeability: moderate
Runoff: negligible on 0 to 1 percent slopes, low on 1 to 5 percent slopes

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major use: cropland and livestock grazing
Native vegetation: mid and short grasses, including blue grama, sideoats grama, and buffalograss, with lesser amounts of vine-mesquite, western wheatgrass, tobosa, silver bluestem, and prairieclover with a light to moderate overstory of catclaw and yucca.
Crops: grain sorghum, small grains, and forage crops
Ecological sites assigned to phases and components of this series are listed below. Current ecological site assignments are in Web Soil Survey.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area: Oklahoma panhandle and northern Texas panhandle
Land Resource Region: H - Central Great Plains Winter Wheat and Range Region Sunray
MLRA 77A - Southern High Plains, Northern Part
Extent: extensive

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sherman County, Texas; 1970.

REMARKS:

The original classification of Sunray soils was Fine-loamy, carbonatic, mesic, Calciorthitic Paleustolls. This older classification scheme allowed for the qualifying argillic horizon to include the hue of 10YR, whereas the current scheme requires 7.5YR or redder. Some older pedon descriptions of the Sunray series exhibit argillic horizons with hues of 10YR due to this discrepancy.

Major revision to this OSD in 2022 includes returning the series particle-size family to fine-loamy as supported by the predominance of the spatial data, and moving the type location to the original Sunray pedon description used for the establishment of the series in Sherman Co., TX.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
Mollic epipedon: 0 to 25 cm (0 to 10 in) (A horizon)
Argillic horizon: 25 to 56 cm (10 to 22 in) (Btk1 horizon)
Secondary carbonates: 25 to 213 cm (10 to 84 in) (Btk and 2Btk horizons)
Calcic horizon: 56 to 132 cm (22 to 52 in) (Btk2 and Btk3 horizons)
Lithologic discontinuity: 132 to 213 cm (52 to 84 in) (2Btk1 and 2Btk2 horizons)

Note: In typical Sunray soil profiles, the upper Btk is the qualifying argillic horizon. Lower Btk horizons are commonly engulfed with more recent calcium carbonate accumulations and meet the requirements of a calcic horizon; however, they do not qualify as diagnostic argillic horizons. Lithologic discontinuities are common, but not required to meet series criteria.

Pedon ID: P1975TX421016 (TL)

ADDITIONAL DATA: None currently available

Taxonomic version: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Twelfth Edition, 2014.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.