LOCATION SABINE TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, siliceous, hyperthermic Oxyaquic Hapludolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Sabine loamy fine sand--pasture.
(Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 7 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loamy fine sand; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable; many fine roots; few dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) organic stains along roots; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.
A2--7 to 12 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loamy fine sand; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable; many fine roots; few dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) organic stains along roots; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (combined thickness of the A horizon is 10 to 22 inches.)
Bw1--12 to 23 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) loamy fine sand, single grain; loose; few fine roots; few medium dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) iron accumulations; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bw2--23 to 37 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) loamy fine sand, single grain; loose; few fine roots; few medium dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) iron accumulations; many medium faint light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bw3--37 to 57 inches; mixed light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) and light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loamy fine sand, single grain; loose; few fine roots; few medium strong brown (7.5YR 6/8) iron accumulations; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (combined thickness of the Bw horizon is 30 to 60 inches)
Bg--57 to 80 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) loamy fine sand, single grain; loose; common coarse pale brown (10YR 3/3) and yellowish red (5YR 5/8) iron accumulations; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Jefferson County, Texas; from Sabine Pass, 2.5 miles southwest on Texas Highway 87; 150 feet north in pasture. (Latitude 29N, 42, 24; Longitude 93W, 55, 25)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to loamy or clayey strata exceeds 80 inches. The texture is fine sand or loamy fine sand throughout. The silt plus clay content exceeds 10 percent. Few to common marine shell fragments occur in some pedons below 30 inches. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to moderately alkaline.
The A horizon has color with hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 to 3.
The Bw horizon has color with hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4.
The Bg horizon has color with hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 1 or 2.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no series in the same family. Similar soils are the Galveston and Stowell series. Galveston soils have a ochric epipedon and contain less than 10 percent clay plus silt. Stowell soils have a loamy argillic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sabine soils are on nearly level to very gently sloping beach ridges along the Gulf of Mexico. These soils formed in sandy sediments of Recent age that were reworked by wind and storm tides and are now stabilized by vegetation. Mean annual temperature is 70 to 72 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 44 to 60 inches. Frost free days range from 250 to 270 and elevation ranges from 4 to 12 feet. The Thornthwaite P-E index ranges from 68 to 80.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Baines, Galveston, Mustang, Nass, and Veston series. Baines soils are Aquolls, are lower in the landscape, and are mapped in a complex with Sabine soils. Galveston, Mustang, Nass, and Veston soils have a ochric epipedon. Galveston soils have less than 10 percent silt plus sand and are on about the same landscape position. Mustang and Nass soils are lower in the landscape and have a water table at or near the surface during most of the year. Veston soils are slightly lower in the landscape and have a fine-silty particle-size control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Sabine soils are moderately well drained. The permeability is very rapid above the water table. Runoff is very low. An apparent water table occurs between 30 and 50 inches most of the year. The soils are rarely to occasionally flooded for very brief duration during storm surge.
USE AND VEGETATION: The soils are used mainly as rangeland and improved pasture. Some areas are used for truck crops. The native vegetation is a mixture of little bluestem, switchgrass, and paspalums.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Bordering the coastline in southeastern Texas (MLRA 151). The series is of minor extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Galveston County, Texas; 1984. The Sabine series was first correlated in Jefferson County, Texas in 1962. The series was put on the inactive list in 1972 and combined with the Stowell series. In 1984 the series was reestablished with the correlation of Galveston County. The type location was placed near the original type location with the 1996 correlation of Jefferson and Orange Counties, Texas
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - 0 to 12 inches (A1 and A2 horizons).
Oxyaquic feature - Saturation at 30 inches for more that 30 days during most years.
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL data (Lab No. 21024 - March 1966) supports a mollic epipedon and mineralogy that is borderline siliceous/mixed. Data from type location by TAMU supports siliceous (S84TX-167-1).
SOIL INTERPRETATION RECORD NUMBER: TX0955