LOCATION TESIHIM AZEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic, shallow Ustic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Tesihim very gravelly sandy loam - woodland (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 1 inch; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) very gravelly sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; weak coarse platy structure parting to weak fine granular; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; 40 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
C--1 to 4 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) gravelly sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; 25 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
Cr--4 inches; soft slightly decomposed volcanic tuff.
TYPE LOCATION: Navajo County, Arizona; on the Navajo Indian Reservation, about 1 mile west of Na ah tee; Latitude 35 degrees 29 minutes 38 seconds North and Longitude 110 degrees 10 minutes 8 seconds West.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July through September and December through March. Driest during May and June. Ustic Aridic soil moisture regime
Soil temperature: 52 to 55 degrees F.
Depth to bedrock: 4 to 20 inches
Clay content: 10 to 18 percent; more than 45 percent sand and greater than 15 percent fine sand and coarser
Rock fragments: 0 to 35 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline
A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry, 2 through 4 moist
C horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: sandy loam, loam, coarse sandy loam
Some pedons have a Bw horizon that does not meet the diagnostic cambic horizon criteria
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Canyon (NE), Epping (NE), Eslendo (NM), Gerst (UT), Picante (CO), Quarteles (NM), Redarrow (WY), Remorris (UT), Sandoval (NM), Shingle (WY), Simel (UT), Taluce (WY), and Tassel (NE) series. The Cannyon, Epping, Redarrow, Shingle, Taluce, and Tassel soils are moist in the soil moisture control section during May and June and occur in the Great Plains. In addition Redarrow has less than 15 percent fine sand and coarser sand, Shingle soils average 20 percent or more clay, and Taluse and Tassek soils have mean annual soil temperature of less than 52 degrees F. Eslendo, Gerst, Picante, Remorris, Sandoval, and Simel soils average more than 18 percent clay in the particle size control section. In addition, Gerst soils have a mean annual soil temperature of 52 degrees F. or less and Remorris and Simel soils have hues of 5YR or redder. Quarteles soils have 10 to 20 percent volcantic glass and 5 to 10 percent mica component in the particle size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Tesihim soils are on summits and shoulders of mesas and buttes and have slopes of 3 to 15 percent. These soils formed in residuum derived from Tertiary age volcanic tuff. Elevation ranges from 6,200 and 6,600 feet. Average annual precipitation is 10 to 14 inches. Mean annual air temperature is 50 to 53 degrees F. The average frost-free period ranges from 120 to 150 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: This is the Naahtee soils. Naahtee soils are shallow and have a cambic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; medium runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Tesihim soils are used primarily for wildlife habitat. Tesihim soils occur mainly on barren areas with very few widely scattered trees and shrubs, Utah juniper, twoneddle pinyon, cliffrose, and rabbitbrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Tesihim soils are of small extent on the Black Mesa Basin of the Navajo Section of the Colorado Plateau in northeastern Arizona. MLRA 35
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Fort Defiance Area, Parts of Apache and Navajo Counties Arizona, and McKinley and San Juan Counties, New Mexico; 2008. Tesihim is a place name. The name is coined.
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 1 inch (A horizon)
Entic feature- the lack of diagnostic subsurface horizons (C horizon)
Paralithic contact- the boundary with soft volcanic tuff at 4 inches (Cr horizon)
Soils classified according to Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006