LOCATION TIMHUS NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal over cindery, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Calciustepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Timhus extremely gravelly loam--woodland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 5 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) extremely gravelly loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; moderate fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine roots; few fine tubular pores; 70 percent pebble-sized cinders; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
Bk1--5 to 13 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very gravelly loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine and medium roots; common very fine irregular and few fine tubular pores; 55 percent pebble-sized cinders; calcium carbonate disseminated and as coatings on undersides of fragments; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
Bk2--13 to 20 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very gravelly loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine and medium, and few coarse roots; common very fine irregular pores; 50 percent pebble-sized cinders; strongly effervescent; calcium carbonate occurs as common coarse irregular soft masses and as coatings over entire fragments; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 14 inches thick)
Bk3--20 to 29 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) extremely gravelly loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine, medium and coarse roots; common very fine irregular pores; 65 percent pebble-sized cinders; violently effervescent; calcium carbonate occurs as many coarse irregular soft masses and as coatings over entire fragments; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (8 to 10 inches thick)
2C--29 to 60 inches; very dark gray (N 3/) cinders, black (N 2/) moist; unconsolidated; loose, 95 percent pebble-sized cinders.
TYPE LOCATION: Cibola County, New Mexico; on the south side of Cerro Americano; 1,300 feet west and 100 feet north of the southeast corner of section 11, T. 8 N., R. 13 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture - The soil moisture control section is moist in all parts 30 to 40 consecutive days during the 120 days following the winter solstice and is moist in all parts about 35 percent of the time that the soil temperature at 20 inch depths is above 41 degrees F. Aridic ustic moisture regime.
Soil Temperature: 49 to 52 degrees F.
Depth to Contrasting Layer: 20 to 40 inches.
A horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Bk horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 3 through 6
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 20 percent
Rock fragments by volume: 0 to 5 percent cobbles and 35 to 70 percent pebbles.
2C horizon
Rock fragments by volume: 80 to 100 percent pebble-sized cinders.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series..
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Timhus soils are on cinder cones and formed in windblown sediments. Slopes are 20 to 50 percent. Elevations range from 7,400 to 8,100 feet. Mean annual precipitation is about 14 to 16 inches. Mean annual temperature is about 47 to 49 degrees F. The frost-free period is 90 to 110 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bandera, Cantina, Cabezon, Montecito and Raton soils. Bandera and Raton soils are frigid. Cantina and Montecito soils have argillic horizons and more than 35 percent clay. Cabezon soils have bedrock at depths less than 20 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; slow runoff; moderately permeable in the upper part, rapidly permeable in the 2C horizon.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mostly for wood products, livestock grazing and wildlife. Pinyon, juniper, blue grama, bottlebrush squirreltail, mountain muhly and fourwing saltbush are the principal plants.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western New Mexico. Extent is small. MLRA 35.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Cibola County, New Mexico, 1985.
REMARKS:
Ochric Epipedon - The zone from the surface to a depth of about 5 inches. (A horizon)
Calcic Horizon - The zone from about 13 inches to a depth of 29 inches. (Bk2, Bk3 horizons)
Contrasting particle-size class - The boundary at about 29 inches. (2C horizon)
Classification changed to loamy-skeletal over cindery 2007.
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy Tenth Edition, 2006.