LOCATION TOURS AZ+UT
Established Series
Rev. AAD/DLR/PDC
10/2011
TOURS SERIES
The Tours series consists of very deep, well drained, stratified soils that formed in stream alluvium. Tours soils are on alluvial fans and flood plains. Slopes are from 0 to 8 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 9 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 52 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Typic Torrifluvents
TYPICAL PEDON: Tours silty clay loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 6 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) silty clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 5/4) moist; moderate thin and medium platy structure; hard, friable, very sticky and plastic; many very fine vesicular pores; common fine roots; violently effervescent, 15 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
C1--6 to 19 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) stratified silty clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; massive; hard, friable, very sticky and plastic; common fine tubular pores; common fine roots; strongly effervescent, 9 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 20 inches thick)
C2--19 to 47 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) and light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) stratified silty clay loam and silt loam, reddish brown (5YR 5/4) and reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; massive; hard, friable, very sticky and plastic; common fine tubular pores; few fine salt crystals; common fine roots; violently effervescent, 19 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (18 to 35 inches thick)
C3--47 to 55 inches; pink (5YR 7/3) and pinkish gray (5YR 6/2) stratified silt loam and very fine sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 5/3) and dark reddish gray (5YR 4/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and very fine tubular pores; few fine salt crystals; common fine and few medium roots; violently effervescent, 19 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
C4--55 to 60 inches; pink (5YR 7/4) stratified very fine sandy loam, light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine tubular pores; few fine salt crystals; common fine roots; violently effervescent, 14 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Navajo County, Arizona, about 3 miles east of Winslow just north of I-40; about 220 feet east and 200 feet north of the southwest corner of section 27, T. 19 N., R. 16 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July-August and December-January. Driest during May and June. Typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Soil Temperature - 47 to 59 degrees F.
Rock fragments - Less than 5 percent gravel in a few thin layers
Salinity - Electrical conductivity is usually less than 16 dS/m, but ranges to 30 or more in some pedons
Sodicity - Nonsodic to slightly sodic
Calcium carbonate - Slightly to violently effervescent throughout from disseminated forms
Organic matter - Less than 1 percent, decreases irregularly with depth
A horizon
Hue: 2.5YR, 5YR
Value: 4 to 7 dry, 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist
Reaction: slightly to strongly alkaline
C horizon
Hue: 2.5YR, 5YR
Value: 4 to 7 dry, 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: stratified silty clay loam to very fine sandy loam, with thin layers of finer or coarser textured material (18 to 35 percent clay)
Reaction: moderately or strongly alkaline
Calcium carbonate: usually disseminated, but occurs as fine masses in some pedons
Salt crystals are present between layers in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Fivemile (WY),
Slaw (NV), and
Slawha (NV) soils. Fivemile and Slaw and Slawha soils have hue of 10YR and 7.5YR.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Tours soils are on alluvial fans and floodplains at elevations of 4,000 to 5,900 feet. Slope ranges from 0 to 8 percent. The soils formed in stratified stream alluvium from mixed sources. The mean annual precipitation is 6 to 11 inches occurring as summer thunderstorms and winter rain and snow. The mean annual air temperature is 45 to 57 degrees F. The frost-free period is 120 to 180 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Ives,
Jocity,
Navajo,
Padilla,
Purgatory, and
Trail soils. Padilla soils have argillic horizons. Ives and Trail soils contain less than 18 percent clay. Jocity soils contain more than 15 percent sand. Navajo soils contain more than 35 percent clay. Purgatory soils have a gypsic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; slow runoff; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for irrigated cropland, livestock grazing, wildlife habitat, and recreation. Crops are chiefly corn silage, alfalfa, small grains, and irrigated pasture. Native vegetation is alkali sacaton, galleta, blue grama, western wheatgrass, and fourwing saltbush. Native vegetation of the saline areas includes alkali sacaton, galleta, inland saltgrass, iodine bush, mound saltbush, camelthorn, seepweed, New Mexico olive, and greasewood.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Arizona and Utah. The Tours soils are extensive. MLRAs 35, 38, & 39.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Beryl-Enterprise Area, Utah; 1958.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 6 inches (A horizon)
Entisol feature - The absence of diagnostic subsurface horizons
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy Eleventh Edition, 2010
Update and revisions for the correlation of Little Colorado River Area (AZ707), Sept. 2011, CEM
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL sample S77AZ-017-9
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.