LOCATION TSEBITAI NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, active, mesic Typic Haplocambids
TYPICAL PEDON: Tsebitai very fine sandy loam -- on a fan terrace sloping 3 percent to the north at 5,340 feet elevation -- rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was dry throughout.)
A--0 to 5 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; moderate very thick platy structure parting to moderate very fine granular; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine vesicular pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
Bw1--5 to 16 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.3); clear smooth boundary. (9 to 15 inches thick)
Bw2--16 to 26 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated in very few fine filaments; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Bky--26 to 34 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gypsiferous loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; secondary gypsum segregated in common fine filaments; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated in few fine filaments; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 20 inches thick)
BCky--34 to 48 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gypsiferous loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; secondary gypsum segregated in few fine filaments; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated in few fine filaments; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); abrupt wavy boundary. (10 to 15 inches thick)
Cy--48 to 64 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gypsiferous loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak very coarse platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; secondary gypsum segregated in few fine filaments; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9).
TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, New Mexico; on the Navajo Indian Reservation about 12 miles south of Shiprock; 1,500 feet east and 600 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 2, T.27N., R.18W; Latitude 36 degrees 36 minutes 36 seconds N and Longitude 108 degrees 43 minutes 55 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually dry, typically, the soil moisture control section is intermittently moist in some part from July to October and December to March. Typic aridic moisture regime.
Soil temperature - 54 to 57 degrees F.
Silicate clay content, control section weighted average - 10 to 18 percent.
Reaction - slightly to moderately alkaline.
Calcium carbonate equivalent - 5 to 10 percent.
Rock fragments - 0 to 5 percent by volume, dominantly gravel.
Depth to secondary gypsum - 15 to 30 inches.
A horizon
Chroma: 3 or 4.
Salinity, mmhos/cm: less than 2.
Bw horizons
Chroma: 3 or 4.
Texture: loam or very fine sandy loam.
Salinity, mmhos/cm: less than 2.
Bky horizon
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 6 or 7 dry.
Chroma: 2 through 4.
Texture: gypsiferous loam or gypsiferous very fine sandy loam. Salinity, mmhos/cm: 2 to 8.
Sodicity, SAR: 0 to 5.
Gypsum content: 2 to 5 percent.
Other features: secondary gypsum not sufficient to meet the requirements for a gypsic horizon; some pedons have texture of loamy very fine sand.
BCky or C horizons
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4.
Texture: gypsiferous loam or gypsiferous very fine sandy loam. Salinity, mmhos/cm: 2 to 8.
Sodicity, SAR: 0 to 5.
Gypsum content: 2 to 5 percent.
Other features: some pedons have texture of loamy very fine sand or thin horizons of fine sandy loam below 40 inches; in some pedons soft siltstone bedrock occurs between 40 and 60 inches.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competitors.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Tsebitai soils are on fan terraces below mesas, cuestas, and buttes. Tsebitai soils formed in alluvium derived from Cretaceous siltstone and sandstone. Slopes are 1 to 3 percent. Elevation ranges from 5,300 to 5,500 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 5 to 8 inches with 35 to 60 percent falling as rain from high-intensity thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual temperature is 51 to 54 degrees F. The average frost-free period is 140 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Fordbutte, Littlehat, Nataani, Persayo, and Ravola series. Fordbutte, Littlehat, and Nataani soils are moderately deep to soft bedrock on adjacent bedrock uplands. Persayo soils are shallow to soft bedrock. Ravola soils are fine-silty, lack diagnostic horizons, and occur on flood plains and alluvial fans.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Tsebitai soils are used for livestock grazing. Present vegetation is Indian ricegrass, alkali sacaton, sand dropseed, galleta, and Castle Valley clover.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Tsebitai soils are of small extent (about 6,000 acres) on the Four Corners Platform portion of the Colorado Plateau province in northwest New Mexico and possibly southwest Colorado. MLRA 35.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: San Juan County, New Mexico, Shiprock Area Soil Survey, 1993.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of about 3 inches. (A horizon)
Cambic horizon - The zone from 5 to 26 inches. (Bw1 and Bw2 horizons)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy Tenth Edition, 2006.
Tsebitai is the common Navajo word for the Ship Rock, and means "rock with wings". It is pronounced Say'-bi-tie.
ADDITIONAL DATA: The series type location was sampled for full characterization by the National Soil Survey Laboratory (NSSL) as pedon S86NM-045-013. Salinity values were determined on three pedons, including the type location, with a Wheatstone bridge. These pedons were also wet sieved to determine percent coarser than very fine sand within the control sections. Calcium carbonate equivalence was also determined with a field volume calcimeter.