LOCATION VANTO NMTentative Series
The Vanto series consists of very deep, excessively drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from granite, gneiss, schist, and granitic sandstone and mudstone. Vanto soils are on low stream terraces of valley floors. Slopes are 1 to 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 11 inches and mean annual temperature is about 51 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Ustic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Vanto loamy coarse sand--on a low stream terrace sloping 2 percent to the northwest at 5,795 feet elevation--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was dry from the soil surface to 30 inches and moist below 30 inches.)
A--0 to 4 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few medium, few fine, and common very fine roots; few very fine irregular pores; 5 percent pebbles; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick)
C1--4 to 8 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; few very fine irregular pores; 10 percent pebbles; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
C2--8 to 23 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4), stratified coarse sand and gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few medium, few fine and common very fine roots; one stratum of fine sandy loam at 10 to 11 inches; 15 percent pebbles average; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual wavy boundary.
C3--23 to 41 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) stratified gravelly coarse sand and very gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; single grained; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; several 1/2 to 1 inch thick lenses of clay; 30 percent pebbles average; slightly to strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated as very few fine irregular shaped accumulation on undersides of rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual smooth boundary.
C4--41 to 55 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) stratified coarse sand and gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; single grained; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and few very fine roots; 20 percent pebbles average; slightly to strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated as very few fine irregular shaped accumulation on undersides of rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual smooth boundary.
C5--55 to 76 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) stratified coarse sand and very gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; single grained; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; 25 percent pebbles average; slightly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated as very few fine irregular shaped accumulation on undersides of rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual smooth boundary.
C6--76 to 94 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) stratified gravelly coarse sand and very gravelly coarse sand, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; single grained; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; 35 percent pebbles average; slightly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated as very few fine irregular shaped accumulation on undersides of rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; about 1/2 mile west of Pojoaque; 2,100 feet north and 1,524 feet east of the southwest corner of section 7, T.19N., R.9E.; USGS Espanola 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; Latitude 35 degrees 53 minutes 25 seconds North and Longitude 106 degrees 1 minute 51 seconds West, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soil moisture control section is intermittently moist in some part from July to October and December to March. The soils are driest in May and June. The soil moisture regime is torric (aridic) bordering on ustic.
Mean annual soil temperature - 52 to 54 degrees F.
Particle-size control section weighted averages - Silicate clay content: less than 8 percent; Rock fragment content: 15 to 35 percent, lithology of fragments is granite, gneiss, and schist
Reaction - neutral to slightly alkaline in the surface; slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline in sandy subsurface horizons
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 3 percent in most horizons; 0 to 1 percent in some sandy horizons
Salinity, mmhos/cm - 0 to 2
Sodicity, SAR - 0 to 1 in the upper part of the profile; 0 to 4 in the lower part of the profile
A horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Rock fragments: total range is 5 to 10 percent
C1 horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: sand, loamy coarse sand, or coarse sand
Rock fragments: total range is 5 to 20 percent
Other features: some pedons have stratified loamy very fine sand and very fine sandy loam
upper C horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: stratified coarse sand to very gravelly coarse sand
Rock fragments: total range is 10 to 55 percent
10 to 45 percent pebbles
0 to 10 percent cobbles
Other features: pedons have thin loamy strata, lenses, and laminae ranging in texture from fine sandy loam to clay.
lower C horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist
Texture: stratified gravelly coarse sand to very gravelly coarse sand
Rock fragments: 25 to 60 percent pebbles
Other features: some pedons have water tables below 90 inches
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Luster series. Luster soils have less than 5 percent pebbles in all horizons, have Ap horizons, and have Bk horizon which include 5YR and 2.5YR colors. They also have horizons dominated by fine sand.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Vanto soils are on low stream terraces of valley floors. They formed in alluvium derived from Precambrian granite, gneiss, and schist, and Tertiary
micaceous sandstone and siltstone. Slopes are 1 to 3 percent. Elevation ranges from 5,500 to 6,200 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 9 to 13 inches with about 45 percent falling as rain from high-intensity convective thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual air temperature is 50 to 52 degrees F. The frost-free period is 150 to 170 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bosquecito, Cuyamungue, Jaralosa, and Mirada soils. Bosquecito soils are coarse-loamy, have aquic conditions between 24 and 38 inches, and occur on flood plains. Cuyamungue soils are sandy-skeletal, lack diagnostic horizons, and occur on flood plains. Jaralosa soils are coarse-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, have aquic conditions between 3.5 and 5 feet, and occur on flood plains. Mirada soils are coarse-loamy, have ochric epipedons, and occur on flood plains of valley floors.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained, negligible surface runoff; permeability is moderately rapid in the loamy horizons and rapid to very rapid in the sandy horizons. These soils are subject to rare flooding.
USE AND VEGETATION: Vanto soils are used for livestock grazing, a sand and gravel source, and recreation. Present vegetation is Indian ricegrass, sand dropseed, green rubber rabbitbrush, plains pricklypear cactus, and scattered oneseed juniper and Fremont cottonwood.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Vanto soils are of small extent on the southeastern Espanola Basin part of the Basin and Range province in northcentral New Mexico. The MLRA is 36.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES PROPOSED: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; Santa Fe Area Soil Survey Update; 2000. Vanto is a coined name.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of about 4 inches. (A horizon)
Entisol feature - The lack of diagnostic subsurface horizons.
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Calcium carbonate equivalence was determined using a calcimeter. EC was determined with an instant salinity kit.