LOCATION WAHWEAP AZEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Typic Haplocalcids
TYPICAL PEDON: Wahweap fine sand - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 1 inch; yellowish red (5YR 5/8) fine sand, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable; many very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 5 percent gravel; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
Bk1--1 to 12 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/8) gravelly loamy fine sand, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable; common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 30 percent gravel with thicker lime coatings on the bottom than on the top; slightly effervescent, 10 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 11 inches thick)
Bk2--12 to 19 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) extremely gravelly fine sandy loam, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable; common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 60 percent gravel with thicker lime coatings on the bottom than on the top; violently effervescent, 10 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 9 inches thick)
2Cr--19 inches; pinkish white (5YR 8/2) partially weathered sandstone; lime coatings in joints.
TYPE LOCATION: Coconino County, Arizona; about 7 miles northwest of Page; 1200 feet north and 500 feet east of the southwest corner of section 7, T. 41 N., R.8 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Intermittently moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July-September and December-February. Driest during May and June. Typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Soil temperature - 57 to 59 degrees F.
Rock fragments - 35 to 60 percent gravel in the control section
Organic matter content - Less than 1 percent
Depth to paralithic contact - 10 to 20 inches
Depth to calcic - 1 to 13 inches
A and B horizons
Hue: 7.5YR, 5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 6 or 8 dry
Texture: Fine sand, loamy fine sand, fine sandy loam, averaging finer than loamy fine sand
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Wahweap soils are on rolling plateaus. These soils formed in eolian sands and sandstone alluvium. Slopes range from 0 to 16 percent. Elevations range from 3600 to 4400 feet. Mean annual precipitation is 6 to 10 inches. Mean annual air temperature is 55 to 57 degrees F. Frost-free period is 160 to 180 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Pagina and Sheppard series. Pagina soils are moderately deep. Sheppard soils are very deep.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; slow runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for livestock grazing. Vegetation is mainly blackbrush, Mormon-tea, broom snakeweed, Indian ricegrass, and annuals.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Arizona. The Wahweap series is of moderate extent. MLRA 35.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Coconino County; Soil survey of Coconino County Area, Arizona, North Kaibab Part; 1985.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 1 inch (A horizon)
Calcic horizon - the zone from 1 to 19 inches (Bk1, Bk2 horizons)
Paralithic contact - the boundary at 19 inches (2Cr horizon)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy Tenth Edition, 2006.