LOCATION WERITO                  NM

Established Series
Rev. JVC/WRJ/RLB
12/2014

WERITO SERIES

The Werito series consists of well drained, slowly permeable sodium affected soils that are moderately deep. Werito soils formed in alluvium derived from sandstone and shale and are on toeslopes below structural benches, mesas or cuestas. Slopes range from 1 to 3 percent. Average annual precipitation is about 7 inches and average annual air temperature is about 53 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, mesic Sodic Haplocambids

TYPICAL PEDON: Werito loam--on a northwest facing simple slope of 1 percent at 5,695 feet elevation--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was slightly moist above 23 inches and dry below.)
A--0 to 3 inches (0 to 8 cm); brown (10YR 5/3) loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate thick platy and moderate very fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and very fine roots; 5 percent fine gravel and 5 percent fine channers; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 3 inches or 5 to 8 cm thick)
Bn1--3 to 7 inches (8 to 18 cm); pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak coarse and moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few medium and fine and common very fine roots; few very fine discontinuous tubular pores; 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 6 inches to 10 to 15 cm thick)
Bn2--7 to 14 inches (18 to 36 cm); pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak coarse and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine roots; few fine tubular pores; 5 percent channers; strongly effervescent; very few fine calcium carbonate accumulations; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 9 inches or 10 to 23 cm thick)
2Bkn--14 to 17 inches (36 to 43 cm); pale brown (10YR 6/3) paragravelly clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few medium and common fine and very fine roots; few very fine discontinuous tubular pores; 10 percent soft shale paragravel and 5 percent channers; strongly effervescent; secondary carbonates segregated in few fine and medium irregularly shaped soft masses and filaments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches or 5 to 13 cm thick)
3By--17 to 22 inches (43 to 56 cm); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) parachannery silty clay, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few fine and common very fine roots; 20 percent soft shale parachanners, 5 percent channers, 5 percent gravel; secondary silt-sized gypsum crystals segregated in common fine and medium, irregularly shaped seams and filaments; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 5 inches or 8 to 13 cm thick)
3C--22 to 34 inches (56 to 86 cm); brown (7.5YR 5/2) extremely parachannery silty clay, brown (7.5YR 5/2) moist; massive; platy rock structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few fine and very fine roots; 80 percent soft shale parachanners; strongly acid (pH 5.2); clear irregular boundary. (5 to 12 inches or 13 to 30 cm thick)
3Cr--34 to 60 inches (86 to 152 cm); soft carbonaceous shale.

TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, New Mexico; on the Navajo Indian Reservation about 5 miles northeast of Sheep Springs; 2,425 feet west and 3,275 feet south of the northeast corner of section 2, T. 22 N., R. 17 W. (Projected from BLM Cadastral Survey 1983, 1984)

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Typically the soil moisture control section is intermittently moist in some part from July to September and December to March. Driest during May and June. Typic aridic soil moisture regime
Soil temperature: 54 to 57 degrees F (12.2 to 13.9 degrees C).
Percent clay in the control section: averages 35 to 55 percent
Depth to soft bedrock: 20 to 40 inches (51 to 102 cm)
Salinity (EC, mmhos/cm): 0 to 8 dS/m
Sodicity (SAR): 13 to 30 (typically less than 13 within the upper 10 inches of the profile)
Reaction: Neutral to strongly alkaline in solum, neutral to strongly acid in C horizon
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percnet (sandstone, hard shale, silicified wood and siderite from iron carbonate)

A horizon
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist

Bn and Bkn horizons
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 1 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: silty clay loam, clay loam
Rock fragments: 5 to 10 percent gravel, 0 to 5 percent channers, 0 to 15 percent soft shale fragments
Calcium carbonate equivalence: 5 to 15 percent

By horizon
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 to 6 dry, 2 to 5 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3, dry or moist
Texture: silty clay loam, silty clay
Rock fragments: 5 to 10 percent gravel, 0 to 5 percent channers, 15 to 35 percent soft shale fragments
Percent gypsum: 5 to 15 percent

C horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 3 to 5 dry, 2 to 5 moist
Chroma: 1 to 4, dry or moist
Soft fragments: 50 to 95 shale

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Werito soils are on toeslopes below mesas, cuestas and structural benches. The upper part of the profile of Werito soils formed in alluvium derived from sandstone and shale. The lower part of the profile formed in weathered shale. Slope range from 1 to 3 percent. Elevation ranges from 5,400 to 6,000 feet (1,646 to 1,829 meters). The mean annual precipitation is 5 to 10 inches with 35 to 60 percent falling as rain from high intensity thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual air temperature is 50 to 55 degrees F (10.0 to 12.8 degrees ). The average frost-free period is 130 to 160 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Benally, Brimhall, and Genats soils. Benally and Brimhall soils are deep, have gypsic and calcic horizons and are in a coarse-loamy family. Genats soils lack cambic horizons and occur on steeper slopes. Uffens soils are deep and have natric horizons.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff, slow permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Werito soils are used for livestock grazing. Present vegetation is mound saltbush, sickle saltbush, ribscale, alkali sacaton, galleta, and Russian thistle.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Werito soils are of small extent in the western San Juan Basin portion of the Colorado Plateau in northwest New Mexico. MLRA 35; LRR-D.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Shiprock Area Soil Survey, 1993. Werito is the name of a canyon in southern San Juan County

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 3 inches (A horizon)
Cambic horizon - the zone from 3 to 14 inches (Bn1 and Bn2 horizons)
Paralithic contact - the boundary with shale bedrock at 34 inches (3Cr layer)
The By horizon is either too thin or does not contain enough gypsum to qualify as a gypsic horizon.
The dark colors and organic carbon of these soils is inherited from the parent materials and is non-pedogenic. This soil is too dry to meet the requirements of an Ustic intergrade. The low pH of the C horizon may be due to the presence of elemental sulfur or pyrite, also inherited from the underlying bedrock.
Calcium carbonate equivalence determined with the use of a field volume calcimeter. Salinity values were determined on three pedons, including the type location, with a Wheatstone bridge.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Selected properties of the type location were determined by the NSSL as Pedon ID: 84NM045002

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy 14th Edition, 2014.

Updated and revised for the correlation of Ft. Defiance Area AZ715 2/08 DWD

Revised for the correlation the SDJR - MLRA 35 - Werito loam, 1 to 3 percent slopes, November 2014, LJG2

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.