LOCATION WERJO NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, calcareous, mesic Aquic Torrifluvents
TYPICAL PEDON: Werjo loam -- on a nearly level flood plain at 4,895 feet elevation -- native pastureland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 4 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine, and common medium and very fine roots; gypsum or sodium sulfate salts segregated as very few fine irregularly shaped accumulations as filaments; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
AC--4 to 12 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; few fine faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) redox concentrations; weak medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium and fine and common very fine roots; gypsum or sodium sulfate salts segregated as few fine irregularly shaped accumulations as filaments; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
C1--12 to 17 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; few fine faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) redox concentrations; massive; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few medium and fine and common very fine roots; few thin strata of sandy loam and silty clay loam; gypsum or sodium sulfate salts segregated as few fine irregularly shaped accumulations as filaments; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 16 inches thick)
C2--17 to 24 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silty clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; few fine faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) and few fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) redox concentrations; massive; hard, firm, sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and common very fine roots; few thin strata of very fine sandy loam and laminae of silt loam; gypsum or sodium sulfate salts segregated as very few fine irregularly shaped accumulations as filaments; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 21 inches thick)
C3--24 to 32 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; common medium distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) redox concentrations, and few fine faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) redox depletions; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few thin strata of very fine sandy loam and silty clay loam; gypsum or sodium sulfate salts segregated as very few fine irregularly shaped accumulations as filaments; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 18 inches thick)
C4--32 to 44 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; common fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) redox concentrations, and few fine faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) redox depletions; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few thin strata of fine sandy loam; gypsum or sodium sulfate salts segregated as very few fine irregularly shaped accumulations as filaments; slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 22 inches thick)
C5--44 to 66 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) and pale brown (10YR 6/3) fine sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) and brown (10YR 5/3) moist; common fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) redox concentrations, and few fine faint to distinct gray (10YR 5/1) redox depletions; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; few thin strata of loamy fine sand and few laminae of silt loam; gypsum or sodium sulfate salts segregated as very few fine irregularly shaped accumulations as filaments; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).
TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, New Mexico; within the town of Shiprock; 2,600 feet south and 1,000 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 25, T.30N., R.18W.; Latitude 36 degrees 47 minutes 6 seconds N and Longitude 108 degrees 41 minutes 8 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Typically, the soil moisture control section (SMCS) is intermittently moist in some parts between November to April and July to September. It is assumed to be dry in all parts 50 to 75 percent of the time when the soil temperature at 20 inches is 41 degrees F or more. Typic aridic moisture regime based on precipitation.
Depth to seasonal high water table - 3.5 to 5.0 feet
Soil temperature - 53 to 57 degrees F.
Silicate clay content, control section weighted average - 18 to 35 percent
Rock fragments, control section weighted average - less than 5 percent pebbles
Depth to redox concentrations - 4 to 12 inches
Depth to redox depletions - 23 to 40 inches
Reaction - moderately alkaline to strongly alkaline
Organic matter - 0.5 to 1 percent in the surface horizon; decreases irregularly with depth; lower C horizons contain less than 0.8 percent
A or Ap horizon - Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 2 to 8
Sodicity, SAR: 0 to 13
AC horizon - Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: fine sandy loam or sandy clay loam
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 2 to 25
Sodicity, SAR: 0 to 30
Gypsum content: 0 to 1 percent
Redoximorphic features: few to common, fine, faint, dark yellowish brown redox concentrations
C horizons - Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: stratified fine sandy loam to silty clay loam
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 2 to 25
Sodicity, SAR: 5 to 30
Gypsum content: 0 to 1 percent
Redoximorphic features: few to many, fine to medium, distinct or prominent, strong brown or dark yellowish brown redox concentrations; grayish brown, gray, dark gray, or very dark gray redox depletions occur between 23 and 70 inches
Other features: lenses, laminae, and thin strata of sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, silt loam, silty clay loam, or silty clay are present; some pedons have strata of sand, coarse sand, or gravelly coarse sand below 40 inches
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Werjo soils are on high flood plains of perennial streams. They formed in alluvium derived from Cretaceous and Tertiary sandstone and shale. Slopes are 0 to 1 percent. Elevation is 4,700 to 5,000 feet. The climate is arid. Average annual precipitation is 5 to 8 inches and average annual temperature is 51 to 54 degrees F. The average frost-free period is 140 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bebeevar, Green River, Walrees, and Werlog soils. Bebeevar soils are sandy and lack aquic conditions within 40 inches of the soil surface. Green River soils are coarse-loamy and lack aquic conditions within 40 inches. Walrees soils are fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, have an Ustic soil moisture regime, and are somewhat poorly drained. Werlog soils are fine-loamy, have seasonal high water tables at 2 to 3.5 feet, and have aquic conditions higher in the profile.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; slow runoff; moderately slow permeability. These soils have only a rare hazard of overbank flooding from the adjacent stream due to water flow control by a large upstream dam.
USE AND VEGETATION: Werjo soils are used for livestock grazing, irrigated crops and pasture, and urban development. The present vegetation on the uncropped, saline phase is inland saltgrass, alkali sacaton, black greasewood, New Mexico olive, fourwing saltbush, and threadleaf rubber rabbitbrush. Common crops on the irrigated phase are alfalfa for hay, corn, apples, cantaloupes, and grasses and legumes for pasture. The natural (nonirrigated) phase of Werjo is strongly saline, while the irrigated phase is only slightly saline due to leaching by irrigation waters which has reduced the content of soluble sodium salts.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Werjo soils are of small extent in the San Juan River valley portion of the Colorado Plateau province in northwest New Mexico. MLRA 35.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: San Juan County, New Mexico, Shiprock Area Soil Survey, 1993. Werjo 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 4 inches. (A horizon)
Entisol feature - The lack of diagnostic subsurface horizons due to young soil age
Fluventic feature - Alluvial stratification and an irregular organic carbon distribution
Aquic subgroup - Aquic conditions and redox depletions within 40 inches of the soil surface (C3 and C4 horizons)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy Tenth Edition, 2006.
Note: More acres of this series may exist in the adjacent survey area of San Juan County, New Mexico, Eastern Part. In that published soil survey, the Werlog series was mapped with a depth to seasonal high water table of 2 to 5 feet. Those pedons of Werlog with water tables between 3.5 and 5 feet should be within the range of this Werjo series.