LOCATION WETHERILL NM+CO
Established Series
Rev. JVC/JPP/TWH/KLS
03/2018
WETHERILL SERIES
The Wetherill series consists of deep and very deep, well drained soils that formed in eolian material derived from siltstone and sandstone. Wetherill soils are on plateaus, mesas, cuestas, hills, and terraces. Slopes range from 1 to 60 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 356 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 9.4 degrees C.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Haplustalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Wetherill very fine sandy loam, on a north facing, undulating high plateau, 3 percent slope in woodland at an elevation of 2,021 meters. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) When described the soil was moist from 8 to 104 cm.
A--0 to 8 cm, brown (7.5YR 5/4) very fine sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; moderate very thick platy structure parting to weak fine granular; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine and very fine roots; few very fine vesicular pores; weakly developed black cryptogam crust on soil surface; neutral (pH 7.2); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 13 cm thick)
Bt--8 to 46 cm; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium and common fine and very fine roots; few fine and common very fine continuous tubular pores; common faint clay films on faces of peds and in pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 107 cm thick)
Btk1--46 to 89 cm; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; moderate coarse angular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and slightly plastic; few coarse and fine, and common medium and very fine roots; few very fine discontinuous tubular pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds and in pores; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated in few fine irregularly shaped accumulations on faces of peds and in pores; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary.
Btk2 --89 to 107 cm; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) loam, strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium and fine, and common very fine roots; few very fine discontinuous tubular pores; few coarse tubular cicada larvae burrows; few faint clay films on faces of peds and bridging sand grains; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated in few medium irregularly shaped accumulations on faces of peds and in soft masses; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary.
Btk3 --107 to 130 cm; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium and very fine roots; common very fine discontinuous tubular pores; very few faint clay films bridging sand grains; violently effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated in common fine and medium irregularly shaped accumulations on faces of peds and in soft masses; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (combined thickness of Btk1, Btk2, Btk3 - 50 to 142 cm)
Btk4 --130 to 178 cm; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) loam, strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium and fine roots; common very fine discontinuous tubular pores; few faint clay films bridging sand grains; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated in few fine irregularly shaped accumulations on faces of peds; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).
TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, New Mexico; on the Navajo Indian Reservation, about 26 kilometers northeast of Shiprock and 0.8 kilometers south of the Colorado-New Mexico state line; located about 564 meters west and 335 meters south of the northeast corner of Sec. 17, T. 32 N., R. 16 W.; USGS Pagosa Junction topo quad; Lat. 36 degrees, 59 minutes, 31 seconds, N. and Long. 108 degrees, 32 minutes, 41 seconds, W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature: 10.0 to 11.1 degrees C.
Surface rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent
Depth to secondary calcium carbonate: 8 to 64 cm
Depth to calcic horizon: 102 cm or more
Depth to lithic contact: 132 cm to more than 152 cm to hard sandstone
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 20 to 35 percent
A horizon
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: very fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
Rock fragments: 0 to 3 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 1 percent
Reaction (pH): 6.6 to 8.4
Bt horizon
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam with a very fine sand content of 35 to 50 percent, or silt loam, silty clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 3 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 3 percent
Reaction (pH): 6.6 to 8.4
Btk1, Btk2 horizon
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 4 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: clay loam, loam, sandy clay loam with a very fine sand content of 35 to 60 percent, or silty clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 32 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 3
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 10 percent
Reaction (pH): 7.4 to 8.4
lower Btk or Bk horizon
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 to 8 dry, 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: loam, fine sandy loam, sandy clay loam with very fine sand content of 40 to 60 percent, or silty clay loam
Clay content: 12 to 32 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 40 percent
Reaction (pH): 7.4 to 9.0
COMPETING SERIES:
Altega (NM) - do not have a diagnostic calcic horizon
Amal (NM) - moist for longer periods during the winter and summer and have mean annual temperatures of 7.2 to 8.9 degrees C.
Buick (NM) - have buried horizons below 40 cm
Chevelon (AZ) - are moderately deep to paralithic contact
Chita (NM) - have a diagnostic calcic horizon above 102 cm
Elpedro (NM) - does not have a diagnostic calcic horizon
Keiser (MT) - have hues of 10YR to 2.5Y
Klinedraw (WY) - are moderately deep to paralithic contact
Moncha (NM) - do not have secondary carbonates in the lower part of the Bt horizon
Oshoto (WY) - have hues of 10YR to 2.5Y
Pulpit (CO) - are moderately deep to lithic contact
Roubideau (CO) - are moderately deep to lithic contact
Sharps (CO) - are moderately deep to paralithic contact
Verde (CO) - are moderately deep to lithic contact
Wiley (CO) - do not have a diagnostic calcic horizon
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform - plateaus, mesas, hills, cuestas, and terraces
Elevation - 1,860 to 2,590 meters
Slopes - 1 to 60 percent
Parent material - eolian material derived from siltstone and sandstone
Mean annual air temperature - 7.2 to 10.0 degrees C.
Mean annual precipitation - 305 to 410 mm
Precipitation pattern - evenly distributed throughout the year with December and August being slightly wetter and May and June being slightly dryer
Frost-free period - 100 to 150 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: None listed.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: well drained, low to high runoff, moderate and moderately slow permeability
USE AND VEGETATION: Wetherill soils are used for livestock grazing and woodland. Present vegetation is Wyoming big sagebrush, Utah juniper, pinyon, bottlebrush squirreltail, green Mormon-tea, datil yucca, and muttongrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwest New Mexico and southwest Colorado. LRR D, MLRA 35, 36; extensive.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Shiprock Area Soil Survey; San Juan County, New Mexico. 1987.
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Argillic horizon: 8 to 152 cm (Bt, Btk1, Btk2, Btk3, Btk4)
Calcic horizon: 107 to 130 cm (Btk3)
Fine-silty family: The loam and clay loam textures in the particle-size control section are dominated by very fine sand.
Great group rationale: All pedons have a subhorizon within the argillic horizon that has a clay decrease of more than 20 percent from the maximum clay content, or they lack chroma of 6 or greater.
Wetherill soils have a mesic temperature regime and are in an ustic soil moisture regime bordering on aridic.
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL sampled in Colorado, 80C0083001
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.