LOCATION WHIT UT+NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Calciargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Whit very fine sandy loam -- rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A-- 0 to 5 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) very fine sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak very thick platy structure parting to weak very fine granular; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few medium and fine roots; common fine and very fine pores; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); gradual wavy boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick)
AB-- 5 to 9 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) very fine sandy loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; common medium pores; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); gradual wavy boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick)
Bt1-- 9 to 15 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) very fine sandy loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate coarse subangular blocky; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; common medium pores; common thin clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 11 inches thick)
Bt2-- 15 to 25 inches; reddish yellow (5YR 6/6) very fine sandy loam, yellowish red (5YR 5/6) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; few coarse and common fine pores; common thin clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); gradual wavy boundary. (12 to 16 inches thick)
Btk-- 25 to 33 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) very fine sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 5/4) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; few coarse and common very fine pores; common thin clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonates segregated as common large irregularly shaped accumulations on faces of peds; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual wavy boundary. (10 to 15 inches thick)
Bk1-- 33 to 59 inches; pinkish white (5YR 8/2) very fine sandy loam, light reddish brown (5YR 6/3) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine pores; violently effervescent, matrix is impregnated and weakly cemented with secondary calcium carbonates; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual wavy boundary. (10 to 14 inches thick)
Bk2-- 59 to 70 inches; pinkish white (5YR 8/2) very fine sandy loam, light reddish brown (5YR 6/3) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine pores; violently effervescent, matrix is impregnated and weakly cemented with secondary calcium carbonates; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).
TYPE LOCATION: San Juan County, Utah; on the Navajo Indian Reservation about 3.5 miles southeast of White Mesa Village; 2,500 feet north and 300 feet west of the SE corner of section 35, T.42S., R.24E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Typically, the soil moisture control section (SMCS) is intermittently moist in some part from July to October and December to March. Typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Soil temperature - 54 to 56 degrees F.
Soil depth - more than 60 inches.
Depth to base of argillic horizon - 22 to 38 inches.
Depth to calcic horizon - 20 to 40 inches.
Particle-size control section - clay content: 18 to 25 percent.
Reaction - slightly to strongly alkaline.
A and AB horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 4 through 6.
Organic carbon content: 0.18 to 0.41 percent.
Bt and Btk horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 4 through 6.
Texture: very fine sandy loam, silt loam, loam, or sandy clay loam
Organic carbon content: 0.16 to 0.29 percent.
Calcium carbonate equivalence: 5 to 10 percent.
Bk horizons
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 5 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 3 through 6.
Texture: very fine sandy loam, silt loam, loam, or fine sandy loam
Organic carbon content: 0.12 to 0.23 percent.
Calcium carbonate equivalence: 15 to 50 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Whit soils are on undulating plateaus and mesas. They formed in eolian material derived from Triassic and Jurassic siltstone and sandstone. Slopes range from 1 to 8 percent. Elevation ranges from 4,600 to 6,100 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 6 to 8 inches with 35 to 60 percent falling as rain from high-intensity thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual temperature is 52 to 58 degrees F. The average frost-free period is 140 to 180 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Gotho, Sheppard, and Sogzie soils. Gotho soils lack diagnostic horizons and occur on low stream terraces. Sheppard soils are sandy and occur on stable dunes. Sogzie soils are coarse-loamy and occur on adjacent surfaces influenced by recent eolian deposition.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Whit soils are used for livestock grazing. Present vegetation is galleta, blue grama, Indian ricegrass, fourwing saltbush, broom snakeweed, and winterfat.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Whit soils are of moderate extent on the Blanding Basin portion of the Colorado Plateau province in southeast Utah, northwest New Mexico, and northeast Arizona. Whit soils may also occur on the adjacent Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation in Montezuma County, Colorado. MLRA is 35.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Soil Survey of Navajo Indian Reservation, San Juan County, Utah, 1972.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of about 9 inches. (A and AB horizons)
Argillic horizon - The zone from 9 to about 33 inches. (Bt1, Bt2, and Btk horizons)
Calcic horizon - The zone from 33 to about 70 inches. (Bk1 and Bk2 horizons)
Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999
The classification was changed from fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Haplargids to fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Calciargids in 2003.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Reference samples were taken at the series type location and analyzed for particle-size, organic matter, and calcium carbonate equivalence at the BIA soils lab in Gallup, NM as sample S88NM-045-2. Calcium carbonate equivalence on other pedons was determined with a field volume calcimeter. Lab results confirm the presence of a silicate clay bulge. Office wet sieve analyses of the horizons in the control section, confirm the placement in the fine-silty family.