LOCATION WHITECLIFF              AZ

Established Series
Rev. WAS/CEM
05/2011

WHITECLIFF SERIES

The Whitecliff series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed from gypsiferous and calcareous lacustrine deposits. Whitecliff soils are on alluvial fans and have slopes of 0 to 5 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 11 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 67 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, thermic Leptic Haplogypsids

TYPICAL PEDON: Whitecliff loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 3 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; weak thin platy structure parting to moderate fine and medium subangular blocky; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; few fine vesicular and tubular pores; violent effervescence, 7 percent calcium carbonate equivalent, 10 percent gypsum; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)

Bky1--3 to 35 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; many very fine and fine soft gypsum and calcium carbonate masses; few distinct patchy organic stains on the faces of peds; violent effervescence, 9 percent calcium carbonate equivalent, 31 percent gypsum; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary.

Bky2--35 to 60 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; many very fine and fine soft gypsum and calcium carbonate masses; violent effervescence, 8 percent calcium carbonate equivalent, 30 percent gypsum; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8). (Combined thickness of the Bky horizons is 54 to 58 inches thick)

TYPE LOCATION: Pinal County, Arizona; located at a latitude 32 degrees, 54 minutes, 10 seconds North and longitude 110 degrees, 42 minutes, 47 seconds West; about 400 feet south and 1,600 feet west of northeast corner of section 21, Township 6 S., Range 16 E.; USGS Quadrangle - Dudleyville.

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: 64 to 72 degrees F.

Rock Fragments: less than 15 percent

Reaction: slightly to moderately alkaline

Clay content: 18 to 35 percent

Depth to gypsic horizon: 1 to 7 inches

A horizons
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR
Value: 3 to 7 dry, 3 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: silt loam, loam, silty clay loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 15 percent

Bky horizons
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 7 dry, 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture: silty clay loam, silt loam, clay loam, loam, can have finer or coarser textured stratification
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 15 percent
Gypsum content: 5 to 40 percent

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Whitecliff soils are on alluvial fans at elevations of 1,750 to 4,100 feet. They formed from gypsiferous and calcareous lacustrine deposits. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent. The mean annual precipitation is 10 to 12 inches. The mean annual air temperature is 62 to 70 degrees F. The frost-free period is 190 to 280 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Ugyp, Contention, Stagecoach, Agustin, Glendale and Gila soils. The Stagecoach, Agustin, Glendale and Gila soils do not contain gypsum. Ugyp soils have less than 18 percent clay and Contention soils have more than 35 percent clay.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. Vegetation is creosote bush, mesquite, cholla, and summer annuals.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeastern Arizona. Whitecliff soils are not extensive. MLRA is 40 and 41.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Cochise County, Arizona. Soil Survey of Cochise County, Arizona, Northwestern Part, 2007.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 3 inches (A horizon)

Gypsic horizon - the zone from 3 to 60 inches (Bky1 and Bky2 horizons)

Leptic subgroup - a gypsic horizon that has its upper boundary within 18 cm (7 inches) of the soil surface

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Eleventh Edition, 2010

Revised for the correlation of AZ661, 2/2009, WWJ

ADDITIONAL DATA: Reference samples from pedon S02AZ-021-001; samples 2P1545S - 2P1547S from Pinal County, Arizona; NSSL, Lincoln, NE, 12/2002.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.