LOCATION WITT NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Ustic Calciargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Witt loam--grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 3 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine and medium roots; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
BA--3 to 6 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) silt loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and medium roots; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
Bt--6 to 11 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and plastic; common fine and very fine roots; few faint clay films on faces of peds; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
Bt2--11 to 18 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) silty clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine roots; few faint clay films on faces of peds; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 12 inches thick)
Btk--18 to 25 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) silty clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine roots; few faint clay films on faces of peds; strongly effervescent; common medium masses of calcium carbonate; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 11 inches thick)
Bk1--25 to 39 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) silt loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and very fine roots; strongly effervescent; common medium masses of calcium carbonate; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (8 to 16 inches thick)
Bk2--39 to 53 inches; pinkish white (7.5YR 8/2) silt loam, pinkish gray (7.5YR 7/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; violently effervescent; many medium masses of calcium carbonate; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (7 to 15 inches thick)
2C--53 to 67 inches; pink (7.5YR 7/4) silt loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Sandoval County, New Mexico; about 3 miles northwest of Golden; 300 feet south and 900 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 1, T. 12 N., R. 6 E.; 106 degrees, 14 minutes, 48 seconds - west longitude; 35 degrees, 18 minutes, 10 seconds - north latitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture: Intermittently moist in some part of the SMCS December through April and July through September. The soil is driest during May and June.
Soil Temperature: 50 to 56 degrees F.
Depth to calcic horizon: 20 to 40 inches
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
A horizon:
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 4 to 7 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Bt horizon:
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 4 to 7 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam, silt loam, and loam with 18 to 35 percent clay
Bk horizon:
A C horizon is present in some pedonsHue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 to 8 dry, 4 to 7 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: loam or silt loam
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 50 percent
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Almagre, Monogram, Snapill, and the Tetilla (T) series. Similar soils are the Skyhawk and Villedry series. Almagre soils have a lithic contact between 40 and 60 inches of the surface. Monogram soils have a lithic contact between 60 and 80 inches of the surface. Snapill soils have a paralithic contact between 40 and 60 inches of the surface. Tetilla soils do not have a calcic horizon between 20 and 40 inches of the surface and have gravelly textures within 60 inches of the surface.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Witt soils are on fan terraces, piedmonts, bajadas and mesas. Slope ranges from 0 to 12 percent. They formed in silty calcareous sediments derived from mixed parent materials including quartzite, gneiss, sandstone, shale, limestone, eolian material, and Triassic and Jurassic redbed sediments. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 10 to 14 inches. Mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 54 degrees F. The frost-free period ranges from 120 to 160 days. Elevation ranges from 5,200 to 7,000 feet.
In Colorado, due to a prior correlation, this series has been allowed to range as cool as 47 degrees F., as high as 7400 feet, as moist as 15 inches of precipitation and with a frost free period with as few as 100 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Penistaja and La Lande soils. Penistaja soils do not have a zone of prominent calcium carbonate accumulation. The La Lande soils do not have an argillic horizon and a zone of prominent calcium carbonate accumulation.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderately slow. Runoff is low on slopes less than 1 percent, medium on 1 to 5 percent slopes and high on 5 to 15 percent slopes.
USE AND VEGETATION: The Witt soils are used for rangeland. The principal vegetation is blue grama, but includes a variety of other short grasses and some widely spaced sage and cacti.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. The series is of large extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Torrance County (Eastern New Mexico Reconnaissance Survey), New Mexico, 1936.
REMARKS: The type location is moved from Torrance to Sandoval County. In the past this series has been mapped in both the Ustic Aridic and Aridic Ustic soil moisture regimes. The type location in Sandoval County is representative of the Ustic Aridic soil moisture regime.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 6 inches. (The A and BA horizons)
Argillic horizon: 6 to 25 inches. (The Bt horizons)
Calcic horizon: 25 to 53 inches. (The Bk horizons)
Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy Tenth Edition, 2006.