LOCATION YOHALEM NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic, shallow Aridic Ustorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Yohalem very gravelly clay loam--on a backslope of a hill sloping 38 percent to the southeast (130 degrees) at 7,462 feet elevation-rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described, the soil was dry throughout.)
A--0 to 1 inch; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very gravelly clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; few fine and few very fine irregularly shaped pores; 45 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent; 3 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
Bw--1 to 7 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) paragravelly clay loam, gray (10YR 5/1) moist; massive; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common medium and common fine roots; few very fine irregularly shaped pores; 30 percent paragravel; strongly effervescent; 5 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
BCky--7 to 15 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) extremely paragravelly clay, gray (10YR 5/1) moist; massive, hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; few medium and few fine roots; 85 percent paragravel; parafragments are oriented according to horizontally stratified bedrock structure; secondary gypsum segregated as few fine crystals on pararock fragments; strongly effervescent, secondary calcium carbonate segregated as few fine irregularly shaped coats on pararock fragments; 5 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 11 inches thick)
Cr--15 to 25 inches; weakly cemented shale bedrock
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; about 2.5 miles east-northeast of Santa Fe; 2,300 feet south and 1,000 feet west of the northeast corner of section 20, T.17N., R.10E.; USGS Santa Fe 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; Latitude 35 degrees 41 minutes 25 seconds North and Longitude 105 degrees 53 minutes 48 seconds West, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soil moisture control section is moist in all parts during the 60 days following the winter solstice. It is moist in some part less than 40 percent and moist in all parts less than 25 percent of the time when the soil temperature at 20 inches is above 41 degrees F. The soils are driest in May and June. The soil moisture regime is ustic bordering on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature - 48 to 50 degrees F.
Depth to calcareous material (as visible secondary calcium carbonate) - 2 to 7 inches
Depth to paralithic contact - 10 to 20 inches
Salinity, mmhos/cm: 0 to 2
Sodicity, SAR: 0 to 4
Particle-size control section (weighted averages)
Silicate clay content: 35 to 50 percent
Sand content: 20 to 30 percent
Fine sand or coarser content: 10 to 20 percent
Pararock fragment content: total range is 35 to 60 percent
A horizon
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4, dry or moist
Rock fragment content: total range is 35 to 50 percent
Lithology of rock fragments: limestone and sandstone
35 to 45 percent gravel
0 to 5 percent cobbles
Bw horizon
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Chroma: 1 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: paragravelly clay loam or paragravelly clay
Pararock fragment content: total range is 20 to 35 percent, mostly paragravel
Lithology of pararock fragments: shale
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 2 to 7 percent
BCky horizon
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 1 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: extremely paragravelly clay or very paragravelly clay
Pararock fragment content: total range is 50 to 85 percent, mostly paragravel
Lithology of pararock fragments: shale
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 3 to 10 percent
Gypsum content: 1 to 3 percent
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series in this family. The Zigzag series, in a closely related family, has smectitic mineralogy.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Yohalem soils are on backslopes of hills. They formed in colluvium derived from limestone and shale over residuum weathered from shale. Slopes are 30 to 50 percent. Elevation ranges from 6,200 to 8,500 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 14 to 16 inches with about 45 percent falling as rain from high-intensity convective thunderstorms between July and September. The mean annual air temperature is 46 to 48 degrees F. The frost-free period is 130 to 150 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Legate and Zarmand soils. Legate soils are loamy-skeletal, have a lithic contact within 20 inches, and occur on backslopes of hills. Zarmand soils are coarse-loamy, have a lithic contact between 20 and 40 inches, and occur on beveled summits of hills.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; very high surface runoff; permeability is slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: Yohalem soils are used for urban development and recreation. The historic climax vegetation is blue grama, eriogonum, Bigelow's rubber rabbitbrush, oneseed juniper, twoneedle pinyon. The ecological site is Pinus edulis-Juniperus monosperma/Cercocarpus montanus-Chrysothamnus nauseosus/Bouteloua gracilis (F036XB135NM)..
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Yohalem soils are of small extent on the southwestern Sangre de Cristo part of the Southern Rocky Mountains province in northcentral New Mexico. The MLRA is 49.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Santa Fe County, New Mexico; Santa Fe Area Soil Survey Update; 2008. Yohalem is a coined name.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - from the soil surface to a depth of 1 inch. (A horizon)
Paralithic contact - weakly cemented shale bedrock at 15 inches. (Cr layer)
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 15 inches (part of BCky horizon)
Series control section - The zone from 0 to 25 inches (all horizons and upper 10 inches of paralithic material).
Taxonomic version: Classified according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Tenth Edition, 2006.
The mixed clay mineralogy and superactive CE activity classes are estimated from data on nearby soils.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Calcium carbonate equivalence was determined using a calcimeter.