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<br />Soils <br /> <br />/.-~ :' <br /> <br />I The soils in the watershed are mainly of the Rocky Ford:- Numa-Kornman <br /> <br />Association. The soils of the Rocky Ford series are deep, nearly level, well drained, <br /> <br />loamy soils. They are on terraces of the Arkansas River and its major tributaries. <br /> <br />All of these soils are irrigated with water from the Highline, Otero, Catlin, Rocky Ford, <br /> <br />and Oxford Canals. Generally, the surface layer is heavily silted because the muddy <br /> <br />water used to irrigate this soli carrieshas etsfilssitse! silt and clay. In many places <br /> <br />where water tends to pond at the lower end of a field, the .soll is more deeply silted <br /> <br />than it is in the other areas. In many of the steeper areas, the surface layer is coarser <br /> <br />than it is in nearly level areas. In some of these areas, plowing has mixed part of the <br /> <br />lighter colored subsoil with the surface layer. In places land leveling or deep tillage <br /> <br />has greatly altered or affected some of the solis. <br /> <br />The fertile surface layer of these solis is grayish-brown silty clay loam and is about 18 <br /> <br />inches thick. It is hard when dry and friable when moist. The ~Subsoil, or 1b.i..horizon <br /> <br />underlying the silted surface layer, is brown silt loam that is easily penetrated by plant <br /> <br />roots, air. and water. This silt loam grades to lighter colored silt loam at a depth of 3 <br /> <br />inches and is coarse textured. Many of the solis have some salts in thom. <br /> <br />Crop yields are high, but some of these soils need more careful management than <br /> <br /> <br />others because they are shallow over limestone or sand and gravel. The water <br /> <br /> <br />holdino caoacity in mMost of the soils ~af6 moderate to high water holding sapacily. <br /> <br />2Z~ <br />