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PHILLIPS COUNTY, COLORADO 21 This Valentine soil is extremely droughty in dry years, mainly because it is excessively drained and low in avail- able water holding capacity. This soil has very rapid 5 { „ permeability. Growing a 111 most areas are sanclreecl, sand bluestem, switehgrass, needle-anti-thread, and other native mid and tall grasses. This soil is well suited to these plants, but grazing should be limited because of susceptibility to severe blowing.This soil can be reseeded with adapted spe- , d'';; ri ties of native grasses, but the steep slopes make manage- = ment difficult. A few small areas are cultivated, mainly ;' for the purpose of squaring larger fields of other soils ` ' and making them easier to cultivate. Capability unit VIe— f 2 (clryland) ;Deep Sand range site; windbreak suitability group 4. r , T, Valentine fine sand,hilly (VaE) occupies dmielike areas that have steep,abrupt slopes on the leeward side.This soil r . :t..3rar,•, =-:::F •is in the south-central and southeastern arts of the count � Y The surface layer of this soil is severely eroded, is very a - �Y �- �w;°-;u" dark grayish brown, and is as much as 2 inches thick. This soil is suited to native grasses but extreme limita- tions are needed to prevent overgrazing. Even though the plant cover generally is increasing,many areas are nearly bare. Revegetation is extremely difficult, though it can be .� # done through careful management of grass in blowouts and of annuals and yucca. This soil is droughty because it is very rapidly permeable, excessively drained, and low in available water holding capacity. Capability unit VIIe— �x 1 (dryland) • Cho Sand range site; windbreak suit ability group 4. Wages Series The Wages series consists of deep, well-drained, loamy soils that are gently sloping to steep. These soils occupy the side slopes of intermittent streams (fig. 8 and most - =`l^ ,•`a` e, ,A : .s ;. ; ; _- areas are along Frenclunan and Patent Creeks.Wages soils way sa-. _ �I" '_:�" -,- s�.'.".•' formed in a reddish-brown gravelly deposit. The upper part of the soil has been mixed with some windblown silty Figure 7.—Profile of Valentine sand showing the thin surface layer material. In a typical profile the surface layer is grayish-brown structure that breaks to single grain (structureless) ; loam about 5 inches thick. The subsoil is about 11 inches very soft when dry, very friable to loose when moist; thick. In the upper part it is dark grayish-brown, slightly gradual, smooth boundary. hard clay loam that is about 5 percent fine gravel. The C-12 to 48 inches +, pale-brown (10YR 6/3) fine sand, dark lower part is limy, light brownish-gray clay loam that is brown (10YR 4/3) when moist; single grain (struc- in tureless) ; loose when dry and moist; noncalcareous. about 5 to 10 percent fine gravel. The A horizon ranges from 0 to 6 inches in thickness. The At a depth of 16 to 24 inches is very strongly calcareous, thickest surface layers are in the least sloping areas. light brownish-gray loam. Below this is light-brown The Valentine soils are associated with the Julesburg soils. gravelly sandy loam that is free of lime. Valentine soils have a thinner surface layer than the Jules burg soils and less clay in the underlying layer. Valentine Wages soils are moderately to slowly permeable and are soils are less well developed throughout the profile than the well drained. Because they have a thin loam surface Julesburg soils and have less thickness of Clark soil material. layer over a slowly permeable clay loam subsoil and are Valentine fine sand, rolling (VaD) occupies most of the gently sloping to steep,surface runoff is medium to rapid. sandhills that are southeast of Holyoke. This soil is asso- Because their subsoil is somewhat gravelly, they have ciated with Haxtun soils in some small areas in the north- moderate available water holding capacity. Wages soils central and northwestern parts of the county. Slopes are are moderate in natural fertility. moderate to steep. The profile of this soil is similar to the Along side slopes of intermittent streams are a few one described as typical for the series. areas of Wages soils that are still in native grass, mainly Included with this soil in mapping were a few small western wheatgrass and blue grama. Grasses are better blowouts 1/2 acre to 5 acres in size. These areas are shown suited than row crops,and only a,few acres are cultivated. on the soil map by a symbol. These soils can be seeded to grass.