Laserfiche WebLink
<br /> <br />10-Feltonia sandy loam, 2 to 6 percent slopes. <br />This is a deep, well drained soil on terraces and fans <br />(fig. 2). It formed in alluvium. Elevation is 7,800 to 8,500 <br />feet. The average annual precipitation is 14 to 17 inches, <br />the average annual air temperature is 40 to 44 degrees <br />F, and the frost-free season is 55 to 75 days. <br />Typically, the surface layer is grayish brown sandy <br />loam 8 inches thick. The subsoil is dark grayish brown <br />gravelly sandy loam 11 inches thick. The substratum is <br />light brownish gray gravelly sandy loam in the upper 13 <br />inches and is white very gravelly sandy loam to a depth <br />of 60 inches or more. The soil is mildly alkaline to a <br />depth of 19 inches and is moderately alkaline and <br />calcareous below that depth. <br />Included with this soil in mapping are areas of Coutis <br />sandy loam along foot slopes and drainageways and <br />Silvercliff gravelly sandy loam along terrace edges. The <br />Coutis soil makes up about 20 percent of the map unit, <br />and the Silvercliff soil makes up 10 percent. <br />Permeability of this Feltonia soil is moderate, and the <br />available water capacity is low. The effective rooting <br />depth is 60 inches or more. Root growth is somewhat <br />restricted by high amounts of calcium carbonate at a <br />depth of more than 32 inches. Surface runoff is medium, <br />and the hazard of erosion is moderate to high. <br />Most areas of this soil are used as rangeland. <br />The potential native vegetation is mainly <br />needleandthread, western wheatgrass, mountain muhly, <br />and Arizona fescue. As the range deteriorates, blue <br />grama, gray horsebrush, rabbitbrush, sleepygrass, <br />slimstem muhly, and snakeweed increase. Renovating <br />and using a planned grazing system, cross fencing. and <br />livestock water developments help to prevent range <br />deterioration and promote production of the more <br />desirable plant species. In renovating, seed should be <br />drilled into swell-prepared, firm, weed-free seedbed. <br />Suitable grasses for seeding are intermediate <br />wheatgrass, pubescent wheatgrass, western wheatgrass, <br />and Arizona fescue. <br />The soil is well suited to use as homesites. The towns <br />of Westcliffe and Silver Cliff are on this soil. <br />This soil is in capability subclass Vle, nonirrigated. <br />