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Order I Soil Survey, New Honzon Mine <br />Interpretations <br />The soil test location descriptions are typical and consistent for soil in the area. <br />The Order I survey is a refinement of the "not yet published" Order III soil survey that <br />the NRCS has conducted in the area 3. <br />Map unit 98A occurs on alluvial terraces formed along Tuttle Creek. Profiles <br />were described to 72 inches. Some areas may have soil deeper than 72 inches and <br />yield a slightly greater amount of salvage material. <br />Map unit 98B occurs on steep mesa side slopes. Hardness of bedrock varies <br />depending on the underlying strata. Coarse fragments range from channers to <br />cobbles and are residual and colluvial in nature. Valleycity soil has the same <br />physical and chemical properties as those soils similarly named in the survey area. <br />Valleycity is outside the range of characteristics compared to the survey area, in that <br />it occurs in an area of 5 to 8 inches mean annual precipitation. <br />Map unit 98C occurs on mesa summits, ridges and crests. Hardness of bedrock <br />varies depending on the underlying strata. <br />Map unit 98D has thinner Quaternary eolian deposits than map unit 98E with a <br />mean depth to bedrock of 30 inches. These deposits have developed cambic <br />horizons, weak argillic horizons and secondary accumulations of carbonates. The <br />accumulation of carbonates is reflected in a higher pH in the Bk and Btk horizons. <br />The pH in A, Ap, ABt, Bw and Bt horizons (lift layer 1) averages 7.7 and in the Bk <br />Btk and C horizons (lift layer 2) averages 8.1. <br />Map unit 98E consists of areas of deep Quaternary eolian deposits. These <br />Quaternary deposits overlie Dakota Sandstone and Burro Canyon Formations with <br />depth to bedrock ranging 40 inches too greater than 72 inches with a mean depth of <br />53 inches. These deposits have stabilized and formed cambic horizons and in some <br />places weak argillic horizons. Additionally, they have developed secondary <br />accumulations of carbonates. The accumulation of carbonates is reflected in a <br />higher pH in the Bk and Btk horizons. The pH in A, Ap, ABt, Bw and Bt horizons (lift <br />layer 1) averages 7.7 and in the Bk Btk and C horizons (lift layer 2) averages 8.2. <br />Soil in this map unit is used primarily for irrigated pasture, hay crop and limited corn <br />crop. Banc, irrigated soil is the second component in this map unit. Banc, irrigated is <br />a prime farmland soil in Colorado This soil falls within the criteria listed in the <br />National Soil Survey Handbook for prime farmland soil. However, in the Colorado <br />Important Farmland Inventory page 3, "irrigated soils that have a pH higher than 7.4 <br />are considered as having high conductivity and therefore are not considered prime' <br />Barx, irrigated as used in this survey is considered as not being prime farmland <br />because the pH is higher than 7.4 in all horizons. <br />Map unit 98F occurs in natural drainage areas that eventually form shallow <br />valleys on the mesa and on the floodplain of Tuttle Creek. Depth to bedrock varies <br />widely in this map unit. Haplargids with varying depths to bedrock form on drainage <br />3 Soil Survey of San Miguel Area, Colorado, Parts of Dolores, Montrose and San Miguel <br />Counties. <br />4 Colorado Important Farmland Inventory, NRCS Colorado <br />5 National Soil Survey Handbook, Chapter 657.5, Identification of Important Farmlands. NRCS, <br />Washington DC, 1996 Edition <br />4 <br />Page 14 of 44 Dale: 08!11198 <br />