LOCATION JATO                    NM

Established Series
Rev. GC/WWJ
12/2014

JATO SERIES

The Jato series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils formed in gypsiferous lacustrine deposits. These nearly level soils are on relict lakebeds and level interdunes on basin floors. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 9 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 64 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy over coarse-gypseous, mixed over hypergypsic, superactive, thermic Typic Calcigypsids

TYPICAL PEDON: Jato fine sandy loam -- rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

A--0 to 2 inches (0 to 5 cm); brown (7.5YR 5/3) fine sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4), moist; 14 percent clay; moderate medium platy structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few fine and medium and common very fine roots throughout ; few medium irregular pores; carbonate, finely disseminated throughout; strongly effervescent, 5 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; slightly alkaline, pH 7.6; electrical conductivity 2.6 dS/m (mmhos/cm); very slightly saline; gradual wavy boundary.

Bw--2 to 5 inches (5 to 13 cm); brown (7.5YR 5/4) fine sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3), moist; 16 percent clay; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few fine and medium and common very fine roots throughout ; few very fine irregular pores; carbonate, finely disseminated throughout; strongly effervescent, 4 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline, pH 7.9; electrical conductivity 0.8 dS/m (mmhos/cm); non-saline; abrupt wavy boundary.

Bk1--5 to 17 inches (13 to 43 cm); brown (7.5YR 5/3) silt loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4), moist; 20 percent clay; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few fine and medium and common very fine roots throughout ; few fine irregular pores; common fine spherical and few fine threadlike carbonate masses throughout; strongly effervescent, 11 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; slightly alkaline, pH 7.6; electrical conductivity 2.3 dS/m (mmhos/cm); very slightly saline; abrupt wavy boundary.

Bk2--17 to 23 inches (43 to 58 cm); brown (7.5YR 5/3) silt loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3), moist; 22 percent clay; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; moderately hard, friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few very fine, fine and medium roots throughout; few fine irregular pores; common fine irregular and common fine threadlike carbonate masses throughout; violently effervescent, 18 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; slightly alkaline, pH 7.6; electrical conductivity 3.4 dS/m (mmhos/cm); very slightly saline; gradual wavy boundary.

Bk3--23 to 37 inches (58 to 94 cm); light brown (7.5YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4), moist; 22 percent clay; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots throughout; few very fine irregular pores; common fine and medium irregular carbonate masses throughout; violently effervescent, 33 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 1 percent gypsum; slightly alkaline, pH 7.7; electrical conductivity 3.6 dS/m (mmhos/cm); very slightly saline; abrupt wavy boundary.

2Byy1--37 to 56 inches (94 to 142 cm); white (10YR 9/1) gypsiferous sandy loam, white (10YR 8.5/1), moist; 12 percent clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, nonsticky, nonplastic; few fine roots throughout; few fine irregular pores; carbonate, finely disseminated and many fine irregular gypsum crystals and common fine irregular gypsum masses throughout; violently effervescent, 17 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 69 percent gypsum; slightly alkaline, pH 7.8; electrical conductivity 3.4 dS/m (mmhos/cm); very slightly saline; gradual wavy boundary.

2Byy2--56 to 60 inches (142 to 152 cm); white (10YR 8.5/1) gypsiferous sandy loam, white (10YR 8/1), moist; 10 percent clay; weak medium subangular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, nonsticky, nonplastic; carbonate, finely disseminated and many fine irregular gypsum crystals and common fine irregular gypsum masses throughout; violently effervescent, 16 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 55 percent gypsum; moderately alkaline, pH 7.9; electrical conductivity 6.0 dS/m (mmhos/cm); slightly saline.

TYPE LOCATION: Otero County, New Mexico. Approximately 4.8 miles East and 3 miles North of White Sands Missile Range Headquarters.; 1,907 feet South and 1,197 feet West of the Northeast corner of Section 2, Township 22 South, Range 5 East; USGS topographic quadrangle White Sands, NAD83; 32 degrees 25 minutes 31.82 seconds North latitude and 106 degrees 23 minutes 51.77 seconds West longitude; UTM 368,583 meters East, 3588,459 meters North, zone 13.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil Moisture: Typic aridic soil moisture regime. The moisture control section is usually dry in all parts more than three-fourths of the time that the soil temperature exceeds 41 degrees F.

Mean annual soil temperature: 66 to 72 degrees F.

Depth to calcic horizon: 5 to 30 inches

Depth to gypsic horizon: 20 to 40 inches

Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 18 to 27 percent
Coarse fragment content: none
Reaction: slightly to moderately alkaline
Salinity: very slight to slight
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 18 to 30 percent

A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: fine sandy loam, sandy loam, sandy clay loam, loam, silt loam
Clay: 14 to 28 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Salinity: non-saline to very slightly saline

Bw horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 4 to 5 dry, 3 to 4 moist
Chroma: 3 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: fine sandy loam, loam, silt loam
Clay: 10 to 26 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Salinity: non-saline to slightly saline

Bk horizons
Hue: 7.5 YR, 10YR
Value: 5 to 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: loam, clay loam, silt loam, silty clay loam
Clay: 18 to 29 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Salinity: very slightly saline to slightly saline
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 25 percent

Byy horizons
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR, 2.5Y
Value: 7 to 9 dry, 6 to 8.5 moist
Chroma: 1 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: gypsiferous loamy sand, gypsiferous sandy loam, gypsiferous loam
Clay: 4 to 17 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Salinity: very slightly saline to slightly saline
Gypsum: 50 to 90 percent

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Loki series. The Loki soils have a depth to gypsic horizon of less than 20 inches.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Jato soils are on relict lakebeds and level interdunes on basin floors. These soils formed in gypsiferous lacustrine deposits. Slope is 0 to 3 percent. Elevation is 3,900 to 4,020 feet. The mean annual air temperature is 64 to 70 degrees F. The mean annual precipitation is 8 to 12 inches. Precipitation falls mostly during the months of July through September. The driest months are March and April. Precipitation during the months of January, February, and March is less than 13 percent of the total. The frost-free period is 180 to 240 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Basso, Copia, Elizario, Hermes, Loki, Mcnew, Peligro, and Talos soils. Basso soils have argillic horizons. Copia soils are sandy and are on coppice dunes. Elizario and Mcnew soils are on slightly depressed and slightly higher positions respectively of the alluvial flat of the basin floor. Hermes soils formed in gypsiferous lacustrine sediments. Loki soils have gypsic mineralogy. Peligro soils formed in eolian gypsiferous sediments on lunettes or parna dunes. Talos soils are fine textured.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderate. Runoff is negligible to low. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for military exercises and weapons testing. Vegetation is of the desert shrub type and consists of 4-Wing saltbush, mesquite, gordons bladderpod, bush muhly, tobosa, western tansymustard, burrograss, plains bristlegrass, sixweeks fescue, Torreys jointfir, pepperweed, and gyp scorpion weed.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Trans-Pecos of Texas and southern New Mexico; LRR D, MLRA 42; small extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Update soil survey of White Sands Missile Range; Otero County, New Mexico; 2014.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Particle-size control section: The zone from 10 to 40 inches. (Bk1, Bk2, Bk3, and 2Byy1 horizons)

Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 5 inches (A and Bw horizons)

Calcic horizon - the zone from 17 to 37 inches (Bk2 and Bk3 horizons)

Gypsic horizon - the zone from 37 to 60 inches (Byy horizons)

Strongly contrasting particle size classes - 37 inches (Loamy over coarse-gypseous)

Jato: Jato is an acronym for Jet Assisted Take Off.

Classified according to Soil Taxonomy Second Edition, 1999; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Twelfth Edition, 2014.

Revised for the correlation of White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; October, 2014, NMS

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.