LOCATION SABKHA NM

Established Series
Rev DAW-GWC
01/2016

SABKHA SERIES

The Sabkha series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils that formed in gypsiferous eolian deposits and gypsiferous lacustrine deposits. These nearly level soils are on playas. Slopes range from 0 to 3 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 8 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 67 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-gypseous, hypergypsic, thermic Typic Aquisalids

TYPICAL PEDON: Sabkha gypsiferous loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted)

Cnyz--0 to 18 inches (0 to 45 cm); brown (10YR 5/3) silty clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3), moist; 34 percent clay; massive; soft, friable, very sticky, very plastic; few fine dendritic tubular pores; carbonate, finely disseminated and salt, finely disseminated and gypsum, finely disseminated throughout; slightly effervescent, 10 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 11 percent gypsum; slightly alkaline, pH 7.8; electrical conductivity 58.0 dS/m (mmhos/cm); strongly saline; clear smooth boundary.

Cnyyz--18 to 36 inches (45 to 90 cm); light gray (2.5Y 7/2) gypsiferous loam, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3), moist; 24 percent clay; massive; slightly hard, friable, very sticky, very plastic; gypsum, finely disseminated and salt, finely disseminated throughout; noneffervescent, 0 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 50 percent gypsum; moderately alkaline, pH 7.9; electrical conductivity 64.0 dS/m (mmhos/cm); strongly saline; clear smooth boundary.

Cnyyzg--36 to 60 inches (90 to 152 cm); light gray (N 7) gypsiferous sandy clay loam, gray (N 5), moist; 22 percent clay; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many medium interstitial pores; gypsum, finely disseminated and salt, finely disseminated throughout; noneffervescent, 0 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 52 percent gypsum; moderately alkaline, pH 7.9; electrical conductivity 34.4 dS/m (mmhos/cm); strongly saline.

TYPE LOCATION: Otero County, New Mexico; USGS Quad Garton Lake; approximately 2 miles northwest of the intersection of US Highway 70 and the White Sands National Monument entrance; 1,815 feet north and 1,114 feet west of the southeast corner of Section 27, Township 17 S, Range 7 E. Latitude: 32 degrees 47 minutes 58.70 seconds north, Longitude: 106 degrees 12 minutes 29.20 seconds west; Datum: NAD83; UTM Zone: 13, UTM Easting: 386884 meters, UTM Northing: 3629720 meters

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Typic aridic soil moisture regime based on precipitation. Moist in some part of the soil moisture control section during July - April. Driest during May and June. This soil has transitory internal free water and a fluctuating water table. Water table is at 10 to 40 inches in most years.

Mean annual soil temperature: 66 to 72 degrees F.

Particle-size control section (weighted average)
Clay content: 15 to 20 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Gypsum content: 40 to 100 percent

Cnyz, Cnyyz and Cnyyzg horizons
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, 10Y, N, 5GY
Value: 4 to 8 dry, 3 to 7 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3, dry or moist
Texture: gypsiferous loam, gypsiferous silt loam, gypsiferous sandy clay loam, gypsiferous silty clay loam, silty clay loam
Clay: 10 to 40 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 10 percent
Gypsum: 10 to 100 percent

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sabkha soils are on playas. Slopes range from 0 to 3 percent. These soils formed from gypsiferous eolian deposits and gypsiferous lacustrine deposits. Elevation ranges from 3,890 to 4,000 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 8 to 12 inches. Precipitation falls mostly during the months of July through September. The mean annual air temperature is 64 to 70 degrees F. The frost-free period is 180 to 240 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: Massasauga (NM), Lark (NM), Salago (NM). Massasauga soils are on playas and do not have a water tables present within the upper 40 inches of the soil. Lark soils are on semi-active dunes. Salago are on playas and have a Coarse-gypseous particle size class.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: somewhat poorly drained; very low to negligible runoff. Water table depth ranges from 10 to 40 inches during most years.

USE AND VEGETATION: The major use is wildlife habitat, recreation, and research activities. Sabkha soils are normally devoid of vegetation due to high salt content and ponding.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South central New Mexico, limited to White Sands National Monument and White Sands Missile Range, MLRA 42. Sabkha is of limited extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Sands Missile Range, Otero County, New Mexico, 2014. Sabkha is an Arabic term that roughly translates to salt flat.

REMARKS:

Diagnostic horizon and features recognized in this pedon are:

Particle-size control section - the zone from 10 to 40 inches (Cnyyz and Cnyyzg horizons)

Salic Horizon - the zone from 0 to 60 inches (Cnyz, Cnyyz, and Cnyyzg horizons)

Endosaturation - the zone from 36 to 60 inches (Cnyyzg horizons)

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

Revised for the correlation of White Sands National Monument, New Mexico; April, 2015, NMS

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.