LOCATION SALTSPRING NM

Established Series
Rev GWC-DAW
01/2015

SALTSPRING SERIES

The Saltspring series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in fine-loamy alluvium. These nearly level soils are on basin floors and alluvial flats. Slopes range from 0 to 3 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 10 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 67 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, gypsic, thermic Gypsic Haplosalids

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

Anz--0 to 2 inches (0 to 5 cm); light brown (7.5YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4), moist; 25 percent clay; moderate medium platy structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; common fine and medium roots throughout; common fine tubular pores; carbonate, finely disseminated throughout; violently effervescent, 14 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline, pH 8.2; electrical conductivity 35.0 dS/m (mmhos/cm); strongly saline; abrupt smooth boundary.

Bknz--2 to 7 inches (5 to 17 cm); light brown (7.5YR 6/4) silt loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4), moist; 25 percent clay; strong coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; few very fine and common fine roots throughout; few medium and common fine tubular pores; common fine threadlike carbonate masses throughout; violently effervescent, 16 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; neutral, pH 7.2; electrical conductivity 32.0 dS/m (mmhos/cm); strongly saline; abrupt wavy boundary.

Bknyz--7 to 18 inches (17 to 45 cm); pink (7.5YR 7/4) gypsiferous loam, strong brown (7.5YR 5/8), moist; 22 percent clay; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, very firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few coarse and common fine roots throughout; few medium and common fine tubular pores; common fine irregular gypsum masses and common fine threadlike carbonate masses throughout; violently effervescent, 18 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 21 percent gypsum; slightly alkaline, pH 7.4; electrical conductivity 30.0 dS/m (mmhos/cm); strongly saline; abrupt smooth boundary.

Bkyz1--18 to 35 inches (45 to 87 cm); reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/8) gypsiferous loam, reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6), moist; 26 percent clay; strong coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, extremely firm, moderately sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine roots throughout; few very coarse and common very fine tubular pores; common fine irregular gypsum masses and common fine threadlike carbonate masses throughout; violently effervescent, 11 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 28 percent gypsum; moderately alkaline, pH 8.0; electrical conductivity 19.0 dS/m (mmhos/cm); strongly saline; clear smooth boundary.

Bkyz2--35 to 52 inches (87 to 132 cm); pink (7.5YR 7/3) gypsiferous clay, reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6), moist; 41 percent clay; weak fine angular blocky structure; very hard, extremely firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common very fine tubular pores; common fine irregular gypsum masses and common medium irregular carbonate masses throughout; violently effervescent, 13 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 19 percent gypsum; moderately alkaline, pH 8.2; electrical conductivity 23.0 dS/m (mmhos/cm); strongly saline; clear smooth boundary.

Bkyz3--52 to 60 inches (132 to 152 cm); reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) clay loam, light brown (7.5YR 6/4), moist; 38 percent clay; weak fine angular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine tubular pores; common fine irregular gypsum masses and common fine threadlike carbonate masses throughout; violently effervescent, 16 percent calcium carbonate equivalent and 6 percent gypsum; moderately alkaline, pH 8.0; electrical conductivity 17.0 dS/m (mmhos/cm); strongly saline.

TYPE LOCATION: Otero County, New Mexico. USGS Quad Foster Lake; approximately 2.8 miles south and 0.8 miles west of the junction of US Hwy 70 and the entrance to White Sands National Monument; 1,531 feet south and 667 feet east of the northwest corner of Section 23, Township 18 S, Range 7 E. Latitude: 32 degrees 44 minutes 11.7 seconds north Longitude: 106 degrees 11 minutes 11.65 seconds west, NAD 83; UTM Easting: 388824 meters UTM Northing: 3622708 meters. UTM zone 13.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Typic aridic soil moisture regime based on precipitation. 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. at 20 inches.

Mean annual soil temperature: 66 to 72 degrees F.

Particle-size control section (weighted average)
Clay content: 18 to 45 percent, averages less than 35 percent
Reaction: slightly or moderately alkaline
Salinity: strongly saline
Percent calcium carbonate: 10 to 30 percent
Percent gypsum: 6 to 40 percent

Anz horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 5 to 6 dry, 4 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 4, dry or moist
Texture: fine sandy loam, loam, clay loam, silt loam
Clay: 15 to 35 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Salinity: moderately saline to strongly saline

Bknz horizon
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR
Value: 5 to 6 dry, 4 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6, dry or moist
Texture: sandy clay loam, loam, clay loam, silt loam, silty clay loam
Clay: 18 to 35 percent
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 20 percent

Bknyz horizon
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 to 8, dry or moist
Texture: gypsiferous loam, gypsiferous clay loam, gypsiferous silt loam, gypsiferous silty clay loam
Clay: 18 to 35 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 30 percent
Gypsum: 20 to 40 percent

Bkyz horizons
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 3 to 8, dry or moist
Texture: gypsiferous sandy clay loam, gypsiferous loam, gypsiferous silt loam, clay loam, gypsiferous clay loam, gypsiferous clay
Clay: 18 to 45 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline
Salinity: moderately to strongly saline
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 30 percent
Gypsum: 6 to 35 percent

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Saltspring soils are on basin floors and alluvial flats. Slope is 0 to 3 percent. These soils formed from mixed alluvium. Elevation ranges from 3,900 to 4,040 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: These are the tentative Flake (NM), Corvus (NM) and Yesum (NM) soils. Flake soils lack a salic horizon. Corvus soils have a shallow petrogypsic horizon, Yesum soils have hypergypsic mineralogy.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; low runoff; moderate permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: The major uses are military exercises and wildlife habitat. Native vegetation is fourwing saltbush, desert seepweed, alkali sacaton and iodine bush.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South central New Mexico, limited to the Tularosa Basin. MLRA 42, Saltspring is of limited extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Sands Missile Range, Dona Ana County, New Mexico, 2014. The name Saltspring is derived from a spring southeast of White Sands National Monument Headquarters.

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

Particle-size control section - the zone from 10 to 40 inches (Anz, Bknz, Bknyz, Bkyz1, Bkyz2 and Bkyz3 horizons)

Ochric epipedon- the zone from 0 to 2 inches (Anz horizon)

Salic horizon- the zone from 0 to 18 inches (Bknz and Bknyz horizons)

Gypsic horizon- the zone from 18 to 60 inches (Bkyz horizon)

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

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.