LOCATION WESTBAY TX

Established Series
SAK-GWH-RBT
10/2024

WESTBAY SERIES

Depth Class--Very deep
Drainage Class--Subaqueous
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity--High to very high
Parent Material--Sandy lagoonal deposits
Geomorphic Location--Barrier island washover fan flats and slopes
Slope range for Series--0 to 1 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature--20.6 degrees C. (69 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation--1295 millimeters (51 inches)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, hyperthermic Sulfic Psammowassents

TYPICAL PEDON: Westbay muck, in 90 cm (35 in.) of permanent saline water (Colors are for moist) soil unless otherwise stated).

Oase--0 to 3 centimeters (0 to 1 in); very dark gray (N 3/) muck; H8 von Post; massive; strong sulfurous odor; electrical conductivity of 4.0 dS/m; slightly alkaline; abrupt boundary. (0 to 22 cm, 0 to 9 in thick)

Aseg--3 to 23 centimeters (1 to 9 in); dark gray (N 4/) fine sand; massive; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; 1 percent shell fragments; strong sulfurous odor; electrical conductivity of 4.0 dS/m; neutral; clear boundary. (2 to 40 cm, 1 to 16 in thick)

Cg1--23 to 91 centimeters (9 to 36 in); greenish gray (10Y 5/1) fine sand; massive; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; 3 percent shell fragments; electrical conductivity of 6.0 dS/m; neutral; gradual boundary.

Cg2--91 to 150 centimeters (36 to 59 in); gray (N 6/) fine sand; massive; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; 3 percent shell fragments; electrical conductivity of 5.7 dS/m; slightly alkaline; gradual boundary.

Cg3--150 to 215 centimeters (59 to 85 in); gray (N 5/) fine sand; massive; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; 1 percent shell fragments; electrical conductivity of 4.7 dS/m; moderately alkaline; gradual boundary.

TYPE LOCATION:
Galveston County, TX; from the intersection of FM 3005 (San Luis Pass Road) and Indian Beach Drive, about 1.6 miles northwest and approximately 950 feet southwest of the western most tip of the break wall protecting Shell Island Point; USGS topographic quadrangle: Sea Isle, TX.

Latitude--29.1836528
Longitude-- -95.0158611
Datum--WGS84
Coordinate source--from hand-held GPS

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--greater than 200 centimeters
Soil Moisture--These soils are continuously inundated.
Water depth--Ranges from 49 to 140 centimeters (19 to 55 inches)
Reaction throughout--strongly acid to strongly alkaline (5.1 to 9.0)
Electrical conductivity throughout--3 to 10 dS/m
Particle-size control section (weighted average)--
Total clay content: 3 to 13 percent
Sand content: 80 to 97 percent

Oase horizon (where present)--
Hue--N or 10Y
Value--2 to 4
Chroma--up to 1
Texture-muck
Von Post--H7 to H10
Organic fiber content--0 to 17 percent

Aseg, Ag, ACg horizon--
Hue--5Y, N, 10Y, or 5GY
Value--2 to 5
Chroma--up to 1
Texture--fine sand, loamy fine sand, or sand

Cg horizon--
Hue--N, 10Y, 5GY, 10GY, 5G, or 10G
Value--4 to 7
Chroma--up to 2
Texture--fine sand or loamy fine sand
Redox concentrations--amount-0 to 5 percent; color-shades of gray, blue or green

COMPETING SERIES:
There are no series in the same family.
Similar soils are the Bastropbay (T), Demas, Mantoloking, and Trappe series.
Bastropbay soils--are on very similar landforms but do not contain sulfidic soil materials within 100 centimeters of the soil surfaceDemas soils--are on very similar landforms but with cooler water and soil temperatures
Mantoloking soils--are on relict flood-tidal delta and slope landforms and have cooler water and soil temperatures
Trappe soils--have siliceous mineralogy; mesic soil temperature regime and layers with chromas of 3 or more within 100 centimeters of the soil surface

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--Sandy lagoonal deposits
Landscape--Coastal estuaries and lagoons
Landform--Washover-fan flats and slopes
Slope--Less than 1 percent
Precipitation Pattern--rainfall is mostly uniform throughout the year but most of the annual rainfall occurs during the Spring, Summer, and Fall months
Mean annual precipitation--1219 to 1295 mm (48 to 51 inches)
Mean annual air temperature--20.6 to 21.7 degrees C. (69 to 71 degrees F.)
Water temperature range (seasonal range)--15 to 32 degrees C. (59 to 90 degrees F.)
Water depth range--Ranges from 49 to 140 centimeters (19 to 55 inches)
Water salinity range--25 to 35 ppt
Frost-free period--365 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are Hoeckers, Karankawa and the Maggies series.
Hoeckers soils--have greater than 35 percent shell fragments throughout and formed in anthropogenic dredge deposits
Karankawa soils--are slightly higher on the landscape, are in tidal marsh areas, have more clay throughout, and do not have sulfidic soil materials
Maggies soils--are fine-loamy throughout, are slightly lower on the landscape, and do not have sulfidic materials

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity--High to very high
Soil Moisture Regime--Peraquic
Soil is continuously inundated by saline water.

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses--These areas are used as wildlife habitat and for recreational activities.
Native vegetation--Some areas have widgeon grass but are predominantly without sub-aquatic vegetation.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--These soils are located on the upper Texas Gulf Coast
Land Resource Region--T- Atlantic and Gulf Coast Lowland Forest and Crop Region
MLRA--150B - Gulf Coast Saline Prairies
Extent--Small

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: SPECIAL PROJECTS OFFICE

SERIES PROPOSED: Galveston County, Texas, 2022. The name is coined from West Galveston Bay (West Bay).

REMARKS: The series was formerly included with water.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Particle-size control section--0 to 100 cm (0 to 40 in)
Ochric epipedon--0 to 23 cm (0 to 9 in) (Oase and Aseg horizons)
Sulidic materials--0 to 23 cm (Oaseg and Aseg horizons)
Peraquic feature--0 to 203 cm (0 to 80 in) (Oaseg, Aseg horizon and Cglayers are permanently saturated)

Additional Comments--Mineralogy based on amount of shell fragments observed. Tests to validate the sulfidic materials were not available at the time of the collection of these soils.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Soil survey office lab data on pedon S2020TX1679012 from series type location.

TAXONOMIC VERSION: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Thirteenth Edition, 2022

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.