Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Major Land Resource Area 054X
Major Land Resource Area
Accessed: 04/29/2026
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Ecological sites
Major Land Resource Areas
Ecological site photos
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precipitation
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Precipitation
Frost free days
Elevation
Slope
Landform
Parent material origin
Parent material kind
Soil texture
The site has a water table <6 feet from the soil surface and is located in depressions on uplands or floodplains and drainageways.
Bedrock and/or >15% of gravel is < 20 inches from soil surface
Sand content is >45% in the surface texture
Clay content is >35% in soil surface texture
All other sites
Site located in depressions with a silty clay to clay textured subsoil
R054XY022ND – Closed Depression
R054XY022ND – Closed Depression
Site is located on lowland positions with EC>8 and/or visible salts in the soil profile and/or salt tolerant vegetation present
R054XY024ND – Saline Lowland
R054XY024ND – Saline Lowland
Site has early growing season ponding, is typically located in depressions and floodplains, and is poorly drained
R054XY037ND – Wet Meadow
R054XY037ND – Wet Meadow
All other wet sites located in deep depressions and river valleys
R054XY036ND – Shallow Marsh
R054XY036ND – Shallow Marsh
Soil with >15% coarse sand or gravel at depths <14 inches
R054XY035ND – Very Shallow
R054XY035ND – Very Shallow
Soil depth is 9-20 inches to bedrock
Weathered bedrock, shale, or strongly cemented silcrete and subsoil has silty clay loam or clay texture
R054XY028ND – Shallow Clayey
R054XY028ND – Shallow Clayey
Weathered bedrock, shale, or strongly cemented silicrete and silt loam to clay loam surface texture
R054XY030ND – Shallow Loamy
R054XY030ND – Shallow Loamy
Weathered sandstone bedrock
R054XY043ND – Shallow Sandy
R054XY043ND – Shallow Sandy
Site is located on drainageways and stream terraces, and has rare to occasional flooding
R054XY042ND – Sandy Terrace
R054XY042ND – Sandy Terrace
Site has a sodic, dense claypan layer at >6 inches with salts >18 inches of soil surface and a fine sandy loam or silt loam soil surface texture
R054XY027ND – Sandy Claypan
R054XY027ND – Sandy Claypan
Site is located on hills and ridges and are generally calcareous throughout soil profile
R054XY045ND – Limy Sands
R054XY045ND – Limy Sands
Fine sandy loam and sandy loam soil surface textures. Soil will form a ribbon <1 inch long
R054XY026ND – Sandy
R054XY026ND – Sandy
Loamy fine sand to fine sand soil surface textures. Soil will not form a ribbon
R054XY025ND – Sands
R054XY025ND – Sands
Silty clay to clay soil surface texture and no root restrictive layer
R054XY020ND – Clayey
R054XY020ND – Clayey
Soil has a dense, root-restrictive, claypan layer <6” from the surface
R054XY033ND – Thin Claypan
R054XY033ND – Thin Claypan
Soil has dense, root-restrictive, claypan layer at 6-14” from the surface and a clay loam to clay soil surface texture
R054XY021ND – Claypan
R054XY021ND – Claypan
Site is located in a floodplain or swale with a fine sandy loam or loam soil surface texture
R054XY023ND – Loamy Overflow
R054XY023ND – Loamy Overflow
Site is located on shoulder slopes, convex rises, and summits with strong to violent effervescence immediately below the surface layer
R054XY038ND – Thin Loamy
R054XY038ND – Thin Loamy
Site located adjacent to a stream or river, occasional flooding
R054XY041ND – Loamy Terrace
R054XY041ND – Loamy Terrace
All other sites
Calcium carbonates occurring within 8 inches of soil surface
R054XY046ND – Limy Residual
R054XY046ND – Limy Residual
Occurs on limestone capped buttes (Killdeer Mountains). The soil has forest vegetation.
F054XY046ND – Upland Hardwood Forest
F054XY046ND – Upland Hardwood Forest
All other sites.
R054XY031ND – Loamy
R054XY031ND – Loamy
Long term average mean annual precipitation
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—
cm
Long term average frost free days
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- 90 – 110days
—
days
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- 400 – 600m (1300 – 2000ft)
- 600 – 800m (2000 – 2600ft)
- 800 – 1000m (2600 – 3300ft)
- 1000 – 1200m (3300 – 3900ft)
—
m
- No filter
- 0 – 3%
- 3 – 5%
- 5 – 10%
- 10 – 15%
- 15 – 20%
- 20 – 25%
- 25 – 30%
- 30 – 35%
- 35 – 40%
- 40 – 45%
- 45 – 50%
- 50 – 60%
- 60 – 70%
—
%
- No filter
- Alluvial fan
- Alluvial flat
- Basin floor
- Depression
- Divide
- Drainageway
- Escarpment
- Fan
- Flat
- Hill
- Hillslope
- Knob
- Knoll
- Lake plain
- Outwash plain
- Oxbow
- Pediment
- Plain
- Ridge
- Rise
- Sand sheet
- Swale
- Terrace
- Till plain
- No filter
- Limestone, unspecified
- Mudstone
- Porcellanite
- Sandstone, calcareous
- Sandstone, unspecified
- Shale and siltstone
- Shale, unspecified
- Siltstone, unspecified
- No filter
- Alluvium
- Colluvium
- Eolian deposits
- Glaciofluvial deposits
- Glaciolacustrine deposits
- Lacustrine deposits
- Loess
- Outwash
- Residuum
- Slope alluvium
- Till, unspecified
Soil surface texture
- No filter
- Clay
- Clay loam
- Fine sandy loam
- Loam
- Loamy fine sand
- Loamy sand
- Sand
- Silty clay
- Silty clay loam
- Silt loam
- Sandy loam
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Ecological site keys
MLRA 54 Key
A
The site has a water table <6 feet from the soil surface and is located in depressions on uplands or floodplains and drainageways.
I
Site located in depressions with a silty clay to clay textured subsoil
... R054XY022ND – Closed Depression
II
Site is located on lowland positions with EC>8 and/or visible salts in the soil profile and/or salt tolerant vegetation present
... R054XY024ND – Saline Lowland
III
Site has early growing season ponding, is typically located in depressions and floodplains, and is poorly drained
... R054XY037ND – Wet Meadow
IV
All other wet sites located in deep depressions and river valleys
... R054XY036ND – Shallow Marsh
B
Bedrock and/or >15% of gravel is < 20 inches from soil surface
II
Soil depth is 9-20 inches to bedrock
a
Weathered bedrock, shale, or strongly cemented silcrete and subsoil has silty clay loam or clay texture
... R054XY028ND – Shallow Clayey
b
Weathered bedrock, shale, or strongly cemented silicrete and silt loam to clay loam surface texture
... R054XY030ND – Shallow Loamy
C
Sand content is >45% in the surface texture
I
Site is located on drainageways and stream terraces, and has rare to occasional flooding
... R054XY042ND – Sandy Terrace
II
Site has a sodic, dense claypan layer at >6 inches with salts >18 inches of soil surface and a fine sandy loam or silt loam soil surface texture
... R054XY027ND – Sandy Claypan
III
Site is located on hills and ridges and are generally calcareous throughout soil profile
... R054XY045ND – Limy Sands
IV
Fine sandy loam and sandy loam soil surface textures. Soil will form a ribbon <1 inch long
... R054XY026ND – Sandy
V
Loamy fine sand to fine sand soil surface textures. Soil will not form a ribbon
... R054XY025ND – Sands
D
Clay content is >35% in soil surface texture
II
Soil has a dense, root-restrictive, claypan layer <6” from the surface
... R054XY033ND – Thin Claypan
III
Soil has dense, root-restrictive, claypan layer at 6-14” from the surface and a clay loam to clay soil surface texture
... R054XY021ND – Claypan
E
All other sites
I
Site is located in a floodplain or swale with a fine sandy loam or loam soil surface texture
... R054XY023ND – Loamy Overflow
II
Site is located on shoulder slopes, convex rises, and summits with strong to violent effervescence immediately below the surface layer
... R054XY038ND – Thin Loamy
IV
All other sites
b
Occurs on limestone capped buttes (Killdeer Mountains). The soil has forest vegetation.
... F054XY046ND – Upland Hardwood Forest
The Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool is an information system framework developed by the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and New Mexico State University.
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