Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Major Land Resource Area 083A
Major Land Resource Area
Accessed: 04/30/2026
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1
Select an ecological site
Select an ecological site using the list, keys, photos, briefcase, or quick search option located on this page. -
2
Explore the ecological site description
Next, learn more about the selected ecological site and its characteristic dynamics by browsing the ecological site description and exploring alternative state and transition model formats.
Ecological site list
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precipitation
frost free days
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Viewing 20 of 22
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-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Soil temperature regime mesic
- Site found on all aspects
- Soils moderately deep to very deep (> 20")
- Mean annual precipitation 20 - 25"
Ecological site map
Basemap
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Find me
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Full screen
Zoom in to display soil survey map units for an area of interest, and zoom out to display MLRAs. Select a map unit polygon to view ecological sites correlated to that map unit. View a brief description of an ecological site by clicking on its name in the map popup. Soil survey correlations may not be accurate, and ecological site classification of a location should always be verified in the field. Each selection may require the transfer of several hundred KB of data.
Briefcase
Add ecological sites and Major Land Resource Areas to your briefcase by clicking on the briefcase (
) icon wherever it occurs. Drag and drop items to reorder. Cookies are used to store briefcase items between browsing sessions. Because of this, the number of items that can be added to your briefcase is limited, and briefcase items added on one device and browser cannot be accessed from another device or browser. Users who do not wish to place cookies on their devices should not use the briefcase tool. Briefcase cookies serve no other purpose than described here and are deleted whenever browsing history is cleared.
Ecological sites
Major Land Resource Areas
Ecological site photos
Tools
Filter by
interactive key
precipitation
frost free days
more..
clear all
Type
Image size
Done
Filters
Interactive key
Precipitation
Frost free days
Elevation
Slope
Landform
Parent material origin
Parent material kind
Soil texture
Depth to densic material less than 40 inches
Soils are deep to very deep, greater than 40 inches
Soils with gravels in epipedon
Soils without gravels in epipedon
Greater than 15 percent of soil surface covered by large pebbles
R083AY001TX – Igneous Hill
R083AY001TX – Igneous Hill
Less than 15 percent of soil surface covered by large pebbles
Strongly cemented calcium carbonate less than 20 inches
R083AY002TX – Shallow Ridge
R083AY002TX – Shallow Ridge
All others
R083AY003TX – Gravelly Ridge
R083AY003TX – Gravelly Ridge
Soils with sandy loam or loam surface texture
R083AY004TX – Shallow Sandy Loam
R083AY004TX – Shallow Sandy Loam
All others
R083AY005TX – Shallow
R083AY005TX – Shallow
Soils on depressions, drainageways, or flood plains
Soils on other landforms
Soils in a closed depression
Soils in flood plain or drainageway
Permanent water table at/or near surface and ponded for most of year
Soils with fluctuating water table levels and ponded after heavy rains
R083AY007TX – Lakebed
R083AY007TX – Lakebed
Visible salts less than 40 inches
R083AY008TX – Salty Prairie
R083AY008TX – Salty Prairie
All others
Soils with fine surface textures (clay and silty clay)
R083AY009TX – Clayey Bottomland
R083AY009TX – Clayey Bottomland
All others
Soils with deep sands and effervescent throughout profile
R083AY010TX – Vega
R083AY010TX – Vega
All others
Soils with a developed argillic horizon
R083AY011TX – Claypan Prairie
R083AY011TX – Claypan Prairie
All others
Upland drainageway without defined, prominent channel
R083AY012TX – Loamy Draw
R083AY012TX – Loamy Draw
Low flood plain with loamy soils and prominent channel
R083AY013TX – Loamy Bottomland
R083AY013TX – Loamy Bottomland
Visible salts less than 24 inches
All others
Soils with sandy or sandy loam surface textures
All others
Soils classified as vertisols with high shrink‐swell potential
Soils belonging to other taxonomic orders with low to moderate shrink‐swell potential
R083AY016TX – Saline Clay Loam
R083AY016TX – Saline Clay Loam
Soils classified as vertisols with high shrink‐swell potential
All others
Dark‐colored surface with value/chroma of 3/1 or darker and non‐sodic
R083AY017TX – Blackland
R083AY017TX – Blackland
Lighter‐colored surface and sodic
Soil profile is effervescent to the surface
R083AY019TX – Gray Sandy Loam
R083AY019TX – Gray Sandy Loam
All others
Soils with fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or loamy sand surface textures
Soils with clay loam, sandy clay loam, or silty clay loam surface textures
Soils with sandy textures greater than 80 inches deep
R083AY020TX – Sand Hills
R083AY020TX – Sand Hills
All others
Depth to argillic greater than 14 inches
Depth to argillic less than 14 inches
Textural change of argillic greater than 30 inches
R083AY021TX – Sandy
R083AY021TX – Sandy
Textural change of argillic less than than 30 inches
R083AY022TX – Loamy Sand
R083AY022TX – Loamy Sand
Subsoils slightly deeper, slightly lower in clay content, and more permeable
R083AY023TX – Sandy Loam
R083AY023TX – Sandy Loam
Subsoils slightly more shallow, more droughty, higher in clay content, and perch water more readily
R083AY024TX – Tight Sandy Loam
R083AY024TX – Tight Sandy Loam
Soils in MLRAs 83B, 83C, or 83D
Soils in MLRA 83A
Soils from center of Atascosa County east
R083AY026TX – Eastern Clay Loam
R083AY026TX – Eastern Clay Loam
Soils from center of Atascosa County west
R083AY027TX – Western Clay Loam
R083AY027TX – Western Clay Loam
Long term average mean annual precipitation
- No filter
- 60 – 80cm (24 – 31in)
- 80 – 100cm (31 – 39in)
- 100 – 120cm (39 – 47in)
- 120 – 140cm (47 – 55in)
- 140 – 500cm (55 – 197in)
—
cm
Long term average frost free days
- No filter
- 230 – 250days
—
days
- No filter
- 0 – 200m (0 – 700ft)
- 200 – 400m (700 – 1300ft)
- 400 – 600m (1300 – 2000ft)
—
m
- No filter
- 0 – 3%
- 3 – 5%
- 5 – 10%
- 10 – 15%
- 15 – 20%
—
%
- No filter
- Drainageway
- Draw
- Dune
- Flood plain
- Hill
- Interfluve
- Open depression
- Paleoterrace
- Ridge
- Stream terrace
- No filter
- Basalt
- Claystone
- Conglomerate, unspecified
- Sandstone and siltstone
- Sandstone, calcareous
- Sandstone, unspecified
- Sedimentary, unspecified
- Shale, unspecified
- No filter
- Alluvium
- Eolian deposits
- Eolian sands
- Lacustrine deposits
- Residuum
Soil surface texture
- No filter
- Clay
- Clay loam
- Fine sand
- Fine sandy loam
- Loam
- Loamy fine sand
- Loamy sand
- Sandy clay loam
- Silty clay
- Silty clay loam
- Sandy loam
- Very fine sandy loam
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Ecological site keys
MLRA 83A
I.
Depth to densic material less than 40 inches
A.
Soils with gravels in epipedon
2
Less than 15 percent of soil surface covered by large pebbles
B.
Soils without gravels in epipedon
II.
Soils are deep to very deep, greater than 40 inches
A.
Soils on depressions, drainageways, or flood plains
1
Soils in a closed depression
i.
Permanent water table at/or near surface and ponded for most of year
ii.
Soils with fluctuating water table levels and ponded after heavy rains
... R083AY007TX – Lakebed
2
Soils in flood plain or drainageway
ii.
All others
b.
All others
2)
All others
b)
All others
B.
Soils on other landforms
1
Visible salts less than 24 inches
i.
Soils with sandy or sandy loam surface textures
ii.
All others
a.
Soils classified as vertisols with high shrink‐swell potential
b.
Soils belonging to other taxonomic orders with low to moderate shrink‐swell potential
... R083AY016TX – Saline Clay Loam
2
All others
i.
Soils classified as vertisols with high shrink‐swell potential
a.
Dark‐colored surface with value/chroma of 3/1 or darker and non‐sodic
... R083AY017TX – Blackland
b.
Lighter‐colored surface and sodic
ii.
All others
b.
All others
1)
Soils with fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or loamy sand surface textures
b)
All others
i)
Depth to argillic greater than 14 inches
ii)
Depth to argillic less than 14 inches
1)
Subsoils slightly deeper, slightly lower in clay content, and more permeable
... R083AY023TX – Sandy Loam
2)
Subsoils slightly more shallow, more droughty, higher in clay content, and perch water more readily
... R083AY024TX – Tight Sandy Loam
2)
Soils with clay loam, sandy clay loam, or silty clay loam surface textures
a)
Soils in MLRAs 83B, 83C, or 83D
b)
Soils in MLRA 83A
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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