2012-03-30_REVISION - M1987013 (3)

Home Browse Search

Rio Grande County Area, Colorado (CO631) Map Unit Symbol Map Unit Name Ames in A01 Percent of A01 De Dernck cobbiy loam 1 9 t0.5% LuB Luhon loam, t to 3 percent slopes 31 17 1% T s E Travelers Ga,ta complex. 5 to 25 percent slopes 13 0 72 5% Totals for Area of interest 17.3 100.0% Map Unit Legend (BURTON PIT) Map Unit Descriptions (BURTON PIT) The map units delineated on the detailed sod maps in a sod survey represent the sods or miscellaneous areas in the survey area. The map unit descriptions, along with the maps, can be used to determine the composition and properties of a unit A map unit delineation on a soil map represents an area dominated by one or more major kinds of soil or miscellaneous areas. A map unit is identified and named according to the taxonomic classification of the dominant soils. Within a taxonomic class there are precisely defined limits for the properbes of the soils. On the landscape, however, the sods are natural phenomena. and they have the characteristic variability of all natural phenomena. Thus. the range of some observed properties may extend beyond the limits defined for a taxonomic class. Areas of soils of a single taxonomic class rarely, if ever, can be mapped without including areas of other taxonomic classes. Consequently, every map unit is made up of the soils or miscellaneous areas for which it is named and some minor components that belong to taxonomic classes other than those of the major soils. Most minor sods have properties similar to those of the dominant soil or soils in the map unit, and thus they do not affect use and management. These are called noncontrasting, or smdar, components_ They may or may not be mentioned in a particular map unit description. Other minor components, however, have properties and behavioral charactenstics divergent enough to affect use or to require different management_ These are called contrasting, or dissimilar, components. They generally are in small areas and could not be mapped separately because of the scale used. Some smaN areas of strongly contrasting soils or miscellaneous areas are identified by a special symbol on the maps. If included in the database for a given area, the contrasting minor components are identified in the map unit descriptions along with some characteristics of each. A few areas of minor components may not have been observed, and consequentty they are not mentioned in the descripbons, especially where the pattern was so complex that it was impractical to make enough observations to identify all the sods and miscelaneous areas on the landscape. The presence of minor components in a map unit in no way diminishes the usefulness or accuracy of the data. The objective of mapping es not to delineate pure taxonomic classes but rather to separate the landscape into landtorms or landfomt segments that have similar use and management requirements. The delineation of such segments on the map provides sufficient information for the development of resource plans. If