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Fig. 17.3 Counties with soils containing a high frequency of gypsic or petrogypsic horizons
However, many of the soils contained an admixture of aeolian materials. In most
areas where gypsum-rich soils are found in the USA, there is underlying bedrock
enriched in gypsite, including the Castile Formation in eastern NM and western TX;
the Tularosa Basin in southern NM, which features the White Sands National
Monument; and the Bighorn Basin in WY, which contains the Gypsum Spring
Formation that is comprised of 50 % lenticular gypsum (Reheis 1987 ). In other
areas, the gypsum is contributed by dust deposition from outlying areas.
The slopes averaged between 2 and 16 %. Although the average mean annual
precipitation was 250 mm/yr, the range was between 100 and 660 mm/yr
(Table 17.3 ). In the literature gypsum-rich soils are recognized as receiving less
than 400 mm/yr of precipitation (Boyadgiev and Verheye 1996 ; Chen 1997 ; Cant ยด n
et al. 2003 ; Nield et al. 2007 ). The average mean annual temperature was 14 C,
with a range between 5 and 24 C.
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