Soil-geomorphic relationships in the ancient Lake Lomax Basin, Southern High Plains

Date

1999-08

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Publisher

Texas Tech University

Abstract

The Lake Lomax Basin is on the southern margin of the High Plains in West Texas. Evidence suggests that it has been formed by subsidence/erosion processes in very eariy Pleistocene time and subsequent wind deflation. This study was conducted to determine the relationships between geomorphic surfaces and soil parent materials inside and outside of the basin and to generate information useful for a planned soil survey update.

A preliminary study was conducted inside, as well as outside, of the basin. Clay mineralogy and particle-size distribution (PSD) analyses were used to differentiate between Blackwater Draw Formation and Ogallala Formation sediments. In the basin area, soil profile morphology was described along a 25-km east-west transect across the basin and along a 23-km north-south transect in the basin. Clay mineralogy, particle-size distribution, and selected chemical analyses were carried out. Particle-size distribution statistical parameters such as mean grain size, standard deviation, and skewness were used as criteria to discriminate among the different parent materials in transect samples.

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