CLIMATES OF SOME GREAT SOIL GROUPS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

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Abstract
The climates of 15 great soil groups were analyzed by using parameters of climate for 1082 weather stations taken from the water balance calculated according to Thornthwaite. The dominant great soil group at each station was identified on a general soil map. A chart was prepared for each great soil group in which calculated annual actual evapotranspiration versus the leaching effectiveness of the climate was plotted and mean annual temperature indicated by symbols. The leaching effectiveness of the climate was defined as the larger value of: the maximum cumulative sum of mean monthly precipitation minus evapotranspiration beginning with the 1st month of a moist season; or the mean precipitation of the wettest month of the year. The results indicate that each great soil group falls within distinct limits of these climatic parameters, although there is some overlapping between great soil groups, probably due to factors other than climate. This approach should be useful in the study of soil genesis and soil-climate relationships, because the method relates soils to climate about equally well over a wide range of climates in spite of a wide diversity of kinds of soil parent materials and irrespective of seasonal temperature and rainfall distribution.

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