Soil subgroup

Torriortent vértico

It has expansive clays: dry cracks or slickensides in the subsoil. When wet it becomes sticky and difficult to work with; when dry it cracks.

What the name says

Soil Taxonomy names are built from parts, and each part says something about the soil. From general to specific:

Taxonomic orderEntisolSoil without diagnostic horizons, or almost: recently deposited material (sand, alluvium) or on which the climate did not have time to act.
SuborderOrtentEntisol on material that is neither sandy nor alluvial: eroded slopes, rock, recent sediments.
Great groupTorriortentWithin the Ortent suborder, it It has an arid climate (torric moisture regime).
SubgroupvérticoIt has expansive clays: dry cracks or slickensides in the subsoil. When wet it becomes sticky and difficult to work with; when dry it cracks.

What it means for farming

Very variable. The sandy ones (Psamentes) retain little water and blow away; alluvial ones (Fluventes) can be good but they flood; the shallow ones on rock (lithic) are barely useful for grazing.

The most widespread soil of extra-Andean Patagonia and the arid west: stony or sandy, without development, under steppe.

Where it is found

According to the 1:500.000 national map, it covers about 29.949 ha, spread over 4 districts.

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National map units that list it. The scale is 1:500.000: good for seeing the region, not a single property.

ProvinceArea
Neuquén29.949 ha

Districts where it is most common

Other Torriortent subgroups

Soils it shares map units with

Several soils share each map unit. These are the ones most often found alongside this one: on a property, you will likely find them in the nearby low ground or on the next rise.

The definitions are a plain-language summary of the USDA Keys to Soil Taxonomy. The formal definition includes thickness, color and percentage thresholds that are left out here.

Sources