Albuquerque's Environmental Story

Educating For a Sustainable Community

Albuquerque's Natural Environment

Valley Sides and Terraces

1. TERRAIN - Moderately to steeply sloping area grading from mesa to floodplain or river. Upper boundary marked by sharp break in slope, local relief of 50 feet (15 m.) plus, and slopes often 10%. Lower areas gentler, smoother, except below terrace.
2. CLIMATE AND AIR QUALITY - Description: warm, dry, semi-arid climate like that of mesa units, except that extremes are somewhat greater. Comments: susceptible to erosion from flash flooding and wind. Air quality problems in urbanized areas.
3. GEOLOGY - River-cut cliffs and valley sides in older river-laid terraces. Cut and fill material is composed of reworked sands and gravel of the Santa Fe Group. Resources and Hazards: principal resources consist of extensive deposits of sand and gravel; common hazards such as flooding in numerous arroyos.
4. SOILS - Association: Bluepoint-Kokan, Madurez-Wink. Description: Madurez-Wink soils on isolated river-cut terraces; see "Sand Plains" for description and characteristics. Bluepoint-Kokan soils are excessively drained loamy and/or gravelly sandy soils found as slopewash over terraces. Notable Characteristics: locally severe water erosion, sedimentation, sloughing, corrosivity and slope problems. Otherwise use potential is moderate overall on slopes less than 15%.
5. HYDROLOGY - Upper areas have closely spaced sub parallel gullies which join to form arroyos; in lower areas the arroyos diffuse to broad, poorly defined drainage ways or sheet flow areas, and can cause widespread shallow flooding. Flows occur in response to summer storms, here or on mesa. Ground water depth varies; aquifer is Santa Fe Group. Quality is generally good; some municipal wells are in this unit.
6. VEGETATION - Zone: Upper Sonora. Indicator Species: see "Sand Plains" unit for terrace areas; snake weed, Russian thistle and other species indicating disturbance inhabit valley sides, along with grasses. Productivity; Sensitivity: only marginally productive except along water courses, which are good wildlife habitats. Relatively insensitive to human activities because already severely disturbed.
7. WILDLIFE - Indicator Species: burrowing rodents, owls, or other animals which "adopt" burrows in valley sides, including rattlesnakes and many feral dogs from urban areas. Value: arroyo sides provide moist inner-city habitats for burrowing owls, ground squirrel, field mice. Generally, less rich fauna than found in other units.

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