Soil series profile
Berino soil series
Berino is a well drained soil with a fine sand surface, mapped on 584,385 acres in 10 counties across 2 states. Hydrologic group B.
- Drainage class
- Well drained 100% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- B >99% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 7.2 neutral · range 7.0–7.2
- Mapped area
- 584k acres in 10 counties, 2 states
Typical Berino profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–17 in (H1) | Fine sand | 7.0 | 8% | 91% | 0.45% |
| 17–58 in (H2) | Sandy clay loam | 7.2 | 28% | 55% | 0.23% |
| 58–60 in (H3) | Loamy sand | 8.2 | 5% | 79% | 0.12% |
What this means
What Berino soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Berino soils is neutral: pH 7.2 (most land between 7.0 and 7.2), the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.
Sandy topsoil covers 70% of mapped Berino acres. It drains fast and warms early in spring, but dries out and loses nutrients quickly: mulch, compost and steady watering help. The most common surface texture is fine sand (32% of mapped Berino acres).
100% of mapped Berino acres is moderately well to excessively drained, which suits most garden plants.
For lawns and yards
Most land is in hydrologic groups B and C, where rain soaks in at a moderate pace.
For a septic system
For conventional septic absorption fields, NRCS rates <1% of the acres in mapped Berino soils very limited, >99% somewhat limited and 0% not limited.
Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.
Where Berino soil is found
Mapped acres
Berino is mapped in New Mexico and Texas.
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Eddy County, NM | 178,592 | 6.6% |
| Doña Ana County, NM | 94,515 | 3.7% |
| Luna County, NM | 78,530 | 4.1% |
| Lea County, NM | 61,854 | 2.2% |
| Chaves County, NM | 47,232 | 1.2% |
| Hidalgo County, NM | 46,247 | 2.1% |
| Socorro County, NM | 33,905 | 0.9% |
| Sierra County, NM | 30,270 | 1.2% |
| Otero County, NM | 9,018 | 0.2% |
| El Paso County, TX | 4,220 | 0.7% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Berino acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.0% |
| Somewhat limited | 99.7% |
| Very limited | 0.3% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Berino acres
- Depth to seasonal high water table
- None reported within about 6.5 feet (median where reported).
- Flooding
- Not mapped as flooding on most acres.
- Slope
- Typically 1–3% (median 2%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 0.5%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 100.0% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Very poorly drained | 0.0% |
Hydrologic soil group
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) | 0.3% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 99.7% |
| C: slow infiltration | 0.0% |
| D: very slow infiltration (clayey, shallow or wet) | 0.0% |
| A/D: D as is, A if drained | 0.0% |
| B/D: D as is, B if drained | 0.0% |
| C/D: D as is, C if drained | 0.0% |
Sources & data dates
- Source
- USDA NRCS Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), queried through Soil Data Access. Public domain.
- Data date
- SSURGO as published on November 3, 2026 (most recent survey area update October 26, 2026). NRCS refreshes SSURGO each October.
- Scope
- All map unit components named Berino (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 584,385 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Berino components. The profile comes from the single largest Berino component. Full methodology.