Bayamón -- Representative Soil of
Puerto Rico

Photograph of pineapple field with trees in the background.

Photograph of the profile of a typifying pedon of Bayamon soil series.

Bayamón Soil Profile

Surface layer: dark reddish brown clay
Subsoil: red and dark red clay
 Bayamón soils are interspersed between limestone hills (haystacks) in northern Puerto Rico. They are used for sugarcane, pineapples (pictured above), a wide variety of food crops, pasture, and hay.

Bayamón soils formed in highly weathered, clayey marine sediments. These soils have low or medium fertility and are strongly acid to extremely acid throughout. Crops respond well to applications of lime and fertilizer.

When Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Puerto Rico on his second voyage (1493), the inhabitants were the Tainos Indians. The word “Bayamón” was derived from a local Indian chief named Bahamón. Bayamón is also the name of one of the main cities and a river.

Small scale map of Puerto Rico showing distribution of Bayamon soil series.
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