There are over 480 km of canals, laterals, sublaterals, and drains maintained by the Elephant Butte Irrigation district in southern NM. Nearly 300 locations were randomly sampled along the canal system during the 2002-2006 irrigation seasons. At each location, soil characteristics and vegetation data were collected. Presence of many weed species on the canals was strongly related to canal size (characterized by flow rate and intermittent or continuous flow) and soil texture; however, soil characteristics such as sodium adsorption ratio, electrical conductivity, pH and selected nutrients were significant co-variates affecting our ability to predict presence of particular species on the canals. Soil salinity was higher on the canals in the two largest capacity categories, a result that is not intuitive. The distribution of soil properties along this well-established canal system will be discussed.