LOCATION BLUEWING NV+UT

Established Series
Rev. ELS/DD/JVC/JBF
11/2016

BLUEWING SERIES

The Bluewing series consists of very deep, excessively drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks. Bluewing soils are on fan remnants, beach plains, alluvial fans, and inset fans. Slopes are 0 to 30 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 150 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 12 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Typic Torriorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Bluewing gravelly fine sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soils unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 3 cm; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) gravelly fine sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; few fine and common very fine vesicular and many very fine irregular pores; 25 percent gravel; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 23 cm thick)

Bk1--3 to 64 cm; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) very gravelly loamy coarse sand, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine roots; many very fine and fine, and few medium irregular pores; 50 percent gravel; few fragments have light gray (2.5Y 7/2) carbonate coats on the undersides; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); gradual wavy boundary. (13 to 64 cm thick)

Bk2--64 to 122 cm; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) very extremely loamy coarse sand, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; 60 percent gravel; about 75 percent of the fragments have light gray (2.5Y 7/2) carbonate coats on the undersides; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); gradual smooth boundary. (15 to 76 cm thick)

Bk3--122 to 157 cm; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) very extremely coarse sand, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; 60 percent gravel; few fragments have light gray (2.5Y 7/2) carbonate coats on the undersides; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8)

TYPE LOCATION: Pershing County, Nevada; about 4 miles southwest of Lovelock; approximately 2,550 feet east and 520 feet south of the northwest corner of section 17, T. 26 N., R. 31 E.; USGS West of Lovelock 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 40 degrees 7 minutes 40.7 seconds N and longitude 118 degrees 31 minutes 26.5 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 40.1279722 latitude, -118.524028 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, intermittently moist in winter and early spring, dry from early May through October; typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 12 to 15 degrees C.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline through strongly alkaline.
Effervescence: Noneffervescent through violently effervescent.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 3 to 8 percent.
Rock fragments: Averages 50 to 80 percent, dominantly gravel.

A horizon
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.

Bk horizons
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 5 through 8 dry; 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Dominantly loamy coarse sand or coarse sand but may include strata ranging from loamy sand to loam.
Rock fragments: Averages 50 to 80 percent, mainly gravel with up to 25 percent cobbles and stones; the gravel are dominantly 20 to 30 mm in diameter.
Structure: Massive or single grain.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Gynelle, Inmo, Ioka Itme, Izamatch, Izo, Leo, Nepalto, Wardenot, and Willwood series.

Gynelle soils have a horizon of sandy loam within the control section and are not moist to the bottom of the moisture control section in the winter or spring in most years. Inmo soils have a 2 to 4 percent finely divided mica and gravel that are dominantly less than 10 mm in diameter. Inmo and Willwood soils lack Bk horizons. Itme soils are moist for 10 to 20 days in the summer and have rock fragments that are dominantly 2 to 5 mm in diameter. Izamatch soils are moist for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July and October following summer convection storms. Izo and Willwood soils are usually dry in the lower part of the moisture control section throughout the year. Ioka, Izo and Leo soils are moist in the upper part for 10 to 20 days during the period July to September following convection storms and lack Bk horizons. Leo soils also have strata of sandy loam or fine sandy loam in the control section. Nepalto soils are stratified and have irregular decrease in organic matter. Wardenot soils have a subhorizon with silica coatings and pendants.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bluewing soils are on fan remnants, beach plains, alluvial fans, and inset fans. These soils formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks. Slopes are 0 to 8 percent but are as high as 30 percent on side slopes of highly dissected fan remnants. Elevations range from 910 to 1,950 meters. The climate is arid with cool, moist winters and hot, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 100 to 200 mm, the mean annual temperature is 11 to 14 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 100 to 150 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Cliffdown, Toulon, and Trocken soils. These soils are loamy-skeletal.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Excessively drained; very high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Bluewing soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly shadscale, bud sagebrush, Bailey's greasewood, bottlebrush squirreltail, and Indian ricegrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: West-central Nevada and western Utah. These soils are extensive with about 224,000 acres of the series mapped to date. The series concept and main acreage is in MLRA 27, while other acreage occurs in MLRAs 28A, 28B, and 29.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Pershing County, Nevada (Lovelock Area), 1963.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A and part of the Bk1 horizons).
Identifiable secondary carbonates - The zone from 3 to 157 cm (Bk1, Bk2, and Bk3 horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (parts of the Bk1 and Bk2 horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: A pedon of Bluewing is sampled for full characterization data by the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as pedon ID S08NV027003 (pedon # 08N0494).

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.