LOCATION CHIARA NV+ID

Established Series
Rev. ELS-MJZ-RLB-JBF
02/2016

CHIARA SERIES

The Chiara series consists of shallow to duripan, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks with a loess mantle high in volcanic ash. The Chiara soils are on summits shoulders and side slopes of fan remnants and plateaus. Slopes are 0 to 30 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 230 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Vitrixerandic Haplodurids

TYPICAL PEDON: Chiara ashy silt loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 10 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) ashy silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate thick platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; few fine and very fine tubular pores; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 15 cm thick)

Bw--10 to 20 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) ashy silt loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and medium roots; few very fine and fine tubular pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 23 cm thick)

Bqk--20 to 33 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) ashy silt loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and medium roots; few very fine and fine tubular pores; many 0.8 cm in diameter very hard and very firm brittle durinodes; slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (10 to 36 cm thick)

2Bqkm--33 to 53 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) indurated duripan with continuous, very thin (less than 3 mm) pale brown (10YR 6/3) silica laminae, pale brown (10YR 6/3) and dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; extremely hard, extremely firm, few very fine interstitial pores; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8).

TYPE LOCATION: Eureka County, Nevada; about 2,400 feet north and 2,000 feet east of the southwest corner of section 17, T. 32 N., R. 50 E.; USGS Emigrant Pass 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 40 degrees 38 minutes 34 seconds N and longitude 116 degrees 21 minutes 52 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 40.6427778 latitude, -116.3644444 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, moist in winter and spring, dry from summer and fall; aridic soil moisture regime bordering on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 12 degrees C.
Depth to duripan: 25 to 50 cm.
Depth to carbonates: 10 to 38 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 5 to 18 percent.
Sand: Less than 15 percent fine sand and coarser.
Rock fragments: When mixed, up to 5 percent, mainly gravel, thin subhorizons in some pedons have 4 to 25 percent, comprised mainly of duripan fragments.
Volcanic glass: Volcanic glass is estimated to range from 20 to 30 percent of the 0.2 to 2 mm fraction.

A horizon:
Value: 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Reaction: Neutral through moderately alkaline.
Volcanic glass: Volcanic glass is estimated to range from 30 to 40 percent of the 0.2 to 2 mm fraction

Bw horizon (when present)
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Texture: Very fine sandy loam, loam, and silt loam.
Chroma: 3 or 4.
Structure: Weak to strong, fine to coarse subangular blocky or weak prismatic.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard, dry; very friable or friable moist; nonsticky or slightly sticky and nonplastic or slightly plastic, wet.
Reaction: Neutral through strongly alkaline.
Volcanic glass: Volcanic glass is estimated to range from 20 to 30 percent of the 0.2 to 2 mm fraction.

Bqk horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Texture: Very fine sandy loam, loam or silt loam with 70 to 85 percent silt loam plus very fine sand.
Structure: Subangular blocky or is massive.
Consistence: very friable or friable, moist; slightly sticky or nonsticky wet.
Durinodes: Contains from 20 to 60 percent weakly cemented and brittle durinodes from 0.8 to 3 cm in diameter.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Volcanic glass: Volcanic glass is estimated to range from 20 to 30 percent of the 0.2 to 2 mm fraction.

Bqkm horizon
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 5 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4.
Structure: Massive or thick platy.
Other features: A stratified gravelly and sandy substratums occurs below 100 cm in some pedons.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Chiara soils are summits, shoulders and side slopes fan remnants and plateaus. These soils formed in a loess mantle high in volcanic ash over alluvium derived from mixed rocks. Slopes are 0 to 30 percent, but dominantly 2 to 15 percent. Elevations are 1,100 to 2,130 meters. The climate is cool, semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 200 to 250 mm, mean annual temperature is 7 to 10 degrees C, and the frost-free season is 90 to 120 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are The Brock, Cherry Spring and Cortez soils. These soils have argillic horizons. Cherry Spring and Cortez soils have duripans below 50 cm.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; slow or medium runoff; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly Wyoming big sagebrush, Sandberg bluegrass and cheatgrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central and northeastern Nevada. MLRA 24, 25. Chiara soils are not extensive.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Pershing County, Nevada (BLM Sonoma Planning Unit) 1974.

REMARKS: Reclassified from Xeric Haplodurids to Vitrixerandic Haplodurids to meet current taxonomy.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the surface to 18 cm (A horizon).
Vitrixerandic feature: Volcanic glass is estimated to be 20 to 40 percent of the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction in the zone from the soil surface to 20 cm (A and Bw horizons) and 20 to 30 percent of the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction in the zone from 20 to 33 cm (Bqk horizon). Meets organic carbon and soil moisture regime requirement for xeric.
Indurated duripan - The zone from 33 to 53 cm (2Bqkm horizon.)
Particle-size control section - The zone from the soil surface to 33 cm (A, Bw and Bqk horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL Pedon ID 80NV007804 (Pedon No. 81P0242)

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.