LOCATION KIOUS                   NV

Established Series
Rev. EWB-CWL-PWB-TM
02/2012

KIOUS SERIES

The Kious series consists of shallow, well drained soils that formed in colluvium and residuum derived from granitic rocks. Kious soils are on mountains. Slopes are 30 to 75 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 500 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 5 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, shallow Pachic Haplocryolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Kious extremely gravelly loamy coarse sand--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with approximately 25 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones.

A1--0 to 5 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) extremely gravelly loamy coarse sand, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 45 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; slightly acid (pH 6.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 cm thick)

A2--5 to 23 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) very gravelly loamy coarse sand, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine, common fine and medium, and few coarse roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 50 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 18 cm thick)

A3--23 to 43 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine, common fine and medium, and common coarse roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 45 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.6); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 23 cm thick)

A4--43 to 48 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 45 percent gravel and 20 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.6); abrupt irregular boundary. (0 to 8 cm thick)

Cr--48 to 127 cm; weathered granite; with roots and fine-earth in fractures.

TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; in Great Basin National Park about 1 mile north of Shoshone Campground; USGS Wheeler Peak 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 38 degrees 56 minutes 28 seconds N and longitude 114 degrees 15 minutes 25 seconds W; UTM Zone 11 737743e, 4313814n, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist; moist in winter, spring, and early summer, dry in all parts at least 45 consecutive days following the summer solstice (July and August), but intermittently moist in the upper part for 10 to 20 days cumulative due to convection storms between July and September; xeric soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 4 to 7 degrees C.
Mean summer soil temperature: 8 to 10 degrees C
Mollic epipedon thickness: 40 to 50 cm.
Depth to paralithic contact: 40 to 50 cm. The paralithic materials below the contact is weathered granite.
Depth to lithic material; 50 to 75 cm.
Reaction; Slightly acid or neutral, usually increasing with depth.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 12 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 50 to 80 percent, dominantly fine (2 to 5 mm diameter) gravel. Lithology of fragments is granitic rock such as quartz monzonite.

A1 and A2 horizons
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist; value 5 dry and 3 moist usually in the A2 horizon.
Organic matter content: 2 to 4 percent.

A3 horizon and A4 horizon (when present)
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Clay content: 12 to 18 percent.
Rock fragment content: 50 to 80 percent.
Organic matter content: 1 or 2 percent.

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

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Kious soils are on mountains. They typically occur on backslope positions. These soils formed in colluvium and residuum derived from granitic rocks. Slopes are 30 to 75 percent. Elevations range from 2,160 to 3,200 meters. The climate is moist-subhumid with cold wet winters and warm dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 450 to 700 mm, mean annual temperature is 3 to 6 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 40 to 60 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: This is the Goodski and Snacreek soils. Goodski soils are moderately deep and the mollic epipedon is 50 to 76 cm thick. Snacreek soils are loamy-skeletal and very deep.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:: Well drained; very high surface runoff; high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Kious soils are used for recreation, livestock grazing, and wildlife habitat. The potential native vegetation is mainly curlleaf mountainmahogany, mountain big sagebrush, snowberry, bluebunch wheatgrass, with widely scattered quaking aspen, limber pine, and singleleaf pinyon. This site is correlated to Ecological Site R28AY059NV Mahogany Savana.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Nevada. These soils are not extensive. MLRA 28A.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Pine County, Nevada, East Part, 2004. The name is a local place.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 48 cm (A1, A2, A3, and A4 horizons).
Paralithic contact - The boundary at 43 cm to underlying weathered bedrock (Cr layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 48 cm (A4 and part of the A3 horizons).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.