LOCATION QUICKSILVER             ID

Established Series
Rev. PJS/ALH/CLM
10/2019

QUICKSILVER SERIES

The Quicksilver series consists of shallow, well drained soils with moderately rapid permeability that formed in residuum and colluvium from intermediate intrusive rocks. Quicksilver soils are on mountains. Slopes range from 3 to 50 percent. Average annual precipitation is 460 mm and average annual temperature is 6.1 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Lithic Haploxerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Quicksilver gravelly coarse sandy loam -- on a west-facing slightly convex slope of 10 percent, in native rangeland, at 1,865 meter elevation. The surface has 1 to 3 percent cover of stones and boulders. (Colors are for air-dry soil unless otherwise stated. When described on October 5, l983, the soil was dry throughout.)

A--0 to 10 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine granular structure; loose; few fine and medium roots; 25 percent gravel, 5 percent stones and boulders; neutral (pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 cm thick)

Bw--10 to 23 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly coarse sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky; few fine and medium roots; 20 percent gravel, 5 percent stones and boulders; neutral (pH 6.6); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 15 cm thick)

BC--23 to 38 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly coarse sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable; few fine and medium roots; 25 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.5); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 15 cm thick)

C--38 to 46 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly coarse sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; few fine and medium roots; 35 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.5); abrupt smooth boundary. (8 to 20 cm thick)

R--46 cm; weathered granodiorite.

TYPE LOCATION: Owyhee County, Idaho; about 7 miles south and 5 miles east of Silver City; about 490 feet north and 1,630 feet west of the southeast corner of section 12, T. 6 S., R. 3 W.; USGS Cinnabar Mountain 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 42 degrees 54 minutes 36 seconds N and longitude 116 degrees 38 minutes 12 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 42.9100000 latitude, -116.6366667 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture - Usually moist but are dry for more than 60 consecutive days in most years. Typic xeric moisture regime.
Average annual soil temperature - 5.6 to 8.3 degrees C.
Average summer soil temperature - 16.7 to 19.4 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness - 18 to 25 cm thick.
Solum thickness and depth to bedrock - 25 to 50 cm.
Particle-size control section - 6 to 15 percent clay; 10 to 35 percent rock fragments
Reaction (pH) - slightly acid or neutral

Bw horizon
Value - 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma - 3 or 4 dry or moist
Texture - COSL or GR-COSL
Rock fragments - 10 to 30 percent

C horizon
Value - 5 through 7 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma - 3 or 4 dry or moist
Texture - GRV-COSL, GR-LCOS, or GR-COSL
Rock fragments - 20 to 40 percent

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Choptie, Doyn, Nuss, Sadorus, and Spaa series. Choptie soils average less than 10 percent hard rock fragments. Doyn soils are 10 to 25 cm deep and are usually dry. Nuss soils have 18 to 30 percent clay in the particle-size control section. Sadorus soils have average annual soil temperature of 5.6 degrees C. or less. Spaa soils have secondary carbonates above the bedrock.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Quicksilver soils are undulating to steep on mountains at elevations of 1,405 to 2,075 meters. Slopes range from 3 to 50 percent. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium from intermediate intrusive rocks. The landscape commonly has 3 to 30 percent outcropping of bedrock. The climate is cool and moist in the winter and warm and dry in the summer. Average annual precipitation ranges from 410 to 560 mm and average annual temperature ranges from4.4 to 7.2 degrees C. The frost-free period is 65 to 95 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Kanlee, Ola and Takeuchi soils. These soils are greater than 50 cm to bedrock and have mollic epipedons. They are dominantly on north or east facing slopes.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; medium to very rapid runoff; moderately rapid saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mainly for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The dominant natural vegetation is curlleaf mountain mahogany, mountain big sagebrush, Idaho fescue, and bluebunch wheatgrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Idaho. This series is not extensive. MLRA 25.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Owyhee County Area, Idaho, l992.

REMARKS: Classification changed from Xerochrepts to Haploxerolls in 1990, recognizing a mollic epipedon after mixing the 18 cm.

Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon:
Mollic epipedon - The zone 0 to 18 cm (mixed A and upper Bw horizons).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 46 cm (R boundary).

Particle-size control section - The zone 25 to 46 cm (part of the BC and the C horizons).

The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Reno MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.

---

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.