LOCATION ALHAMBRA NV

Established Series
Rev. WMA/ELS-JVC
11/2016

ALHAMBRA SERIES

The Alhambra series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from mixed volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Alhambra soils are on flood plains and alluvial fans. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 230 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 6.1 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, frigid Duric Xeric Torrifluvents

TYPICAL PEDON: Alhambra fine sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 8 cm; gray (10YR 6/1) fine sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; many very fine roots; few fine interstitial, and common fine and very fine vesicular and tubular pores; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 13 cm thick)

C1--8 to 20 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few medium, common fine, and many very fine roots; common fine and many very fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 23 cm thick)

C2--20 to 38 cm; light gray (10YR 7/1) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many medium, common fine, and many very fine roots; common fine, and many very fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 30 cm thick)

Ckq1--38 to 61 cm; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine, and many very fine roots; many very fine tubular pores in matrix; 50 percent roughly cylindrical, very hard, firm and brittle durinodes; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear wavy boundary. (15 to 36 cm thick)

Ckq2--61 to 91 cm; light gray (10YR 7/1) sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; massive; soft, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine, and many very fine roots; many very fine tubular pores in matrix; 35 percent roughly cylindrical, very hard, firm and brittle durinodes; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (20 to 41 cm thick)

2C'--91 to 110 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) gravelly sand, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 20 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0).

TYPE LOCATION: Eureka County, Nevada; in a nonsectionized township north of T. 21 1/2 N., R. 53 E.; USGS North of Eureka 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; longitude 39 degrees 44 minutes 37.73 seconds N. and longitude 115 degrees 59 minutes 32.22 seconds W.; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.7438139 latitude, -115.9922833 longitude..

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: These soils are usually dry during most years, but are moist in some part more than 1/4 the time that soil temperatures are greater than 5 degrees C.; aridic moisture regime bordering on xeric.
Mean annual temperature: 6.7 to 8.3 degrees C., and the mean summer temperature is 16.1 to 17.2 degrees C.
Other features: Depth to the Ckq horizons is 10 to 46 cm and depth to unconformable sand and gravel is 75 to 100 cm.

Particle-size control section: Less than 18 percent clay. The upper part is normally nongravelly, but contains up to 15 percent gravel in some pedons. Mineralogy is mixed but is influenced by volcanic ash.

The soils are usually calcareous throughout, but are noncalcareous in the immediate surface in some pedons. pH values range from 8.4 to 9.6 and either remain constant or increase slightly with depth. The control section is dominantly fine sandy loam and sandy loam, containing less than 18 percent clay. Thin strata of loam, silty clay loam, very fine sandy loam or silt loam are in some pedons. The soil has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 6 through 8 dry, 3 through 5 moist, and chroma of 1 through 3. Buried A1 horizons having value as low as 5 dry and 3 moist, and chroma of 1 occur below 20 inches in some pedons. The A1 horizon has weak to strong, very thin to medium platy structure, or it is massive. It is soft to hard. The C horizon above the unconformable gravel and sand has weak or moderate, thin to thick platy structure, or it is massive. Its matrix material is soft or slightly hard dry, and very friable or friable moist. The Ckq horizons contains 20 to 60 percent 1 to 3 cm diameter durinodes that are hard or very hard, firm or very firm or brittle. A few very thin (less than 1 mm) and very hard silica and carbonate laminae line tubular pores and coat some ped surfaces where peds are present, but the laminae are unoriented and discontinuous. The continuous weakly cemented layers usually occur below 100 cm. Where the Ckq horizons is underlain by unconformable gravel, 15 to 41 cm thick weakly cemented horizons are present immediately above gravel. These are hard or very hard and firm, and have common thin discontinuous silica laminae. Unconformable loamy or silty lacustrine deposits are below 100 cm in some pedons.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Linco, Ninch and Hayeston series.

Linco soils have uniformly decreasing organic matter content with depth and have mesic temperature. Ninch soils have sandy control sections and mesic temperature. Hayeston soils lack Ckq horizons.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Alhambra soils are on smooth, nearly level and gently sloping flood plains and toe slopes of alluvial fans at elevations of 5,800 to 6,100 feet. Slope gradients are 0 to 2 percent. These soils formed in loamy alluvium derived from mixed rock sources mainly sedimentary and volcanic, with some volcanic ash and pyroclastic materials from tuffs. The climate is cool, semiarid, with a mean annual precipitation is 8 to 10 inches most of which comes as snow in the winter. The mean annual temperature is 42 to 45 degrees F.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Kobeh, Bruffy, and Shipley soils. Kobeh soils have 40 to 60 percent coarse fragments in the control section. Bruffy and Shipley soils lack durinodes.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow runoff; moderately slow to moderately rapid permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for livestock grazing. Some areas are now being cultivated and irrigated by well water. Small grains and alfalfa are the principal crops. Native vegetation is principally big sagebrush.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 28B.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Eureka County (Diamond Valley Area), Nevada, 1971.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 inches (A and part of the C1 horizon).
Durinodes - The zone from 38 to 91 cm (Ckq1 and Ckq2 horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (C2, Ckq1, and Ckq2 horizons and parts of the C1 and 2C' horizons).

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.