LOCATION ARCIA NV+OR

Established Series
Rev. JVC/JBF
02/2018

ARCIA SERIES

The Arcia series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in loess and volcanic ash over colluvium and residuum derived from quartzite, conglomerate, welded tuff, rhyolite, or basalt. Arcia soils are on hills and mountains. Slopes are 2 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 360 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 6 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, frigid Vitrandic Argixerolls

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

A1--0 to 25 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) gravelly ashy loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; strong fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many fine interstitial pores; 20 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 30 cm thick)

A2--25 to 36 cm ; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly ashy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, very friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many fine interstitial pores; 25 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 20 cm thick)

Bt1--36 to 53 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly ashy clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine roots; many fine interstitial and tubular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 30 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary. (13 to 28 cm thick)

Bt2--53 to 86 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; strong medium prismatic structure; hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; common fine roots; few fine tubular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 5 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary. (15 to 50 cm thick)

Bt3--86 to 99 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very cobbly clay, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; strong fine angular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine roots; few fine tubular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 40 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 20 cm thick)

R--99 cm; fractured welded tuff.

TYPE LOCATION: Elko County, Nevada; about 18 miles southwest of Jiggs and north of Bailey Mountain; along the south side of a road about 700 feet east and 2,200 feet south of the northwest corner of section 25, T. 28 N., R. 53 E.; USGS Bailey Mountain 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 40 degrees 16 minutes 51.7 seconds N and longitude 115 degrees 56 minutes 58.2 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 40.2810278 latitude, -115.9495000 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in winter and spring, dry from mid-July through early October for more than 75 consecutive days; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 5.5 to 8 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 50 to 76 cm includes the upper part of the argillic horizon.
Depth to base of argillic horizon: 50 to 100 cm.
Depth to bedrock: 50 to 100 cm to a lithic contact.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 35 to 50 percent.
Rock fragments: Averages 5 to 25 percent, mainly gravel with some cobbles. Lithology of fragments is volcanic rocks such as tuff or basalt or metamorphic rocks such as quartzite.

A horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 3, dry or moist.
Volcanic glass: Volcanic glass is estimated to range from 20 to 50 percent of the 0.2 to 2 mm fraction.

Bt1 horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Clay loam, gravelly clay loam, or clay.
Clay content: 30 to 50 percent.
Rock fragments: 0 to 30 percent, mainly gravel.
Volcanic glass: Volcanic glass is estimated to range from 5 to 25 percent of the 0.2 to 2 mm fraction.

Bt2 horizon and Bt3 horizon (when present)
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, with lower chroma typically in the upper subhorizons.
Clay content: 40 to 60 percent.
Rock fragments: 5 to 35 percent, mainly gravel and cobbles.
Texture: Clay, gravelly clay, or cobbly clay. It is common to find a very cobbly clay with 35 to 50 percent rock fragments in most pedons immediately above the lithic contact.
Structure: Prismatic, subangular blocky, angular blocky, or massive.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bolletto, Boost and Volstead series.

Bolletto soils have slightly acid soil reaction and base saturation less than 75 percent. Boost soils have paralithic contacts. Volstead soils are deep over basalt bedrock and have O horizons, and buried argillic horizons.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Arcia soils are on hills and mountains. They typically occur on concave footslope and backslope positions. These soils formed in thin deposits of loess and volcanic ash over colluvium and residuum derived from quartzite, conglomerate, welded tuff, rhyolite, or basalt. Slopes are 2 to 50 percent. Elevations range from 1,600 meters to 2,550 meters. The climate is semiarid with cold, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 300 to 400 mm, the mean annual temperature is 4.5 to 7 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 50 to 90 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Chen, Graley, Shalcleav, Tusel, and Hackwood soils. Chen, Graley and Shalcleav soils are less than 50 cm deep to lithic contact and have more than 40 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section. Tusel and Hackwood soils are more than 100 cm deep to bedrock, average less than 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section, and have a cryic temperature regime.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Arcia soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly mountain big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, snowberry, bluebunch wheatgrass, and Idaho fescue.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Nevada and south-central Oregon. These soils are moderately extensive. The series concept and main acreage is in MLRA 25 in Nevada, while other acreage occurs in MLRA 10 in Oregon.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Elko County (Central Part), Nevada, 1986.

REMARKS: December, 2008 revision changes the classification from Pachic Argixerolls to Vitrandic Argixerolls to account for volcanic glass in the upper part, estimated based on benchmark data from the MLRA 25 area. The series place of origin and most acres are MLRA 25. The areas mapped in MLRA 10 in central OR need to be reevaluated for consistency with this concept.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in the pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 53 cm (A1, A2, and Bt1 horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 36 to 99 cm (Bt1, Bt2, and Bt3 horizons).
Vitritorandic feature - Volcanic glass is estimated to be 20 to 50 percent of the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction in the zone from 0 to 36 cm (A horizon) and 5 to 25 percent of the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction in the zone from 36 to 53 cm (Bt1 horizon).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 99 cm to underlying hard, unweathered bedrock (R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 36 to 86 cm (Bt1, Bt2 horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: Previous authors and editors include: DWW-PWB-TM.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.