LOCATION ARMOINE                 NV

Established Series
Rev. JHD/WED/JVC/JBF
05/2016

ARMOINE SERIES

The Armoine series consists of shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium derived from granitic rock. Armoine soils are on mountains, hills, and rock pediments. Slopes are 4 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 250 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 12 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Xeric Haplargids

TYPICAL PEDON: Armoine very gravelly sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The surface is covered with 55 percent gravel.

A1--0 to 5 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak thick platy structure parting to moderate medium and fine subangular blocky; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; many medium interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 cm thick)

A2--5 to 13 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common medium and many fine roots; common fine tubular pores; 30 percent gravel; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 13 cm thick)

Bt--13 to 30 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very gravelly sandy clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, moderately sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine, common medium roots; many fine tubular pores; 40 percent gravel; few thin clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (13 to 30 cm thick)

Bk--30 to 38 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine and few medium roots; common fine tubular pores; 40 percent gravel; few fine carbonate masses; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 10 cm thick)

Cr--38 cm; highly weathered granitic bedrock.

TYPE LOCATION: Esmeralda County Nevada; about 400 feet east and 2,600 feet north of the southwest corner of section 34, T. 4 S., R. 38 E.; USGS Oasis Divide 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 37 degrees 32 minutes 48.7 seconds N and longitude 117 degrees 45 minutes 15.3 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 37.5470556 latitude, -117.754444 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Moist in winter and spring, mostly dry in summer and fall, except for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July and October due to convective storms; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 12 to 15 degrees C.
Depth to bedrock: 36 to 50 cm to a paralithic contact. The paralithic materials below the contact are weathered granitic rock.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 18 to 25 percent;
Rock fragments: 35 to 55 percent rock fragments with 5 percent cobbles and stones, more than 50 percent of gravel sized fragments are 2 to 5 mm.

A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
Effervescence: Noneffervescent or strongly effervescent.

Bt horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4.
Texture: Sandy clay loam, sandy loam.
Rock fragments: 35 to 55 percent, mostly gravel.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard dry, slightly sticky or sticky, nonplastic or slightly plastic wet.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Effervescence: Commonly noneffervescent, slightly effervescent in lower part of some pedons.

Bk horizon
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Structure: Massive or subangular blocky.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard, very friable or friable.
Effervescence: Strongly effervescent or violently effervescent.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Abalan, Alcan Berit, Bouncer, Entero, Flex, Ginex, Harvan, Penelas, Ravenell, Sedsked, Soar, Stodick and Zyzzi (NV) series.

Abalan, Alcan, Berit, Bouncer, Flex, Ginex, Entero, Penelas, Ravenell, Sedsked and Zyzzi soils have paralithic at less than 36 cm depth. Harvan soils have a densic layer formed from lacustrine sediments. Stodick and Zyzzi soils contain 25 to 35 percent clay in the particle size control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Armoine soils are on mountain slopes and hillsides. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium derived from granite. Slopes are 8 to 50 percent. Elevations are 1,520 to 2,370 meters. The mean annual temperature is 11 to 12.5 degrees C, the mean annual precipitation is 200 to 300 mm, and the frost-free season is 110 to 140 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Pumel, Lomoine, and Tulecan soils. Pumel and Lomoine soils lack an argillic horizon. Tulecan soils have a mollic epipedon.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly black sagebrush, Nevada ephedra, littleleaf rabbitbrush, bottlebrush squirreltail, galleta, Indian ricegrass and desert needlegrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: West-central Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 29.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Esmeralda County, Nevada, 1984.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 13 cm (A1 and A2 horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 13 to 30 cm (Bt horizon).
Identifiable secondary carbonates - The zone from 30 to 38 cm (Bk horizon).
Paralithic contact - The boundary at 38 cm to underlying weathered bedrock (Cr layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 13 to 30 cm (Bt horizon).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.