LOCATION BLIZZARD                OR+NV

Established Series
Rev. JPB-TDT-JVC-JBF
01/2012

BLIZZARD SERIES

The Blizzard series consists of shallow, well drained soils that formed in colluvium and residuum derived from basalt and tuff. Blizzard soils are on plateaus. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 360 mm and the annual temperature is about 6 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, smectitic Lithic Argicryolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Blizzard very cobbly silty clay loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 3 cm; brown (7.5YR 5/2) very cobbly silty clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/2) moist; weak thin platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine, fine, and coarse roots; few very fine vesicular pores; 15 percent gravel and 30 percent cobbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 10 cm thick)

Bt1--3 to 18 cm; brown (7.5YR 5/2) silty clay, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; strong medium subangular and angular blocky structure; very hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine and few coarse roots; few fine and very fine vesicular pores; common faint clay films on faces of peds; 10 percent cobbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 23 cm thick)

Bt2--18 to 41 cm; brown (7.5YR 5/2) cobbly clay, brown (7.5YR 4/2) moist; strong medium prismatic structure parting to strong medium angular blocky; extremely hard, firm, very sticky and moderately plastic; few fine and few coarse roots; few very fine tubular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; 20 percent cobbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (15 to 46 cm thick)

R--41 cm; slightly fractured basalt.

TYPE LOCATION: Lake County, Oregon; along a trail in the SE1/4, SW1/4 of section 36, T. 40 S., R. 25 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist during winter and spring; dry about 50 to 70 consecutive days after the summer solstice; xeric soil moisture regime that borders on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature: 6 to 8 degrees C.
Mean summer soil temperature: 12 to 15 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 18 to 25 cm; includes the Bt1 horizon or in some pedons both the Bt1 and Bt2 horizons.
Depth to base of argillic horizon: 25 to 50 cm.
Depth to bedrock: 25 to 50 cm to a lithic contact.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 45 to 60 percent.
Rock fragments: Averages 0 to 25 percent, mainly cobbles and gravel. Lithology of fragments is volcanic rocks such as basalt.

A horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR.
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 through 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist; Dry value of 6 and/or moist value of 4 when present, meets the mollic epipedon criteria when the upper 18 cm of the profile are mixed.
Organic matter content: 3 to 5 percent.

Bt horizons
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Silty clay, cobbly clay, or clay.
Rock fragments: 0 to 20 percent cobbles and 0 to 15 percent gravel.
Organic matter content: 1 to 3 percent in the Bt1 horizon and 1 or 2 percent in the Bt2 horizon.
Other features: Some pedons have a thin Bk horizon below the Bt2.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Abes and Mosquet series.

Abes soils have mean annual soil temperature of 2 to 6 degrees C and have mollic epipedons that do not include part of all of the argillic horizon. Mosquet soils average 25 to 35 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Blizzard soils are on plateaus. These soils formed in colluvium and residuum derived from basalt and tuff. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. Elevation ranges from 1,830 to 2,130 meters. The climate is semiarid and characterized by cold, moist winters and cool, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 300 to 400 mm, the mean annual temperature is 4 to 7 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 30 to 50 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Devoy, Ninemile, Westbutte, Pearlwise, Erakatak, Robson, Carryback, Harcany, and Fitzwater soils. Devoy soils are over 50 cm to bedrock and are skeletal. Ninemile soils are aridic and frigid. Westbutte soils are over 50 cm to bedrock, are frigid, and loamy-skeletal. Pearlwise soils are frigid and fine-loamy. Erakatak soils are over 50 cm to bedrock, are frigid and skeletal. Robson soils are aridic, frigid and skeletal. Carryback soils are over 50 cm to bedrock, aridic and frigid. Harcany soils are over 50 cm to bedrock and are loamy-skeletal. Fitzwater soils are aridic and frigid, over 50 cm to bedrock and loamy-skeletal.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Blizzard soils are used for livestock grazing, wildlife habitat, and watershed. The vegetation is mainly Idaho fescue, low sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, and Sandberg's bluegrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-central Oregon and northwestern Nevada. These soils are not extensive with about 4,400 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 23.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lake County (Southern Part), Oregon, 1991.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A and Bt1 horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 3 to 41 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 41 cm to underlying hard bedrock (R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 3 to 41 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).

The revision of March 2001 updated the taxonomic class from Clayey, smectitic Argic Lithic Cryoborolls.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.