LOCATION BULAKE                  NV+ID

Established Series
Rev. RAF/GJS/JVC/JBF
12/2022

BULAKE SERIES

The Bulake series consists of shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum derived from basalt and rhyolite with surficial mantles of loess and volcanic ash. Bulake soils are on plateaus and hills. Slopes are 0 to 25 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 350 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 7 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, smectitic, frigid Lithic Mollic Haploxeralfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Bulake gravelly loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with 20 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles, and a few stones.

A1--0 to 5 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak thin platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; common medium and fine tubular pores; 15 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 cm thick)

A2--5 to 18 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and very fine roots; few fine tubular pores; 15 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 15 cm thick)

Bt1--18 to 33 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few fine and very fine tubular pores; 5 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; common distinct clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (13 to 23 cm thick)

Bt2--33 to 48 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to strong medium subangular blocky; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine roots; few fine and very fine tubular pores; 5 percent gravel; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 15 cm thick)

R--48 cm; rhyolite.

TYPE LOCATION: Elko County, Nevada; about 3.5 miles east and 0.5 miles south of Josephine Reservoir Dam in the Owyhee Desert; USGS Hat Peak 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; about 150 feet north and 1,330 feet west of the southeast corner, section 8, T. 46 N., R. 50 E.; latitude 41 degrees 53 minutes 39.63 seconds N and longitude 116 degrees 23 minutes 18.38 seconds W: WGS84 Decimal Degrees 41.8944444 latitude, -116.3883333 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in winter and spring, dry from late July through October; xeric soil moisture regime that borders on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature: 7 to 8 degrees C.
Depth to base of argillic horizon: 36 to 50 cm.
Depth to bedrock: 36 to 50 cm to a lithic contact.
Abrupt textural change: An abrupt horizon boundary is normally present between the A2 horizon and the Bt1 horizon accompanied by an increase in clay content of more than 20 percent.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 40 to 50 percent.
Rock fragments: 5 to 35 percent, mainly gravel. Lithology of fragments is mainly volcanic rock such as rhyolite or basalt.

A1 horizon
Chroma: 2 or 3.

A2 horizon
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Texture: Loam, fine sandy loam, or very fine sandy loam.
Clay content: 5 to 27 percent.

Bt horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 3 through 6, dry or moist.
Texture: Clay or gravelly clay.
Clay content: 40 to 50 percent.
Structure: Moderate or strong, fine or medium, angular or subangular blocky; medium or coarse prismatic.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Hawksy series.

Hawksy soils do not have an abrupt boundary or an abrupt textural change between the A and Bt1 horizons.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bulake soils are on plateaus and hills. These soils formed in residuum derived from basalt and rhyolite with surficial mantles of loess and volcanic ash. Slopes are 0 to 25 percent. Elevations range from 1,585 to 1,740 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 300 to 400 mm, the mean annual temperature is 6 to 7 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 80 to l00 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Deunah and Petan soils. Deunah soils are moderately deep to a duripan. Petan soils are clayey-skeletal and shallow to a duripan.

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

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

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central Nevada and southwestern Idaho. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 25.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Elko County, Nevada, Duck Valley Indian Reservation, Idaho and Nevada, 1984.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A1 and A2 horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 18 to 48 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
Abrupt textural change - The zone at 18 cm (between the A2 and Bt1 horizons).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 48 cm to underlying hard, unweathered bedrock (R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 18 to 48 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).

More study is needed on the amount of volcanic glass in the surface horizons of the Bulake series. Glass contents in laboratory data indicate enough for ashy texture modifiers.

ADDITIONAL DATA: A pedon of Bulake has full characterization data by the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as pedon ID 80NV007806 (pedon # 81P0244).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.