LOCATION BUSCONES CA

Established Series
Rev. DV/TAC/ET/MAV
02/2017

BUSCONES SERIES

The Buscones series consists of moderately deep, somewhat excessively drained, soils that formed in volcanic ash and residuum from ashy rhyolitic tuff. Buscones soils are on sideslopes of hills, volcanic flows and lake terraces. Slopes are 0 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is 250 mm and the mean annual temperature is 9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Ashy, glassy, nonacid, mesic Vitrandic Torripsamments

TYPICAL PEDON: Buscones very gravelly loamy sand - on an 11 percent northeast slope at 1,610 meters elevation under big sagebrush vegetation. Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. When described on August 12, 1979 the soil was dry throughout.The soil surface is partially covered with 50 percent pumice gravel.

A1--0 to 3 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) very gravelly ashy loamy sand, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine interstitial pores; 40 percent pumice gravel; neutral (pH 6.9); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 3 cm thick)

A2--3 to 5 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) ashy loamy sand, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine interstitial pores; 5 percent pumice gravel; neutral (pH 6.9); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 8 cm thick)

A3--5 to 46 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) ashy loamy sand, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 5 percent pumice gravel; neutral (pH 6.9); gradual smooth boundary. (25 to 50 cm thick)

C--46 to 79 cm; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) gravelly ashy loamy sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 15 percent fine pumice gravel; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (20 to 46 cm thick)

Cr--79 cm; white (N 8/0) weakly consolidated ashy rhyolitic tuff; slightly hard; 25 percent pumice gravel.

TYPE LOCATION: Mono County, California. About 1.75 miles north of Benton Hot Springs; thirty feet northeast of dirt road; 100 feet north and 2,700 feet east of the southwest corner of section 26, T. 1 S., R. 31 E.; USGS Benton Hot Springs 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle;
latitude 39 degrees 49 minutes 34 seconds N and longitude 118 degrees 31 minutes 32 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 37.8261111 latitude, -118.52555 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the tuff is 50 to 100 cm. The soil between depths of 25 to 100 cm is usually dry from May 15 to November 15, and is moist in some or all parts the rest of the time. The soil temperature is above 5.0 degrees C. from April 1 to December 20, and is above 8.3 degrees C. from April 15 to November 30. The mean annual soil temperature is 8.3 to 15 degrees C. Base saturation is 90 to 100 percent throughout the profile. Ash content is 60 to 100 percent by weight. Fine and medium pumice gravel covers 15 to 50 percent of the soil surface.

The A horizon color is 10YR 6/2, 6/3 or 7/2. Moist color is 10YR 4/2, 4/3 or 5/2. Textures are loamy sand, gravelly loamy sand or very gravelly loamy sand. Gravel content is 15 to 50 percent for the surface, and is 5 to 15 percent in the lower A horizons. The gravel is mostly pumice. The organic carbon content is 0.1 to 0.3 percent.

The C horizon color is 7.5YR 8/2; 10YR 6/3, 6/4, 7/2, 8/1 or 8/2. Moist color is 7.5YR 6/2; 10YR 4/3, 5/2, 6/1 or 6/2. Textures are loamy sand or gravelly loamy sand. Gravel content is 5 to 30 percent. The gravel is mostly pumice.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Brantel and Deepwell series. Brantel and Deepwell soils are over 150 cm deep.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Buscones series are on hills, volcanic flows and lake terraces. They formed in alluvium from rhyolitic tuff and volcanic ash. Slopes are 0 to 50 percent. The elevation range is 1,590 to 2,260 meters. The mean annual precipitation is 180 to 300 mm, some as snow. The mean January temperature is about 0 degrees C; mean July temperature is about 21 degrees C. The mean annual temperature is 7 to 14 degrees C. The frost-free season is 100 to 150 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Brantel , Montezum, and Sherwin soils. Brantel soils are very deep and have formed in ashy alluvium. Montezuma soils are on terrace landscapes and have a weak duripan within a depth of 50 to 100 cm. Sherwin soils are 10 to 36 cmover hard tuff.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat excessively drained; very slow to medium runoff; high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for rangeland, wildlife habitat, and commercial pumice mining in some areas. The vegetation is big sagebrush, Indian ricegrass, desert needlegrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Buscones soils occur on volcanic formations in east-central California. They are moderately extensive in MLRA 26.

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

SERIES PROPOSED: Mono County, California; Benton-Owens Valley Soil Survey, 1987.

SOURCE OF NAME: The series name comes from Buscones Peak on Blind Spring Hill.

REMARKS: Buscones soils have an aridic moisture regime that borders on xeric. Cold soil temperatures in the winter prevent their meeting all the xeric moisture regime requirements.
Diagnostic horizon and features recognized in the profile are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A1, A2 and part of the A3 horizons).
Particle size control section - The zone from 25 to 79 cm.
Paralithic contact - The boundary at about 79 cm (Cr).

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.