LOCATION BELLEHELEN NV
Established Series
Rev. JBF/WED
12/2022
BELLEHELEN SERIES
The Bellehelen series consists of shallow or very shallow well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium derived from volcanic rocks. Bellehelen soils are on hills and mountain slopes. Slopes are 8 to 75 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 300 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 8 degrees C.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Lithic Argixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Bellehelen very cobbly loam, woodland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The surface is covered with 35 percent gravel, 25 percent cobbles and 5 percent stones.
A--0 to 13 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) very cobbly loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium platy structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; common fine vesicular pores; 30 percent gravel, 25 percent cobbles and 3 percent stones; neutral (pH 7.2); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 25 cm thick)
Bt--13 to 28 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very gravelly loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; many fine to medium roots; common fine tubular pores; common thin clay films on faces of ped, lining pores and coating rock fragments; 45 percent gravel and 10 percent stones, neutral (pH 7.3); clear wavy boundary. (13 to 25 cm thick)
R--28 cm; hard andesitic tuff, weathered in the upper 10 cm.
TYPE LOCATION: Nye County, Nevada; Kawich Range, Stone Cabin Valley, approximately 2,200 feet north and 1,100 feet west of the southeast corner of section 24, T. 1 N., R. 48 E.; Stinking Spring USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 37 degrees 54 minutes 35.8 seconds N and longitude 116 degrees 30 minutes 42.2 W; UTM 11, 542921e, 4195935n; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 37.9101111 latitude, -116.5119444 longitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, moist in winter and spring, dry summer and fall except for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July to October due to convection storms; xeric soil moisture regime bordering on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 12 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 18 to 25 cm (some pedons must be mixed to 18 cm to qualify as mollic).
Depth to bedrock: 18 to 36 cm.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 18 to 35 percent.
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent.
A horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Bt horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4.
Texture: Loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam, and may include subhorizons with greater than 35 percent clay.
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent, mainly gravel.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Argabak,
Brier,
Duco,
Horseflat,
Nuhelen,
Ocud,
Orhood,
Reywat, and
Upatad series.
Argabak,
Duco,
Ocud, Orthood and
Reywat do not have the 10 to 20 days of summer moisture.
Brier soils are 36 to 50 cm to bedrock.
Horseflat soils have a mollic epipedon 30 to 43 cm thick and do not have the 10 to 20 days of summer moisture.
Upatad soils are 36 to 50 cm to bedrock and the lower part of the Bt horizon contains more than 60 percent gravel and cobbles.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Bellehelen soils are on hills and mountain slopes. They formed in residuum and colluvium from volcanic rocks. Slopes are 8 to 75 percent. Elevations are 1,600 to 2,900 meters. The mean annual precipitation is 250 to 360 mm, the mean annual temperature is 7 to 9 degrees C; and the frost-free season is 90 to 110 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Stewval, and
Zadvar series. Stewval and Zadvar have less organic matter and Zadvar soils have a strongly cemented hardpan.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained, high and very high runoff; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.
USE AND VEGETATION: Woodland. Present vegetation is mainly singleleaf pinyon Utah juniper with an understory of pine bluegrass, black sagebrush, ephedra, rabbitbrush, snowberry and small amounts of mountain big sagebrush, and desert bitterbrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Nevada. These soils are of small extent. MLRA 29.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Nye County, Nevada, (Stone Cabin Valley), 1982.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the surface to 18 cm (after mixing).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 13 to 28 cm (Bt horizon).
Lithic contact - The contact at 28 cm (R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the surface to 28 cm (A and Bt horizons).
Classification was updated to 11th edition on 07/2011 changed Lithic Argixerolls to Aridic Lithic Argixerolls.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.