LOCATION CARCITY                 NV

Established Series
Rev. WED/ELS-JVC
05/2016

CARCITY SERIES

The Carcity series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks. Carcity soils are on stream terraces. Slopes are 0 to 1 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 127 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 12 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey over sandy or sandy-skeletal, smectitic over mixed, mesic Cumulic Vertic Endoaquolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Carcity clay--irrigated cropland. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)

Ap--0 to 18 cm; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) clay, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (15 to 20 cm thick)

A1--18 to 36 cm; very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) clay, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; moderate coarse prismatic structure; very hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular pores; many fine and medium prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) and few medium faint very dark gray (10YR 3/1) masses of iron accumulation; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear wavy boundary. (18 to 25 cm thick)

A2--36 to 61 cm; variegated very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2), dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) and black (10YR 2/1) clay, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; weak coarse prismatic parting to weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, very stocky and very plastic; common very fine roots; few very fine tubular and common very fine interstitial pores; many fine prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation; common fine and medium prominent white (10YR 8/1) masses of calcium carbonate; slightly effervescent in spots; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (20 to 30 cm thick)

A3--61 to 71 cm; black (10YR 2/1) clay, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very hard firm, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation; common fine prominent white (10YR 8/1) masses of calcium carbonate; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 25 cm thick)

2C--71 to 122 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sand, brown (7.5YR 5/4) dry; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many fine and very fine interstitial pores; few medium faint black (10YR 2/1) masses of iron accumulation; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8).

TYPE LOCATION: Churchill County, Nevada; in the Lahontan Valley about 7 miles south-southeast of Fallon on the Frey Ranch; approximately 2,460 feet east and 100 feet south of the northwest corner of section 5, T. 17 N., R. 29 E.; USGS South of Fallon 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 22 minutes 20 seconds N. and longitude 118 degrees 45 minutes 12 seconds W. WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.3722139 latitude, -118.7533333 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: These soils are saturated with water for at least 1 month during most years or are artificially drained.
Mean annual soil temperature: 12 to 14 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 61 to 84 cm.
Depth to strongly contrasting sandy material: 66 to 100 cm.
Reaction: Neutral tHROUGH strongly alkaline becoming more alkaline with depth.
Linear extensibility (LE): 6 to 9 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 40 to 60 percent in the upper part and 0 to 5 percent in the strongly contrasting lower part.

A horizons
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 1 or 2, dry or moist.
Texture: Clay or silty clay.
Organic matter content: 3 to 5 percent.

2C horizon
Hue: 7.5YR through 2.5Y.
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Sand, coarse sand, or gravelly sand; strata of very coarse sand, or very thin (less than 3 cm thick) strata of fine sand are in some pedons. Any of these textures may be modified by up to 25 percent medium size gravel.

COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no other series in this family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Carcity soils are on stream terraces. These soils formed in alluvium derived from mixed igneous rocks including granite, basalt and andesite. Slopes are 0 to 1 percent. Elevations range from 1158 to 1219 meters. The climate is arid with cool, moist winters and hot, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 100 to 150 mm, the mean annual temperature is 11 to 13 degrees C., the mean January temperature is -1 to 0 degrees C, and the mean July temperature is 21 to 22 degrees C. The frost-free period is 120 to 140 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bunejug, Carson, Erber, Stillwater, Swope, and Weishaupt soils. Bunejug soils are coarse-loamy. Carson soils are very-fine. Erber soils are sandy. Stillwater soils are fine textured. Swope are fine-loamy over sandy or sandy skeletal. Weishaupt soils are fine-loamy over clayey.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat poorly drained; smoderately low saturated hydraulic conductivity) in the upper part and very high saturated hydraulic conductivity in the strongly contrasting lower part. Endosaturation is present with an apparent seasonal high water table between 3 and 5 feet (moderately deep to deep free water occurrence classes) between July and October. Cumulative annual duration class is Common. These soils were formed under more poorly drained conditions than are present today. Damming of the Carson River, diversion of water for irrigation, and local drainage improvements have effectively lowered the water table.

USE AND VEGETATION: Carcity soils are used for irrigated cropland. Alfalfa, small grains, sugar beets and grass-legume pastures are the main crops. The native vegetation is inland saltgrass, black greasewood, and fourwing saltbush.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Nevada. These soils are not extensive with about 2,000 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 27.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Churchill County (Fallon-Fernley Area), Nevada, 1971.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 71 cm (Ap, A1, A2, and A3 horizons).
Endosaturation feature - The condition of ground water with an upper boundary between 91 and 152 cm at certain times during normal years (part of the 2C horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (A2 and A3 horizons and parts of A1 and 2C horizons).

The revision of August 2008 updated the taxonomic class from Clayey over sandy or sandy-skeletal, smectitic over mixed, mesic Cumulic Endoaquolls based on the calculated linear extensibility as populated in the NASIS database and the high shrink-swell limitation for many standard interpretations.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.