LOCATION CEEJAY NV+CA

Established Series
Rev. EWB-JBF-TM-JVC
05/2016

CEEJAY SERIES

The Ceejay series consists of shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium derived from volcanic rocks. Ceejay soils are on plateaus, hills, and mountains. Slopes are 4 to 75 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 230 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 10 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, smectitic, mesic Lithic Xeric Haplargids

TYPICAL PEDON: Ceejay gravelly loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with approximately 2 percent stones, 5 percent cobbles, and 40 percent gravel.

A--0 to 5 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) gravelly loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; moderate thick platy structure parting to strong thin platy; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; many fine vesicular and few very fine interstitial pores; 20 percent gravel and 2 percent stones; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 15 cm thick)

Bt1--5 to 15 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate thin platy; slightly hard, very friable, very sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine and fine and few medium roots; common very fine tubular pores; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; 10 percent cobbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 18 cm thick)

Bt2--15 to 28 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) cobbly clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine angular blocky; hard, friable, very sticky and moderately plastic; few very fine to medium roots; common very fine tubular pores; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; 10 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.3); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 20 cm thick)

Btk--28 to 41 cm; brown (7.5YR 4/4) cobbly clay, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine angular blocky; hard, friable, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine to medium roots; common very fine tubular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; secondary carbonates segregated as very few masses on rock fragments; 10 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.3); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 13 cm thick)

R--41 cm; hard basalt; fractured in some places; thin (less than 2 mm) carbonate and silica coats in rock fractures.

TYPE LOCATION: Washoe County, Nevada; between the Smoke Creek Desert and the Buffalo Hills; in a nonsectionized township about 1200 feet south and 1780 feet east of the projected northwest corner of section 23, T. 32 N., R. 20 E.; USGS Horse Canyon 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 40 degrees 38 minutes 33.6 seconds north latitude and 119 degrees 42 minutes 2 seconds west longitude; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 40.6425833 latitude, -119.7005556 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in winter and spring, dry in summer and fall; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 12 to 15 degrees C.
Ochric epipedon thickness: 5 to 15 cm.
Depth to bedrock: 36 to 50 cm to a lithic contact.
Reaction: Neutral through moderately alkaline.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 35 to 45 percent;
Rock fragments: Averages 15 to 30 percent, mainly gravel and cobbles. Lithology of fragments is volcanic rocks such as basalt or andesite.

A horizon
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.

Bt horizons and Btk horizon (when present)
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR.
Value: 4 or 5, dry or moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Gravelly clay loam, gravelly clay, cobbly clay loam, clay loam, or cobbly clay.
Structure: Prismatic parting to platy or angular blocky.
Consistence: Slightly hard or extremely hard, moderately sticky or very sticky and moderately plastic or very plastic.
Other features: Some pedons lack carbonate coats in the lower part of the argillic horizon or on the bedrock contact.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 1 percent.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Dishner and Levnik series.

Dishner soils have an E horizon and have mean annual soil temperature of 9 to 12 degrees C. Levnik soils have a lithologic discontinuity in the lower part of the argillic horizon with 35 to 80 percent rock fragments.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ceejay soils are on plateaus, hills, and mountains. They typically occur on shoulder and backslope positions. They formed in residuum and colluvium derived from volcanic rocks. Slopes are 4 to 75 percent. Elevations range from 1,310 to 1,995 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 200 to 300 mm, the mean annual temperature is 10 to 12 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 80 to 110 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Jaybee and Pickup soils. Jaybee soils are loamy and are very shallow and shallow to lithic contacts. Pickup soils are clayey-skeletal, moderately deep to lithic contacts, and have mollic epipedons.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Ceejay soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly Lahontan sagebrush, Sandbergs bluegrass, bottlebrush squirreltail, spiny hopsage, and littleleaf horsebrush. Thurbers needlegrass occurs at upper elevations.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Nevada and northeastern California. These soils are moderately extensive. The series concept and main acreage is in MLRA 23, while other acreage occurs in MLRA 27 and 26.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washoe County (Central Part), Nevada, 1990.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 5 cm (A horizon).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 5 to 41 cm (Bt1, Bt2, and Btk horizons).
Identifiable secondary carbonates - The zone from 28 to 41 cm (Btk horizon).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 41 cm to underlying hard bedrock (R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 5 to 41 cm (Bt1, Bt2, and Btk horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: A pedon of Ceejay near the series type location has full characterization by the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as soil survey sample number S86NV-031-002 (pedon # 86P0904).

NASIS Pedon and Site ID 07NV771Y014amb.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.