LOCATION CHAINLINK               NV

Established Series
Rev. GWM-RLB-JVC-JBF
02/2012

CHAINLINK SERIES

The Chainlink series consists of shallow to a duripan, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from limestone. Chainlink soils are on fan remnants and ballenas. Slopes are 2 to 30 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 300 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 8 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Cambidic Durixerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Chainlink gravelly loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is partially covered with approximately 20 percent gravel.

A--0 to 10 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak thin platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine, common medium and few coarse roots; common very fine and fine vesicular and tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 18 cm thick)

Bk--10 to 25 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, many fine, common medium, and few coarse roots; many fine interstitial and common fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; common secondary calcium carbonate masses on the bottom of rock fragments; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (13 to 30 cm thick)

Bqkm--25 to 64 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) duripan, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; very hard, extremely firm and brittle; strongly cemented by secondary silica and secondary calcium carbonates; few fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (25 to 46 cm thick)

2C--64 to 97 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) fine sandy loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; many very fine and fine interstitial pores; 5 percent gravel; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); clear smooth boundary. (30 to 38 cm thick)

3Cq--97 to 150 cm; pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) extremely gravelly coarse sand, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and many medium interstitial pores; 75 percent gravel; common secondary silica pendants on the bottom of rock fragments; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4). (10 to 20 cm thick)

TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; about 2,250 feet north and 2,575 feet west of the southeast corner of section 27, T. 22 N. R 69 E.; USGS Tippett Canyon 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 39 degrees 45 minutes 07 seconds north latitude and 114 degrees 09 minutes 51 seconds west longitude, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry; moist late fall through early summer, dry late July through October except for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July and October due to convection storms; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 10 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 18 to 36 cm, includes the Bk horizon.
Depth to calcic horizon: 8 to 18 cm.
Depth to duripan: 25 to 50 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 10 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 15 to 30 percent gravel. Lithology of fragments is limestone.

A horizon:
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Organic matter content: 1 or 2 percent.

Bk horizon:
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 or 4 moist. Values of 6 or 7 dry and 4 moist are below 18 cm.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Gravelly loam or gravelly fine sandy loam.
Clay content: 10 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 15 to 30 percent.
Organic matter content: 1 to 2 percent.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 20 percent.
Salinity (EC): 0 to 2 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 0 to 5.

Bqkm horizon:
Cementation class: Moderately cemented or strongly cemented.

2C horizon:
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 5 or 6 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Clay content: 5 to 15 percent.
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent.
Salinity (EC): 2 to 8 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 13 to 30.

3Cq horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Extremely gravelly coarse sand or extremely gravelly loamy coarse sand.
Clay content: 2 to 7 percent.
Rock fragments: 60 to 80 percent.
Reaction: Very strongly alkaline (up to pH 9.6).
Salinity (EC): 2 to 8 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 13 to 30.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Moxee series. Moxee soils have 25 to 33 cm to the calcic horizon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Chainlink soils are on fan remnants and ballenas. These soils formed in alluvium derived from limestone. Slopes are 2 to 30 percent. Elevations range from 1,800 to 2,720 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 250 to 360 mm, mean annual temperature is 7 to 9 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 100 to 120 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Jericho and Sevenmile soils. Jericho soils are loamy-skeletal, shallow to duripans with indurated subhorizons, and have ochric epipedons. Sevenmile soils are coarse-loamy, very deep, and do not have duripans.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Chainlink soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly black sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, and bottlebrush squirreltail with minor amounts of Indian ricegrass, blue grama, muttongrass, and Stansbury cliffrose.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Nevada. These soils are not extensive. MLRA 28A.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Pine County, Nevada, East Part, 2004.

REMARKS: The revision of March, 2003, updates the taxonomic subgroup from Orthidic to Cambidic and assigns a cation exchange activity class based on present component data.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 25 cm (A and Bk horizons).
Calcic horizon - The zone from 10 to 25 cm (Bk horizon).
Duripan - The zone from 25 to 64 cm (Bqkm horizon).
Particle size control section - The zone from the soil surface to 25 cm (A and Bk horizons).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.