LOCATION CHILL                   NV

Established Series
Rev. WA-RLB-JBF
03/2017

CHILL SERIES

The Chill series consists of very shallow and shallow, well drained soils formed in residuum derived from granitic rock. Chill soils are on mountains and hills. Slopes are 4 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 180 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 10 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Xeric Haplargids

TYPICAL PEDON: Chill gravelly sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with 30 percent gravel.

A--0 to 8 cm, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) gravelly sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine and fine interstitial pores; 30 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 13 cm thick)

Bt--8 to 18 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly sandy clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; 25 percent gravel; common moderately thick clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 30 cm thick)

Cr--18 cm; weathered granitic bedrock with thick root mats and thin clay films lining fracture planes. Hardness increases with depth.

TYPE LOCATION: Lyon County, Nevada; about 7 miles southeast of Silver Springs; 1,200 feet north and 2,500 feet east of the southwest corner of section 22, T. 17 N., R. 24 E.; latitude 39 degrees 19 minutes 13 seconds N and longitude 119 degrees 16 minutes 42 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.32027 latitude, -119.27833 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, moist in winter and spring, dry June through November; aridic soil moisture regime bordering on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 10 to 13 degrees C.
Depth to paralithic contact: 15 to 36 cm.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 18 to 27 percent.
Sand content: 45 to 65 percent.
Rock fragments: 15 to 35 percent, mainly fine gravel.

A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.

Bt horizon
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4.
Clay content: 25 to 35 percent.
Consistence: Soft to hard, very friable to firm, slightly sticky or sticky, and slightly plastic or plastic.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Anowell, Corral, Genaw, Ulida and Yuko series.

Anowell soils are calcareous throughout the argillic horizon. Corral soils have a paralithic contact at 30 to 50 cm and 30 to 50 percent sand. Genaw soils are 36 to 50 cm to bedrock. Ulida soils have disseminated lime at 25 to 50 cm. Yuko soils have 27 to 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Chill soils are on mountains hills and plateaus. These soils formed in residuum from granitic rock. Slopes are 4 to 50 percent. Elevations are 1,345 to 2,135 meters. The climate is cool, semiarid with a mean annual precipitation of 150 to 250 mm and mean annual temperature is 9 to 11 degrees C. The frost-free season is 100 to 130 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Theon and Singatse soils. Theon and Singatse soils are shallow over unweathered basic igneous bedrock and have a skeletal control section.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; medium or rapid runoff; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is principally big sagebrush, littleleaf horsebrush, Nevada ephedra, desert needlegrass, and Indian ricegrass. This Pedon is associated with Ecological Site ID R026XY011NV, South Slope 8-12" P.Z.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 26, 27, 23.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lyon County Area, Nevada, 1981.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 8 cm (A horizon).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 8 to 18 cm (Bt horizon)
Xeric intergrade - Meet organic carbon requirement for xeric.
Paralithic contact - The boundary between soil and weathered bedrock at 18 cm (Cr layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm. (A and Bt horizons)

ADDITIONAL DATA: User Pedon ID: 2006NV019014.

---

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.