LOCATION CAVEHILL                NV

Established Series
Rev. RAF/PWB/JVC/JBF
11/2016

CAVEHILL SERIES

The Cavehill series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium derived from limestone, calcareous sandstone, and dolomite with surficial deposits of loess. Cavehill soils are on hills, mountains, and rock pediments. Slopes are 8 to 75 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 360 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 7 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, frigid Typic Calcixerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Cavehill gravelly silt loam--forestland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is partly covered with approximately 5 percent boulders and 20 percent gravel. There is 0.5 to 3 cm layer of needles and twigs on part of the surface.

A1--0 to 8 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and many very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 20 percent gravel; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 15 cm thick)

A2--8 to 23 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common medium and many very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (13 to 33 cm thick)

A3--23 to 46 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very gravelly silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and medium and many very fine roots; common fine and many very fine tubular pores; 35 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 30 cm thick)

Bk--46 to 74 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium and common fine and very fine roots; common fine and many very fine tubular pores; weakly cemented by secondary calcium carbonate; prominent secondary calcium carbonate pendants on the bottom of rock fragments; 45 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); abrupt wavy boundary. (15 to 53 cm thick)

2R--74 cm; hard limestone.

TYPE LOCATION: Eureka County, Nevada; about 33 miles south of Carlin in the Sulphur Spring Range; approximately 2,500 feet east and 300 feet south of the northwest corner of section 12, T. 27 N., R. 52 E; USGS Mineral Hill 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 40 degrees 14 minutes 31 seconds N and longitude 116 degrees 3 minutes 30 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 40.2419444 latitude, -116.0583333 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist; dry from about mid-July through mid-October; xeric soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 6 to 8 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 30 to 50 cm.
Depth to bedrock: 50 to 100 cm to a lithic contact.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: Averages 40 to 60 percent with the upper part ranging from 15 to 50 percent and the lower part ranging from 50 to 80 percent.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 18 to 27 percent.
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent, mainly gravel and cobbles, with stones common in some pedons. Lithology of rock fragments are mainly limestone and dolomite.

A horizons
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
Effervescence: Effervescent after mixing to a depth of 18 cm in horizons above 25 cm; strongly effervescent or violently effervescent below 25 cm. Some pedons are violently effervescent to the soil surface.

Bk horizon
Value: 5 through 8 dry, 3 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Textures: Very gravelly silt loam, very gravelly loam, very cobbly loam or very cobbly silt loam.
Structure: Subangular blocky or massive.
Rock fragments: Averages 35 to 60 percent. Some pedons have thin subhorizons directly above the bedrock that are gravelly loam with 25 to 35 percent gravel and cobbles.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Other features: Discontinuous weak cementation by secondary calcium carbonate in most pedons and distinct to prominent secondary calcium carbonate concretions around rock fragments and/or pendants on the bottom of rock fragments.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Canyonfork, Cedarcabin, Fontreen, Granzan, Highup, Lizdale, Lizzant, Lonjon, Ridgecrest and Sylvaniam series.

Canyonfork, Fontreen, Lizdale, and Lizzant soils are very deep.
Cedarcabin soils have mollic epipedons 18 to 30 cm thick. Granzan soils are 100 to 150 cm deep to bedrock. Highup and Ridgecrest soils have less than 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section. Lonjon soils are typically neutral in the A horizon and have mollic epipedons that are 18 to 30 cm thick. Sylvaniam soils are moist 10 to 20 days cumulative during the summer due to convection storms.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cavehill soils are on hills, mountains, and rock pediments. They typically occur on backslope positions. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium derived from limestone, calcareous sandstone, and dolomite with surficial deposits of loess. Slopes are 8 to 75 percent. Elevations range from 1,646 to 2,987 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 300 to 400 mm, the mean annual temperature is 5 to 7 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 60 to 100 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Hopeka, Perwick, and Puett soils. Hopeka soils are very shallow to bedrock. Perwick soils do not have mollic epipedons and calcic horizons and are moderately deep to paralithic contacts. Puett soils have ochric epipedons and are shallow to paralithic contacts.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Cavehill soils are used for forest land, livestock grazing, and wildlife habitat. The potential native vegetation is mainly singleleaf pinyon with a understory of mountain big sagebrush, basin wildrye, Idaho fescue, and pine bluegrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: East-central Nevada. These soils are extensive with about 202,000 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 25 and 28B.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Eureka County Area, Nevada, 1983.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 46 cm (A1, A2, and A3 horizons).
Calcic horizon - The zone from 46 to 74 cm (Bk horizon).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 74 cm (2R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 74 cm (Part of the A3 horizon and all of the Bk horizon).

ADDITIONAL DATA: A pedon of Cavehill has full characterization data by the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as user pedon ID S05NV-007-002 (pedon # 06N0243).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.