LOCATION EASTWELL                NV+OR

Established Series
Rev. WED/CEJ/JVC/JBF
02/2016

EASTWELL SERIES

The Eastwell series consists of shallow to a duripan, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks. Eastwell soils are on fan remnants. Slopes are 2 to 30 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 230 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Xereptic Haplodurids

TYPICAL PEDON: Eastwell gravelly loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A1--0 to 5 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) gravelly loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak thick platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; many fine vesicular pores; 20 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 8 cm thick)

A2--5 to 13 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) gravelly loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak thin platy structure; soft, very friable; slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; 25 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 cm thick)

Bw--13 to 25 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very gravelly loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 40 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 18 cm thick)

Bqk--25 to 38 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) extremely gravelly loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 30 percent durinodes; 40 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 20 cm thick)

Bqkm--38 to 43 cm; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) duripan, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; weak very thick platy structure; extremely hard, extremely firm, strongly cemented; thin discontinuous laminae of secondary silica on top surface of horizon; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 40 cm thick)

Bk--43 to 152 cm; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) very gravelly loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; 40 percent gravel and cobbles; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6).

TYPE LOCATION: Lander County, Nevada; near the south end of Antelope Valley, west of Ravenswood, and about 0.9 mile west of the Red Bird Mine; 1,000 feet west and 2,500 feet north of the southeast corner of section 24, T. 22 N., R. 41 E.; USGS Gilbert Creek SE 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 45 minutes 36 seconds N and longitude 117 degrees 18 minutes 33 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.7600000 latitude, -117.3091667 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Moist in winter and spring, dry June to October; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 11 degrees C.
Depth to duripan: 25 to 50 cm.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 10 to 27 percent.
Rock fragments: 35 to 50 percent, mainly gravel. Lithology of fragments are mixed.

A horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Effervescence: Noneffervescent through slightly effervescent.

Bw horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Very gravelly loam or very gravelly sandy loam; some pedons have thin subhorizons with less than 35 percent gravel.
Structure: Weak or moderate prismatic or subangular blocky.
Effervescence: Slightly effervescent through violently effervescent.
Salinity (EC): 0 to 2 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): commonly 13 to 30, some pedons are 0 to 5.
Other features: In some pedons this horizon is 15 or 18 cm thick and qualifies as a cambic horizon.

Bqk horizon (when present)
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Very gravelly loam, very gravelly sandy loam, or extremely gravelly loam.
Structure: Weak or moderate prismatic or subangular blocky.
Durinodes: 10 to 50 percent.
Cementation: Some pedons are extremely weakly through strongly cemented in a discontinuous manner by secondary silica and/or calcium carbonate.
Effervescence: Strongly effervescent or violently effervescent.
Salinity (EC): 0 to 2 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): commonly 13 to 30, some pedons are 0 to 5.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 10 percent.
Identifiable secondary carbonates: Commonly occurs as coats on bottoms of rock fragments.

Bqkm horizon
Value: 5 or 6 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Cementation class: Strongly cemented, some pedons lack thin discontinuous silica laminae.
Structure: Platy or massive.
Consistence: Very hard or extremely hard dry, very firm or extremely firm moist.
Effervescence: Strongly effervescent or violently effervescent.

Bk horizon
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 4 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Very gravelly loam or very cobbly loam.
Clay content: 10 to 20 percent.
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent.
Effervescence: Strongly effervescent or violently effervescent.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 15 to 30 percent.
Identifiable secondary carbonates: Commonly occurs as coats on bottoms of rock fragments.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Molion series. Molion soils have 50 to 70 percent gravel and 2 or 3 percent calcium carbonate equivalent in the particle-size control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Eastwell soils are on fan remnants. They typically occur on summit and shoulder positions. These soils formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks with some amount of loess. Slopes are 2 to 30 percent. Elevations range from 1,375 to 2,135 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 200 to 250 mm, mean annual temperature is 9 to 11 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 100 to 120 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Blackhawk and Chiara soils. Blackhawk soils are loamy, have cambic horizons, and are in a typic aridic moisture regime. Chiara soils are loamy and are shallow to indurated duripans.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Eastwell soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly black sagebrush, bottlebrush squirreltail, and Indian ricegrass. Some areas have widely-spaced singleleaf pinyon and Utah juniper.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRAs 24 and 28B.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lander County (South Part), Nevada, 1985.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A1, A2 and part of the Bw horizons).
Durinodes - The zone from 25 to 38 cm (Bqk horizon).
Duripan - The zone from 38 to 43 cm (Bqkm horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 38 cm (Bqk horizon).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.