LOCATION FUGAWEE NV+CA

Established Series
Rev. JHR/TDC/DJE/ET
12/2022

FUGAWEE SERIES

The Fugawee series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in material weathered from basic volcanic rock. Fugawee soils are on mountains and have slopes of 2 to 50 percent. The average annual precipitation is 40 inches and the mean annual temperature is 42 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, isotic, frigid Andic Haploxeralfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Fugawee very stony loam, in an area of Jorge-Boomtown-Fugawee association. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

Oi--0 to 2 inches; pine and fir litter duff. (0 to 3 inches thick)

A1--2 to 7 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) very stony sandy loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine through coarse roots; many very fine through medium tubular pores; 15 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, 15 percent stones; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)

A2--7 to 19 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine through coarse roots; many very fine through medium tubular pores; 20 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 13 inches thick)

Bt--19 to 31 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) cobbly loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine through coarse roots; many very fine through medium tubular pores; few thin clay films on ped faces and pores; 15 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.

Cr--31 to 45 inches; highly weathered volcanic rock.

TYPE LOCATION: Washoe County, Nevada; on the Toiyabe National Forest about 0.75 miles east of Deep Canyon; approximately 600 feet west and 2,000 feet north of the southeast corner of section 9, T. 18 N., R. 18 E.; USGS Mt Rose NW 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 39 degrees 26 minutes 19 seconds north latitude and 119 degrees 57 minutes 29 seconds west longitude, NAD27.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The thickness of the solum and the depth to weathered bedrock are 20 to 40 inches. Rock fragments between the depths of 10 to 30 inches are mainly pebbles and average 10 to 35 percent by volume. Stones and cobbles cover about 3 to 15 percent of the surface area and occur in the upper 12 to 18 inches, but become fewer in number with increasing depth. The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 40 degrees to 44 degrees F. and the mean summer soil temperature varies from 50 degrees to 54 degrees F. The soils are usually moist between depths of 10 and 28 inches and are dry in all parts only from early August until early October. The base saturation between depths of 9 and 37 inches is 35 to 50 percent. Mineralogy between depths of 10 and 30 inches is mixed but is influenced by vitric pyroclastic material.

The A horizon has dry color of 10YR 3/2, 4/2, 3/3, 5/3; 7.5YR 4/4 or 5.4 and moist color of 10YR 2/1, 2/2, 3/3; 7.5YR 3/4 3/3 or 5YR 3/4. It is sandy loam or loam and is modified by 15 to 30 percent gravel by volume. It is slightly acid to strongly acid and has 5 to 7 percent organic matter. The surface horizon does not qualify as an umbric horizon.

The B2t horizon has dry color of 10YR 6/4, 6/6; 7.5YR 5/4, 6/4; 5YR 6/3 or 5/3 and moist color of 10YR 3/4; 7.5YR 4/2, 3/4, 4/4; 5YR 3/4 or 4/4. It is loam, clay loam or gravelly clay loam and averages 18 to 35 percent clay. This horizon has weak or moderate subangular and angular blocky structure. It is moderately acid to very strongly acid.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Fan Lake (T), Henneway, Neva and Tahand series. The Fan Lake soils are very deep, have fragic properties beteen a depth of 20 to 40 inches and have perched water table at its uppermost limit from January through February with redox concentrations within 20 to 40 inches. Henneway soils have slightly fractured hard phyllite bedrock contact between 40 and 60 inches. Neva soils are greater than 60 inches to bedrock. Tahand soils have soft bedrock ranging from 40 inches to 60 inches deep.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Fugawee soils are on gently sloping plateaus and moderately steep mountains. Elevations are 6,000 to 8,000 feet. Slopes are 2 to 50 percent, but are mainly less than 30 percent. Fugawee soils formed in material weathered from basic volcanic flows, breccias and agglomerates. The average annual precipitation ranges from 35 to 60 inches. Mean annual temperature ranges from 37 degrees to 44 degrees F., mean January temperature is 24 degrees F. and mean July temperature is 59 degrees F. The average frost-free season is 30 to 80 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Barshaad, Boomtown, and Jorge soils. Barshaad and Boomtown soils have clay textures with 35 to 60 percent clay within the particle-size control section. Jorge soils have more than 35 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow to rapid runoff; moderate permeability in the surface and moderately slow in the subsoil.

USE AND VEGETATION: Timber and watershed; natural vegetation is mixed conifers and shrubs; principal species are California red fir, white fir, Jeffrey pine, lodgepole pine, mountain whitethorn, greenleaf manzanita, prostrate manzanita.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada Range of California and Nevada. The soils of this series are of moderate extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Placer County, Tahoe Basin Area, California, 1970.

REMARKS: The type location was moved in 2003 from the Lake Tahoe Basin to the present location in Washoe County NV. The classification was changed from an Ultic Haploxeralf at that time.

The Fugawee soils were originally classified as members of the fine-loamy, mixed family of Mollic Cryoboralfs. The cryic soil temperature regime was based upon a rule of thumb that 0 horizons are not considered unless the thickness is greater than 3 inches. This concept is not considered to be valid in California and conflicts with Soil Taxonomy.

OSED scanned by SSQA.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.