LOCATION GABEL                   NV

Established Series
Rev. WMA/RMW/ELS/JBF
11/2016

GABEL SERIES

The Gabel series consists of moderately deep well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium derived from tuff with eolian deposits. Gabel soils are on foothills. Slopes are 15 to 30 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 300 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 7 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, frigid Xeric Haplargids

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

A1--0 to 8 cm, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak medium and fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many medium, fine and very fine roots; many fine and very fine interstitial pores; 20 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 10 cm thick)

A2--8 to 18 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; many medium, fine and very fine roots; few fine and very fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.2); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 13 cm thick)

Bt1--18 to 38 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly sandy clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine and very fine roots; many fine and very fine interstitial pores; 55 percent gravel; common faint clay bridges between sand grains; noneffervescent except for spots; neutral (pH 7.2); gradual smooth boundary. (15 to 30 cm thick)

Bt2--38 to 61 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) extremely gravelly coarse sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine and very fine roots; many fine and very fine interstitial pores; 70 percent gravel; few faint clay bridges between sand grains; noneffervescent except in spots; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (15 to 30 cm thick)

Cr--61 to 101 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) tuff, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; hardness on Moh's scale less than 3; noncalcareous except for very thin, (less than 2 mm thick), discontinuous silica-carbonate laminae on surface.

TYPE LOCATION: Eureka County, Nevada; at Eureka, just east of high school football field; about 1,050 feet north, and 1,450 feet west of the SE corner of sec. 14, T. 19 N., R. 53 E.; USGS Eureka 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 30 minutes 46 seconds N and longitude 115 degrees 58 minutes 3 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.5127778 latitude, -115.9675000 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, but moist in winter and spring; aridic moisture regime bordering on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 7 to 8 degrees C.
Depth to bedrock: 56 to 80 cm.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly acid

Particle-size control section - Percent clay: Average 18 to 30 percent.
Rock fragments: Average 50 to 70 percent angular mixed gravel.

A horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry and 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 1 to 3.
Structure: Weak or moderate granular or blocky structure, or massive.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard.

Bt horizons
Hue: 10YR or 7,5YR.
Value: 5 through 7 dry and 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, with 6 on some clay films.
Texture: Average sandy clay loam or clay loam, subhorizons may include sandy loam or loam.
Modifiers: Very gravelly in the upper part and extremely gravelly in the lower part.
Rock fragments: Averages 50 to 70 percent, but ranges to 40 percent.
Structure: weak or moderate prismatic or strong angular blocky structure when gravel content is less than 50 percent or it is massive in some pedons where gravel content exceeds 50 percent.
Other features: Thin discontinuous silica-carbonate laminae ranging up to 2 mm in thickness coat the surface of the tuff bedrock and tuff fragments in the lower part of the Bt horizon.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Nobuck and Wiskan series.

Nobuck is very deep. Wiskan have a lithic contact within 100 cm.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Gabel soils are on foothills. Elevations are 1,930 to 2,200 meters. Slopes are 15 to 30 percent. The soils formed in residuum derived from tuff with some eolian influence. The climate is cool, continental, with 250 to 360 mm of precipitation that comes mostly as snow. Mean annual temperature is 6 to 8 degrees C., and the frost-free season is 60 to 80 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Tica, Fairydell and Bartine soils. Tica soils have ignimbrite bedrock within 50 cm, Fairydell soils have cambic horizons and are very deep. Bartine soils are calcareous and have limestone bedrock at depths of 50 to 100 cm.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; medium runoff; moderately slow permeability; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Livestock grazing. Vegetation is big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, Douglas rabbitbrush, basin wildrye, snowberry, bottlebrush squirreltail, and bluebunch wheatgrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Nevada. Gabel soils are inextensive, with about 2,300 acres. MLRA 28B.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Eureka County (Diamond Valley Area), Nevada, 1971.

REMARKS: Gabel soils were formerly classified as Brown soils.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A1 and A2 horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 18 to 61 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
Paralithic contact - The boundary at 61 cm (Cr layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 18 to 61 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.