LOCATION GALEHILLS NV
Established Series
Rev: LJL/TM/ET
04/2015
GALEHILLS SERIES
The Galehills series consists of very shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium from sandstone conglomerate. Galehills soils are on hills. Slopes range from 8 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 4 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 66 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, calcareous, thermic Lithic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Galehills extremely gravelly fine sandy loam, rangeland and wildlife habitat. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered by approximately 70 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles and a trace of stones.
A--0 to 2 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) extremely gravelly fine sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; common very fine and few fine interstitial pores; electrical conductivity 0.4 dS/m; 55 percent pebbles, 10 percent cobbles and a trace of stones; violently effervescent (1 percent calcium carbonate equivalent in the fine earth fraction); moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
Bk--2 to 7 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very gravelly fine sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine and fine tubular and interstitial pores; electrical conductivity 0.4 dS/m; many, prominent, calcium carbonate coats on bottoms of rock fragments; 50 percent pebbles, 5 percent cobbles and a trace of stones; violently effervescent (15 percent calcium carbonate equivalent in the fine earth fraction); moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
R--7 inches; hard fractured sandstone conglomerate with limestone clasts.
TYPE LOCATION: Clark County, Nevada; about 13 miles east of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada located in the Gale Hills; approximately 4 1/2 miles west and 1 mile south of Muddy Peak; about 1,400 feet south and 250 feet east of the northwest corner of section 19, T. 19 S., R. 65 E.; Dry Lake SE, NV 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 36 degrees, 17 minutes, 12 seconds north latitude and 114 degrees, 46 minutes, 32 seconds west longitude;; UTM 11, 0699765e, 4018045n; NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually dry, moist in some part during winter and spring and intermittingly moist in the upper part following summer convection storms. The soils have a Typic-Aridic moisture regime.
Soil temperature: 66 to 71 degrees F.
Depth to lithic contact: 3 to 8 inches.
Organic matter: 0 to 0.5 percent.
Control section - Rock fragments: 35 to 70 percent, mainly gravel with 0 to 10 percent cobbles and 0 to 3 percent stones.
Clay content: 6 to 10 percent.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
A horizon - Chroma: 3 or 4 dry and moist.
Bk horizon - Chroma: 3 or 4 dry and moist.
Texture: Fine sandy loam or sandy loam.
Structure: Weak or moderate, medium or coarse subangular blocky.
Calcium carbonate equivalent in the fine earth fraction: 10 to 25 percent.
Other features: 5 to 50 percent calcium carbonate coats on bottoms of rock fragments.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Akela (NM),
Beach (TX),
Dalvord (CA),
Haleburu (NV),
Hindu (AZ),
Hulda(AZ),
Noble Pass (CA),
Paintrocks (CA),
Pearce (CA),
Razorback (AZ),
Spripar (I, CA),
Sutra(AZ),
Tecopa (CA),
Terlingua (TX) and
Upspring (CA) series. Akela soils formed in alluvium from basalt and rhyolitic tuff with eolian influences and are usually dry between October and
May. Beach soils receives moisture in the summer typical of the Chihuahua Desert. Dalvord soils formed from granite sources and have 1 to 10 percent calcium carbonate equivalent. Haleburu soils formed from volcanic sources and have 1 to 10 percent calcium carbonate equivalent. Hindu soils formed from limestone and are intermittently moist for more than 20 days between July and September. Hulda soils formed in alluvium from igneous and metamorphic rocks, have 5 to 13 percent calcium carbonate equivalent, and receive 8 to 12 inches precipitation. Noble Pass soils formed from andesite and rhyolite and have 1 to 5 percent calcium carbonate equivalent. Paintrocks soils formed from granitic residuum and have 0 to 1 percent calcium carbonate equivalent. Pearce soils formed in alluvium from limestone and are dominated by stones and cobbles. Razorback soils formed in alluvium from extrusive igneous rocks and have less than 10 percent calcium carbonate equivalent (NASIS data). Spripar soils formed from basalt and have 1 to 5 percent calcium carbonate equivalent. Sutra soils formed from limestone, are 8 to 14 inches deep and have thin Bw horizons. Tecopa soils formed from quartzite, schists, and gneiss and have less than 1 percent calcium carbonate equivalent. Terlingua soils have a paralithic contact and formed from andesite and basalt. Upspring soils formed from extrusive basic igneous rocks and pyroclastic volcanic rocks, and have less than 5 percent calcium carbonate equivalent.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Galehills soils are on hills. Slope ranges from 8 to 50 percent. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium from sandstone conglomerate. Elevations are 2,000 to 3,500 feet. The climate is low-lattitude desert, with mild winters and very hot summers. Precipitation is greatest in the winter with a lesser secondary peak in summer, typical of the Mojave Desert. The mean annual precipitation is 3 to 5 inches; mean annual air temperature is 64 to 69 degrees F., and the frost-free season is 240 to 300 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are
Bitterridge and
Zeheme soils. Bitterridge soils have a calcic horizon and a paralithic contact within 14 inches. Zeheme soils have a calcic horizon and a carbonatic mineralogy class.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; very high runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly white bursage, Fremont's dalea, Torrey's ephedra and creosotebush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mojave Desert of southern Nevada; MLRA 30. These soils are moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: PHOENIX, ARIZONA
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Clark County Area, Nevada, 2006. Proposed in Clark County, Nevada, Clark County Soil Survey Area, 2000. The name is coined from the Gale Hills where the typical pedon is located.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in the profile are:
Ochric epipedon - 0 to 7 inches (A and Bk horizon).
Lithic contact - 7 inches (R layer).
Particle-size control section - 0 to 7 inches (A and Bk horizons).
Responsibility for this series was transferred from Davis to Phoenix 4/2015. The last revision to the series was 7/2006. ET
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.