LOCATION GREYEAGLE CA+AZ NV
Established Series
Rev. JCW/TDC
04/2015
GREYEAGLE SERIES
The Greyeagle series consists of shallow, somewhat excessively drained soils formed in mixed alluvium. Greyeagle soils are on fan terraces and hillslopes and have slopes of 0 to 50 percent. Average annual precipitation is 6 inches and mean annual temperature is 53 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, thermic, shallow Typic Haplodurids
TYPICAL PEDON: Greyeagle very stony loam - on a sloping alluvial fan under creosotebush and white bursage at 2,246 feet elevation. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. When described August 1976 the soil was dry throughout).
A1--0 to 3 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) very stony loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; strong thick platy structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine vesicular and interstitial pores; 60 percent 2 mm to 7 cm pebbles, 15 percent stones, 2 percent cobbles; violently effervescent, disseminated lime; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
A2--3 to 6 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) gravelly sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; few fine interstitial pores; 15 percent 2 mm to 7 cm pebbles; violently effervescent, disseminated lime; moderately alkaline (pH 8.1); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick)
Bk--6 to 8 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) very gravelly sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; few fine interstitial pores; 40 percent 2 to 5 mm fragments; violently effervescent, medium irregular soft masses of lime and coatings less than 1 mm thick on rock fragments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
2Bqkm--8 to 24 inches; white and very pale brown (10YR 8/2, 8/3) continuous duripan with thin opalized laminations between layers of cemented gravel, very pale brown (10YR 7/4) moist; massive; extremely hard, indurated by silica and calcium carbonate; clear smooth boundary. (16 to 18 inches thick)
2Bk--24 to 60 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) stratified extremely stony loamy sand; massive; very hard and extremely hard, firm.
TYPE LOCATION: Inyo County, California; Saline Valley; about 1/4 mile south of intersection of Saline Valley Road and Lippincott mine road; about 20 feet east of Saline Valley Range and 20 feet west of an exposed bank in a drainage way, N 1/2 of SE 1/4 sec. 20, T. 15 S., R. 40 E., MDB&M.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to an indurated, lime-silica cemented duripan ranges from 4 to 20 inches. The mean annual soil temperature is about 65 degrees F. The particle-size control section averages 10 to 18 percent clay. These soils are dry throughout from June until late November for about 180 days. The soil temperature is warmer than 41 degrees F from March to mid-December for about 290 days.
The A horizon has dry color of 10YR 7/3, 6/3, 6/4; or 7.5YR 6/4 and moist color of 10YR 4/3, 4/4, 5/3, 5/4,, 6/3; 7.5YR 4/4, or 5/4. The upper 3 to 4 inches of the A horizon consists of a vesticular layer of very stony loam to very gravelly loam. Rock fragments 2 mm to 7 cm in diameter range from 35 to 60 percent; 7 cm-25 cm 1 to 5 percent, and 25 cm+ up to 15 percent in the upper part of the A horizon. The lower part of the horizon ranges from gravelly sandy loam to very gravelly sand.
The Bk horizon has colors similar to the A horizon. It is very gravelly sandy loam or very gravelly loamy sand.
Underlying the 2Bqkm horizon is mixed, extremely gravelly, stratified alluvium that is massive and extremely hard or very hard when dry. It can be dug with a pick and shovel, but with difficulty.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Alko,
Muroc,
Nebona,
Osobb,
Pahroc and
Stewart series in other families. Alko, Muroc, Nebona and Stewart soils are loamy. Osobb and Pahroc soils have mesic soil temperature.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Greyeagle soils are on old dissected fan terraces and hillslopes. Slopes are 0 to 50 percent. The soils formed in alluvium from mixed sources. Elevations are 1,800 feet to 4,200 feet. The climate is arid with very hot dry summers, with infrequent thunder showers of short duration, and cool slightly moist winters. The average annual precipitation varies from 4 to 12 inches. Mean January temperature is 45 degrees F, mean July temperature is 85 degrees F; mean annual temperature is 63 degrees F. Frost-free season is 235 to 300 days. Those soils formed on hillslopes up to 40 percent slopes and 12 inches of precipitation occur in the Sonoran Desert.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Arizo soils. Arizo soils lack a duripan and have a sandy-skeletal particle-size control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; rapid runoff, moderately rapid permeability in the soil above the duripan.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for wildlife land and recreation land. The native vegetation is primarily creosotebush, white bursage, Anderson thornbush, spiny hopsage, and buckwheat.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: These soils are mapped in the northern part of the California Desert and are moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: PHOENIX, ARIZONA
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Inyo County, California, Saline Valley Area, 1980.
Responsibility for this series was transferred from Davis to Phoenix 4/2015. The last revision to the series was 1/2001. ET
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.