LOCATION HUILEPASS NV

Established Series
Rev. BKP/JBF
02/2012

HUILEPASS SERIES

The Huilepass series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from quartzite. Huilepass soils are on fan remnants and barrier beaches. Slopes are 2 to 15 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 230 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 8 degrees C.

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

TYPICAL PEDON: Huilepass extremely gravelly fine sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is partially covered with 60 percent gravel and 2 percent cobbles.

A--0 to 13 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely gravelly fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky and moderate thin platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores, with few very fine and fine vesicular pores in the top 3 cm; 55 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 15 cm thick)

Bt1--13 to 30 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely gravelly fine sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, fine, common medium, and few coarse roots; many very fine tubular pores; few distinct clay films bridging sand grains, on faces of peds, and lining pores; 60 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.3); clear smooth boundary. (13 to 25 cm thick)

Bt2--30 to 46 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) extremely gravelly fine sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, many fine, common medium, and few coarse roots; many very fine interstitial and few very fine tubular pores; few distinct clay films bridging sand grains and lining pores; 60 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear wavy boundary. (13 to 25 cm thick)

2Bk--46 to 64 cm; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) extremely gravelly loamy sand, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine, many fine, few medium, and few coarse roots; many very fine and fine interstitial, and few fine tubular pores; 65 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; few secondary calcium carbonate coats on the bottom of rock fragments; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); clear wavy boundary. (15 to 25 cm)

2Ck1--64 to 94 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) extremely gravelly sand, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine, few medium and coarse roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 60 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; common secondary calcium carbonate coats on the bottom of rock fragments; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6), clear wavy boundary. (25 to 46 cm)

2Ck2--94 to 152 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) extremely gravelly sand, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine, fine, medium and coarse roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 60 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; common secondary carbonate coats on the bottom of rock fragments; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).

TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; approximately 2,000 feet west of the intersection of the Taft Creek road and North Spring Valley highway; about 2,050 feet west and 1,000 feet north of the southeast corner of section 13, T. 17 N., R. 66 E.; USGS Yelland Dry Lake 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 19 minutes 59 seconds N and longitude 114 degrees 29 minutes 46 seconds W; NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry when the soil temperature is above 5 degrees C, moist from late fall through spring, dry mid-July through October except for 10 to 20 days cumulative due to convection storms; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 11 degrees C.
Depth to base of argillic horizon: 25 to 46 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 12 to 20 percent.
Rock fragments: 60 to 75 percent, mainly gravel. Lithology of fragments is quartzite.

A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.

Bt horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Extremely gravelly fine sandy loam or extremely gravelly loam.
Clay content: 12 to 20 percent.
Rock fragments: 60 to 75 percent, mainly gravel with some cobbles.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.
Structure: Weak or moderate subangular blocky.

2Bk horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 5 or 6 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Extremely gravelly loamy sand or extremely gravelly sandy loam.
Clay content: 5 to 12 percent.
Rock fragments: 60 to 75 percent, mainly gravel with some cobbles.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 3 percent.

2Ck horizons
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 5 or 6 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Extremely gravelly sand or extremely gravelly loamy sand.
Clay content: 0 to 9 percent.
Rock fragments: 60 to 75 percent, mainly gravel with some cobbles.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 5 percent.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bairs, Basket, Breko, Chiefrange, Cowgil, Drino, Hefed, Hunewill, Jungo, Kayo, Lithgow, Plush, Schader, Stucky, and Washoe series.

Bairs, Cowgil, Hefed, Hunewill, and Kayo soils are not intermittently moist for 10 to 20 days cumulative during the summer. Basket and Chiefrange soils have 35 to 60 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section. Breko soils have free carbonates in the A horizon and upper part of the Bt horizon and have mean annual soil temperatures of 13 to 15 degrees C. Drino, Lithgow, and Schader soils are moderately deep to lithic contacts. Jungo soils have Btk horizons at 10 to 20 cm. Plush soils are deep to lithic contacts. Stucky soils have argillic horizons with 27 to 35 percent clay. Washoe soils have argillic horizons that are 61 to 100 cm thick.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Huilepass soils are on fan remnants and adjacent barrier beaches. They formed in alluvium derived from quartzite. Slopes are 2 to 15 percent. Elevations range from 1680 to 2020 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 200 to 250 mm, the mean annual temperature is 7 to 10 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 100 to 120 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Badena and Izamatch soils. Badena soils have mollic epipedons. Izamatch soils do not have argillic horizons.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Huilepass soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The native vegetation is Wyoming big sagebrush, Indian ricegrass, bottlebrush squirreltail, and galleta. This pedon is correlated to ecological site R028AY017NV, Shallow Loam 8-10 P.Z.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Nevada. These soils are not extensive. MLRA 28A.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Pine County, Nevada, East Part, 2004.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the surface to 13 cm (A horizon).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 13 to 46 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
Identifiable secondary carbonates - The zone from 46 to 152 cm (2Bk, 2Ck1, and 2Ck2 horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 13 to 46 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon at the series type location has full characterization by the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as soil survey sample number S94NV-033-007 (pedon # 94P0732).
Previous authors and editors include: GWM-TM-JVC.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.