LOCATION LITTLEAILIE NV

Established Series
Rev. CWL/BKP/JBF
11/2016

LITTLEAILIE SERIES

The Littleailie series consists of shallow to a duripan, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from welded tuff. Littleailie soils are on eroded fan remnants and ballenas. Slopes are 0 to 30 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 230 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Xeric Argidurids

TYPICAL PEDON: Littleailie gravelly sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The surface is covered with 35 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles.

A--0 to 8 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; strong very thick platy structure parting to moderate thin platy; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine, and few medium, coarse and very coarse vesicular pores; 15 percent gravel; strongly alkaline (pH 8.7); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 13 cm thick)

Btk--8 to 20 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine, fine and medium, and few coarse roots; common very fine and fine, and few medium interstitial and tubular pores; common faint clay bridging sand grains; secondary calcium carbonate disseminated throughout and around rock fragments; 25 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.9); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 25 cm thick)

Bqk--20 to 48 cm; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very gravelly sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; strong thick platy structure parting to strong medium subangular blocky; hard, firm, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine, and many medium roots; common very fine and fine, and few medium interstitial and tubular pores; secondary calcium carbonate disseminated throughout the matrix and common (5 percent) thin 1 mm thick) secondary coats around pan fragments, and as common (2 percent) fine threads; 40 percent very strongly cemented duripan fragments and 25 percent strongly cemented durinodes; strongly effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2); clear smooth boundary. (13 to 38 cm thick)

Bqkm1--48 to 71 cm; white (10YR 8/1) cemented material, light gray (10YR 7/2) moist; strong very thick platy structure; very rigid; few very fine and fine interstitial pores; indurated duripan cemented by secondary silica and calcium carbonate; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.3); abrupt smooth boundary. (13 to 50 cm thick)

Bqkm2--71 to 104 cm; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) cemented material, light gray (10YR 7/2) moist; massive; slightly rigid; few very fine and fine interstitial pores; strongly cemented by secondary silica and calcium carbonate; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4); clear smooth boundary. (25 to 50 cm thick)

2BCqk--104 to 157 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) extremely gravelly loamy sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine, and few medium interstitial pores; 50 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; common (5 percent) secondary silica and secondary calcium carbonate concretions around rock fragments; many (20 percent) discontinuous moderately to strongly cemented layers of secondary silica and secondary calcium carbonate; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.5).

TYPE LOCATION: Lincoln County, Nevada; about 50 feet north of road, northeast part of Big Sand Spring Valley; approximately 1,200 feet east and 2,130 feet south of the northwest corner of section 15, T. 1 N., R. 56 E.; USGS McCutchen Spring 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 37 degrees 56 minutes 58.8 seconds N and longitude 115 degrees 40 minutes 21.1 seconds W; NAD 83: WGS84 Decimal Degrees 37.9496667 latitude, -115.6725278 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, moist in some part for short periods during winter and early spring months and for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July and September due to summer convection storms; aridic soil moisture regime bordering on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 11 degrees C.
Depth to base of the argillic horizon: 13 to 38 cm.
Depth to the duripan: 36 to 50 cm.
Mineralogy: averages 5 to 24 percent volcanic glass in the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction and averages 0.01 to 0.09 percent Al plus 1/2Fe, extracted by ammonium oxalate.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 8 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: Averages 35 to 50 percent mainly gravel size very strongly cemented duripan fragments and durinodes. Lithology of the rock fragments is welded tuff.

A horizon
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Mineralogy: 15 to 24 percent volcanic glass in the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction and averages 0.05 to 0.09 percent Al plus 1/2Fe, extracted by ammonium oxalate.

Btk horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Gravelly sandy loam, very gravelly coarse sandy loam, or gravelly loam.
Clay content: 15 to 25 percent.
Rock fragments: averaging 35 to 45 percent with some pedons containing thin sub-horizons that range from 15 to 35 percent.
Mineralogy: 15 to 24 percent volcanic glass in the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction and averages 0.05 to 0.09 percent Al plus 1/2Fe, extracted by ammonium oxalate.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline to very strongly alkaline.

Bqk horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Very gravelly sandy loam, very gravelly coarse sandy loam, or very gravelly loamy sand.
Clay content: 4 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 35 to 55 percent.
Secondary silica: 20 to 40 percent hard, brittle durinodes and weathered duripan fragments.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline to very strongly alkaline.

Bqkm horizons
Value: 7 or 8, dry or moist.
Chroma: 1 through 3, dry or moist.
Cementation class: Indurated in the Bqkm1 horizon and very strongly cemented to moderately cemented in the Bqkm2 horizon.
Structure: Strong very thick platy structure or massive.
Reaction: Strongly alkaline or very strongly alkaline.

2BCqk horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Extremely gravelly loamy sand, extremely gravelly loamy coarse sand, or very gravelly sandy loam.
Clay content: 3 to 10 percent.
Rock fragments: 60 to 80 percent with some pedons averaging 50 to 60 percent in some sub-horizons.
Reaction: Strongly alkaline or very strongly alkaline.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Brock, Cleet, Deepeek, Hotcreek, Indicove, Lapon, Malmesa, Oleman, Shinnpeak, Troughs, Vinini, and Wanapum series.

Brock, Cleet, Deepeek, Hotcreek, Lapon, Malmesa, Oleman, Shinnpeak, Troughs, Vinini and Wanapum soils have more than 18 percent clay in the control section. In addition, Hotcreek soils have lithic contacts depths of 20 to 36 cm. Indicove soils do not have 15 to 24 percent volcanic glass in the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction. Lapon soils have lithic contacts at depths between 38 and 100 cm, directly below the duripan. Malmesa soils have lithic contacts at depths between 36 and 50 cm. Troughs and Vinini soils have lithic contacts at depths between 50 and 100 cm.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Littleailie soils are on eroded fan remnants and ballenas. These soils formed in alluvium derived from welded tuff and reworked lacustrine deposits. Slopes are 0 to 30 percent. The elevation ranges from 1,372 to 2,210 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 200 to 300 mm, the mean annual air temperature is 7 to 10 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 100 to 130 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Lojet and Qwynn soils. Lojet soils are moderately deep to a duripan. Qwynn soils do not have duripans.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Littleailie soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. Potential native vegetation includes black sagebrush, Indian ricegrass, bottlebrush squirreltail, and Nevada ephedra. This pedon is correlated to R029XY081NV, Shallow Calcareous Hill 10-14 P.Z.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-central Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 29 and 28A.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lincoln County, Nevada, North Part; 2005. The name is coined.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 8 cm (A horizon).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 8 to 20 cm (Btk horizon).
Durinodes - The zone from 20 to 48 cm (Bqk horizon).
Duripan - The zone from 48 to 104 cm (Bqkm1 and Bqkm2 horizons).
Identifiable secondary carbonates - The zone from 8 to 157 cm (Btk, Bqk, Bqkm1, Bqkm2, and 2BCqk horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 8 to 48 cm. (Btk and Bqk horizons. In pedons where the base of the argillic horizon is below 25 cm, the control section is the argillic horizon)

ADDITIONAL DATA: Pedon ID# - 05NV784257-CWL.
Previous authors and editors include: JWM/TM/JVC.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.