LOCATION LAHONTAN NV+ID UT

Established Series
Rev. MAT-LNL-JVC-JBF
05/2016

LAHONTAN SERIES

The Lahontan series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils that formed in lacustrine deposits or alluvium derived from mixed igneous rocks. Lahontan soils are on lake plains and deltas. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 125 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 12 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, calcareous, mesic Vertic Torriorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Lahontan clay--irrigated pasture (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

Ap--0 to 25 cm; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; many fine roots; common fine tubular pores, few worm casts; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); clear smooth boundary. (15 to 30 cm thick)

BCk--25 to 53 cm; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak medium and thin platy structure parting to moderate medium and fine subangular blocky; hard, firm, friable, very sticky and very plastic; common fine roots; few fine tubular pores; few pressure faces; few coarse distinct black (10YR 2/1) moist masses of manganese accumulation; secondary carbonates segregated as few fine through coarse distinct masses; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (23 to 43 cm thick)

C1--53 to 84 cm; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; strong coarse angular blocky structure; hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; few fine roots; few fine tubular pores; common pressure faces; few coarse distinct dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist masses of manganese accumulation on faces of peds; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary (25 to 38 cm thick)

C2--84 to 130 cm; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; moderate very coarse angular blocky structure; hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; few fine roots; few fine tubular pores; few medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist masses of iron accumulation on faces of peds; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); clear smooth boundary. (30 to 50 cm thick)

C3--130 to 160 cm; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; massive; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few fine roots; common fine prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; slightly effervescent in matrix, strongly effervescent in spots; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5).

TYPE LOCATION: Churchill County, Nevada; in the Lahontan Valley east of Carson Lake Pasture; approximately 150 feet west and 30 feet north of the southeast corner of section 19, T. 17 N., R. 30 E.; USGS Carson Lake 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 18 minutes 54 seconds N and longitude 118 degrees 39 minutes 1 seconds W, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in winter and spring, dry in summer and fall; typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 14 degrees C.
Mean summer soil temperature: 21 to 22 degrees C.
Effervescence: Slightly effervescent or strongly effervescent.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline through very strongly alkaline (up to pH 11.0).
Linear extensibility (LE): 6 to 9 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 35 to 60 percent.

A or Ap horizons
Hue: 10YR through 5Y.
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 4 through 6 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 3, dry or moist.
Structure: Weak or moderate, medium or coarse, subangular or angular blocky structure, thin to thick platy structure or is massive.
Other features: In some pedons the surface 3 to 5 cm has common or many vesicular pores.

BCk and C horizons
Hue: 10YR through 5Y.
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 4 through 6 moist.
Chroma: 1 or 2, except that chroma of 3 accompanies 10YR hue in some pedons.
Texture: Silty clay, clay, or silty clay loam; some pedons have few strata of silt loam or clay loam.
Structure: Massive or weak to strong, medium or coarse angular blocky or platy.
Redoximorphic features: Redox concentrations of iron or manganese are in any or all horizons below depths of 50 cm and range from few to many and from very fine through coarse. These may be relict features in some pedons. They have 10YR through 5YR hue with chroma of 2 through 6.
Identifiable secondary carbonates: Few or common, fine through coarse masses are present in some pedons. Sodium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate are presumed mineral forms.
Salinity (EC): 4 to 32 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 13 to 30.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 10 percent.
Bulk density: 1.55 to 1.75 gms/cc.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Benin, Dedmount, Stygee, and Torchlight series.

Benin soils have gypsum crystals and are influenced by loess high in volcanic ash in the upper part. Dedmount soils are intermittently moist for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July and October due to convective storms. Stygee soils have vertic features such as reversible cracks and slickensides and are more moist in summer months. Torchlight soils are more moist in summer months and have gypsum crystals.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Lahontan soils are on lake plains and deltas. They formed in lacustrine deposits or alluvium derived from mixed igneous rocks. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevations range from 1,160 to 1,710 meters. The climate is arid with cool, moist winters and hot, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 100 to 200 mm. The mean annual temperature is 7 to 13 degrees C. The frost-free period is 100 to 150 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Parran and Ragtown soils. Parran soils have salic horizons. Ragtown soils have less clay in the upper part of the particle-size control section, have lower shrink-swell potential, and are more stratified.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained; moderately low saturated hydraulic conductivity. Endosaturation is present with an apparent seasonal high water table between 122 and 180 cm (deep free water occurrence class) between March and July when irrigated. Cumulative annual duration class is Common. These soils are susceptible to rare flooding for very brief periods year-round.

USE AND VEGETATION: Lahontan soils are used mainly for livestock grazing. Many areas are irrigated and used for growing tall wheatgrass or a mixture of legumes and grasses. The dominant native vegetation is black greasewood, inland saltgrass, seepweed, and iodine bush.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Nevada, western Utah, and west-central Idaho. These soils are moderately extensive. The series concept and main acreage is in MLRA 27 in Nevada, while other acreage occurs in MLRA 29 in Nevada, MLRA 28A in Utah, and MLRA 11 in Idaho. Lahontan soils outside MLRA 27 need to be correlated to other series.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Churchill County (Fallon-Fernley Area), Nevada, 1909.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 25 cm (Ap horizon).
Identifiable secondary carbonates - The zone from 25 to 53 cm (BCk horizon).
Endosaturation feature - The condition of ground water with an upper boundary between 122 to 152 cm at certain times during normal years (parts of the C2 and C3 horizons).
Vertic feature - Linear extensibility (LE): 6 to 9 cm.
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (BCk and C1 horizons and part of the C2 horizon).

The revision of April 2004 updated the taxonomic class from Fine, smectitic, calcareous, mesic Aquic Xerofluvents based on clay mineralogy and linear extensibility values in the NASIS database.

ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon at the series type location has partial characterization data by the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Riverside, CA as user pedon ID 59NV001005 (pedon # 40A3208). The data is published in Soil Survey Investigations Report No. 23 on page 129.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.