LOCATION MCCLEARY                NV

Established Series
Rev. JVC/JBF
09/2019

MCCLEARY SERIES


The McCleary series consists of very deep, very poorly drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks with a thin loess mantle. McCleary soils are on lake plains and fan skirts. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 230 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 8 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, nonacid, mesic Vertic Epiaquepts

TYPICAL PEDON: McCleary silt loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A1--0 to 3 cm; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) silt loam, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; weak medium platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many medium vesicular pores; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 5 cm thick)

A2--3 to 10 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium platy structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; many medium vesicular pores; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 cm thick)

2Bw--10 to 33 cm; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; strong medium angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few fine roots, few fine tubular pores; few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (20 to 33 cm thick)

2Bwc--33 to 56 cm; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few fine roots; few fine tubular pores; few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; few fine manganese concretions; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); gradual wavy boundary. (20 to 43 cm thick)

2BCc--56 to 142 cm; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; massive; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few fine roots; few fine tubular pores; few fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation; few fine manganese concretions; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual wavy boundary. (64 to 89 cm thick)

2C--142 to 160 cm; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) clay, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few fine tubular pores; few fine faint brown (7.5YR 5/4) masses of iron accumulation; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).

TYPE LOCATION: Elko County, Nevada; about 7 miles west-southwest of Desert Ranch Reservoir; about 370 feet south and 1,400 feet west of the northeast corner of section 35, T. 44 N., R. 47 E.; USGS Silver Lake 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 41 degrees 40 minutes 31 seconds N and longitude 116 degrees 40 minutes 15 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 41.6752778 latitude, -116.6708333 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually wet in the moisture control section between February and May; seasonal periods of aquic moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 10 degrees C.
Linear extensibility (LE): 6 to 9 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 40 to 50 percent;
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent.

A horizons
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Structure: Weak or moderate, thin to thick platy.

2Bw, 2BC, and 2C horizons
Texture: Clay or silty clay.
Other features: Few to many iron manganese concretions can occur in any horizon.

COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no other series in this family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: McCleary soils are on lake plains and fan skirts adjacent to lake plains. These soils formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks with a thin loess cap. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevations range from 1,620 to 1,650 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 8 to 9 degrees C., and the frost-free period is 100 to 120 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: This is the Piline soil. Piline soils have vertical cracks, slickensides, and are on ponded depressions.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Very poorly drained; medium or very high surface runoff; moderately low saturated hydraulic conductivity. Episaturation is present with a perched seasonal high water table between 15 and 46 cm (very shallow or shallow free water occurrence classes) between February and May. Cumulative annual duration class is common. These soils are susceptible to rare or occasional flooding.

USE AND VEGETATION: McCleary soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is mainly silver sagebrush and bottlebrush squirreltail.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central Nevada. These soils are not extensive with about 4,400 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 25.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Elko County (Northwest Elko County Area), Nevada, 1986.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A1, A2 and part of the 2Bw horizons).
Cambic horizon - The zone from 10 to 56 cm (2Bw and 2Bwc horizons).
Aquic conditions - The conditions of endosaturation, reduction, and redoximorphic features between 15 and 50 cm at certain times during normal years (parts of the 2Bw and 2Bwc horizons).
Vertic subgroup feature - The zone from the soil surface to 100 cm with linear extensibility of 6.0 cm or more.
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (2Bwc and parts of the 2Bw and 2BCc horizons).

The revision of April 2006 updated the taxonomic class from Fine, smectitic, nonacid, mesic Aeric Fluvaquents based on the recognition of a cambic horizon and the linear extensibility (LE) as populated in the NASIS database.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Previous authors and editors include: RAF-TSB-RLB.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.