LOCATION MEAD NV+NM

Established Series
Rev. ELS/ET
11/2015

MEAD SERIES

The Mead series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils that formed in mixed alluvium. Head soils are on footslopes of alluvial fans and have O to 2 percent slopes. The mean annual precipitation is about 5 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 63 F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, thermic Typic Aquisalids

TYPICAL PEDON: Mead clay rangeland. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--O to 2 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) clay, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; massive; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and medium vesicular pores; 5 percent pebbles; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2); abrupt smooth boundary. ( 5 to 3 inches thick)

C1sa--2 to 6 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) gravelly clay, reddish brown (5YR 5/4) dry; very weak coarse prismatic structure that parts to weak thick platy; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few very fine tubular pores; 15 percent pebbles; few fine salt crystals; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (O to 5 inches thick)

IIC2sa--6 to 14 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay, light brown (7.5YR 6/4) dry; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; many very fine interstitial pores; many large salt and gypsum crystals; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pq 3.8); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 15 inches thick)

IIC3sa--14 to 27 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) clay, light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) dry; strong fine subangular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine interstitial pores, few medium salt and gypsum crystals; violently effervescnt; strongly alkaline (pH 8.7); abrupt irregular boundary. (10 to 20 inches thick)

IIC4--27 to 31 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) clay loam, pink (5YR 7/3) dry; massive; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; many fine and very fine tubular pores; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.6); abrupt irregular boundary. (O to 6 inches thick)

IIC5--31 to 60 inches, reddish brown (5YR 4/3) clay, light reddish brown (5YR 6/3) dry; massive; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine and fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6).

TYPE LOCATION: Clark County, Nevada; in Eldorado Valley at the west quarter corner of sec. 15, T.24S., R.63E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to the salic horizon ranges from O to 8 inches. These soils are saturated within depth of 40 inches for one to two months during most years unless artificially drained. The mean annual soil temperature is 63 to 70 F. The 10- to 40-inch control section is clay or silty clay. Subhorizons of clay loam or silty clay loam are in most pedons.

The A horizon has hue of 2.5YR, 5YR, 7.5YR or 1OYR, value of 5, 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 2, 3 or 4.

The C horizon has hue of 2.5YR, 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 5, 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist and chroma of 2, 3 or 4. The salic horizon has 2 to 3 percent salt and ranges from 16 to 35 inches thick. Small to moderate amounts of gypsum commonly are in subhorizons of most pedons. pH ranges from 7.9 to 9.6.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Land and Parran series. Land soils have a fine-silty control section. Parran soils have montmorillonitic mineralogy and mesic soil temperature.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Mead soils are on footslopes of alluvial fans adjacent to playas at elevations of 1,700 to 4,300 feet. Slopes are O to 2 percent. The soils formed in mixed alluvium dominantly from limestone, quartzite, basalt, latite and shale. The climate is arid with a mean annual precipitation of 4 to 8 inches; a mean annual temperature of 61 to 66 F.; and a frost-free season of approximately 180 to 240 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Arizo, Alamogordo, Holloman, Ireteba and Laveldo soils. All of these lack salic horizons. Also, Alamogordo soils have gypsic horizons; Arizo soils have sandy-skeletal control sections; Holloman soils have bedded gypsum within 20 inches; Ireteba soils have coarse-loamy control sections; and Laveldo soils have fine-loamy control sections.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly and poorly drained; very slow runoff; very slow permeability. Most of these soils have been drained by pumping.

USE AND VEGETATION: Desert rangeland. The vegetation is principally cattle saltbush, purple sage, and pickleweed. Approximately 99 percent of the surface is barren.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Nevada in MLRA 30 and Southern New Mexico. The series is moderately extensive.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: PHOENIX, ARIZONA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Clark County (Las Vegas and Eldorado Valleys Area), Nevada, 1964.

REMARKS: The activity class was added to the classification in March of 2003. Competing series were not checked at that time. - ET. Responsibility for this series was transferred from Davis to Phoenix 11/2015. - ET

Additional Data: SSIR No 23.

OSED scanned by NSSQA. Last revised by state on 5/76.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.