LOCATION MICKEY NV

Established Series
Rev. TM-WED-JVC-JBF
11/2016

MICKEY SERIES

The Mickey series consists of shallow to a duripan, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived mainly from granitic rocks or volcanic rocks and with surficial deposits of eolian volcanic ash. Mickey soils are on ballenas and fan remnants. Slopes are 2 to 30 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 230 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 12 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Haploxeralfic Argidurids

TYPICAL PEDON: Mickey gravelly loamy sand--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A1--0 to 5 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loamy sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 25 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 10 cm thick)

A2--5 to 13 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; many very fine and fine vesicular and tubular pores; 35 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 15 cm thick)

Bt1--13 to 25 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly sandy clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine, fine and medium roots; many very fine tubular and vesicular pores; few faint clay films lining pores; 20 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (10 to 20 cm thick)

Bt2--25 to 38 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) gravelly sandy clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) moist; strong fine subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; many distinct clay films lining pores and few faint clay films on faces of peds; many pressure cutans on faces of peds; 15 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 20 cm thick)

Bqkm--38 to 94 cm; cemented material; strongly cemented by silica and carbonates and broken by a few krotovinas of gravelly coarse sandy loam; very hard, very firm; few fine roots in fractures; few thick prominent white (10YR 8/1) filaments and masses of secondary carbonate; slightly effervescent; clear wavy boundary. (38 to 64 cm thick)

Bqk--94 to 112 cm; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) gravelly loamy coarse sand, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; massive; hard, brittle, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; many very fine vesicular pores; 30 percent gravel; common thin carbonate and silica pendants on rock fragments; weak discontinuous cementation by silica and carbonates; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 30 cm thick)

C1--112 to 137 cm; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) very gravelly sandy loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 30 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; few thin carbonate pendants on rock fragments; slightly effervescent; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 76 cm thick)

C2--137 to 152 cm; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) very gravelly coarse sandy loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel; few thin carbonate pendants on rock fragments; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6).

TYPE LOCATION: Mineral County, Nevada; about 150 feet east of Highway 3C and 150 feet north of the road to Baldwin Canyon; approximately 2,300 feet south and 1,600 feet east of the northwest corner of section 31, T. 7 N., R. 28 E.; USGS Ninemile Ranch 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 38 degrees 25 minutes 25 seconds N and longitude 118 degrees 53 minutes 36 seconds W; NAD 83, UTM zone 11N 334088E, 4254534N: WGS84 Decimal Degrees 38.4236111 latitude, -118.895000 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Moist in winter and spring, dry in summer and fall except for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July and October due to convection storms; Aridic moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 12 to 14 degrees C.
Depth to duripan: 36 to 50 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 27 to 35 percent.
Rock fragments: 15 to 35 percent, dominantly gravel but some pedons have cobbles or stones.

A horizons
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Reaction: Neutral to moderately alkaline.

Bt1 horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Sandy clay loam or loam.
Clay content: 20 to 27 percent.
Rock fragments: 15 to 35 percent, mainly gravel.
Structure: Subangular blocky or granular.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.

Bt2 horizon
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 through 6, dry or moist.
Texture: Gravelly sandy clay loam, gravelly clay loam, or gravelly sandy clay; subhorizons of gravelly clay are in some pedons.
Clay content: 30 to 40 percent.
Rock fragments: 15 to 35 percent.
Structure: Angular blocky or subangular blocky.
Reaction: Neutral through moderately alkaline.

Bqkm horizon
Strongly cemented duripan, has discontinuous thin laminar caps in some pedons.

C horizons
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Texture: Stratified gravelly loamy coarse sand to extremely gravelly sandy loam.
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent; individual strata may contain 20 to 80 percent rock fragments.
Reaction: Neutral through moderately alkaline.
Effervescence: Slightly effervescent or strongly effervescent in most pedons.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Acana, Diawell, Minu, Muni, and Zadvar series.

Acana soils have calcareous Bt horizons. Diawell soils have duripans 5 to 13 cm thick and have Bkq horizons above the duripan. Minu soils have mean annual soil temperature of 8 to 12 degrees C. and have identifiable secondary carbonates in the lower part of the argillic horizon. Muni soils have mean annual soil temperature of less than 11 degrees C., are not moist in the summer, and have less than 15 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section. Zadvar soils have durinodes at depths of less than 36 cm and have 18 to 27 percent clay in the particle-size control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Mickey soils are on ballenas and fan remnants. They typically occur on summit positions. They formed in alluvium derived from granitic rock or volcanic rocks and with surficial deposits of eolian volcanic ash. Slopes are 2 to 30 percent. Elevations are 1,524 to 2,195 meters. The mean annual precipitation is 200 to 250 mm, the mean annual temperature is 10 to 12 degrees C., and the frost-free period is 90 to 130 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Smedley, Veet and Wellsed soils. Smedley series are clayey. Veet soils lack an argillic horizon and a duripan. Wellsed soils have a duripan with continuous indurated laminae.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Mickey soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is primarily low sagebrush and galleta.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 26 and MLRA27.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mineral County, Nevada, 1985.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 13 cm (A1 and A2 horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 13 to 38 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
Cemented duripan - The zone from 38 to 94 cm (Bqkm horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 13 to 38 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: Future study of this series is needed to determine the amount of volcanic ash influence in the A horizons. Based on lab data from adjacent soils there is a strong possibility that volcanic glass contents in the A horizons are much greater than 30 percent.

User Pedon ID 2007NV021092.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.