LOCATION NUPPER                  NV

Established Series
Rev. DJM/RLB/TM
02/2019

NUPPER SERIES

The Nupper series consists of very shallow and shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium from sandstone. The Nupper soils are on mountain side slopes. Slope ranges from 30 to 75 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 12 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 51 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, nonacid, mesic Lithic Ustic Torriorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Nupper extremely flaggy loamy fine sand, rangeland and wildlife habitat. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered by approximately 10 percent pebbles and 70 percent flagstones.

A--0 to 3 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) extremely flaggy loamy fine sand, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; strong medium platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; many very fine and fine vesicular and few fine interstitial pores; 10 percent pebbles and 70 percent flagstones; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 3 inches thick)

C1--3 to 9 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) extremely gravelly fine sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine, medium, and few coarse roots; common very fine and fine interstitial and few fine tubular pores; 50 percent pebbles and 15 percent cobbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 6 inches thick)

C2--9 to 13 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) extremely cobbly fine sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine interstitial and few fine tubular pores; 25 percent pebbles and 35 percent cobbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)

R--13 inches; hard sandstone bedrock.

TYPE LOCATION: Clark County, Nevada; approximately 1.3 miles west of Spring Mountain Ranch located in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area on the east side of the Spring Mountain Range; about 2,100 feet south and 2,800 feet east of the northwest corner of section 4, T. 22 S., R. 58 E.; 36 degrees, 3 minutes, 58 seconds north latitude and 115 degrees, 28 minutes, 52 seconds west longitude; USGS Blue Diamond, NV 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; UTM 11S, 636775e, 3992347n; NAD83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture - Usually dry, moist in late winter and early spring and intermittently moist in the upper part following summer thunderstorms; aridic soil moisture regime bordering on ustic.
Soil temperature - 51 to 56 degrees F.
Depth to bedrock - 6 to 14 inches.

Control section - Percent clay: 5 to 15 percent.
Rock fragments: 60 to 80 percent, mainly sandstone gravel and cobbles or flagstones.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline

A horizon - Value 6 or 7 dry.
Chroma- 3 or 4.

C horizons - Clay content: 8 to 15 percent.
Value: 6 or 7 dry; 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 through 6.
Texture of the fine earth: Sandy loam or fine sandy loam
Structure: Massive or subangular blocky.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Mountmcull (T NV) series. Mountmcull soils formed in metamorphosed granitic rocks and have less than 60 percent rock fragments in the control section which are dominated by fine gravel.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Nupper soils are on mountain side slopes. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium from sandstone. Slope ranges from 30 to 75 percent. Elevations are 5,500 to 7,000 feet. The climate is sub-humid continental, cool, with moist winters and occasional summer thundershowers. The mean annual precipitation is 11 to 13 inches; mean annual air temperature is 49 to 54 degrees F., and the frost-free season is 110 to 150 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Seralin and Traley series. Seralin and Traley soils have mollic epipedons and formed in limestone parent material. Traley soils also have a argillic and calcic horizons.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, very high runoff; moderately rapid permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly turbinella oak, black sagebrush, point leaf manzanita, small crested needlegrass, muttongrass with a scattered overstory of single leaf pinyon pine and Utah juniper.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mojave Desert of southern Nevada, MLRA 30. These soils are of not extensive.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: PHOENIX, ARIZONA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Clark County Area, Nevada, 2006. Proposed in Clark County, Nevada, 1995. The name is coined.

REMARKS: Type location moved to Clark County soil survey 1995. The activity class was added to the classification in January of 2003. Competing series were not checked at that time. - ET

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Ochric epipedon - 0 to 3 inches (A horizon).

Lithic contact - 13 inches (R horizon).

Particle-size control section - 0 to 13 inches (A, C1 and C2 horizons).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.