LOCATION ORMSBY                  NV+CA

Established Series
Rev. LNL-JBF-JVC-JBF
04/2017

ORMSBY SERIES

The Ormsby series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived dominantly from granitic rocks. Ormsby soils are on low stream terraces. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 230 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, mesic Haploduridic Torripsamments

TYPICAL PEDON: Ormsby gravelly loamy coarse sand--irrigated cropland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

Ap--0 to 18 cm; dark gray (10YR 4/1) gravelly loamy coarse sand, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak medium and fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and many very fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular and common very fine interstitial pores; 30 percent gravel; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 20 cm thick)

A--18 to 41 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) gravelly loamy coarse sand, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and many very fine roots; few fine and very fine tubular and many very fine interstitial pores; 30 percent gravel; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear smooth boundary. (15 to 30 cm thick)

C--41 to 61 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly coarse sand, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; few fine and very fine tubular and common very fine interstitial pores; 20 percent gravel; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (18 to 25 cm thick)

Cq1--61 to 89 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) gravelly coarse sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; very hard, firm and brittle, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; few fine and very fine interstitial pores; 25 percent gravel; common fine and medium faint dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist, masses of iron accumulation; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); clear wavy boundary. (23 to 33 cm thick)

Cq2--89 to 112 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) gravelly coarse sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; very hard, firm and brittle, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; few fine and very fine interstitial pores; 30 percent gravel; common medium faint very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist, masses of iron accumulation; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear wavy boundary; (20 to 28 cm thick)

Cq3--112 to 132 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very gravelly coarse sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; hard, firm and brittle, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and very fine interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel; common coarse faint very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist, masses of iron accumulation; neutral (pH 7.3); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 25 cm thick)

C'--132 to 152 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly coarse sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine interstitial pores; 40 percent gravel; few coarse faint very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist, masses of iron accumulation; neutral (pH 7.1).

TYPE LOCATION: Douglas County, Nevada; in Carson Valley immediately west of U.S. Highway 395; about 1,000 feet north and 75 feet west of the south quarter corner of section 6, T. 13 N., R. 20 E. USGS Genoa 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 0 minutes 53 seconds N and longitude 119 degrees 46 minutes 48 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.0147222 latitude, -119.7800000 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry unless irrigated; under natural conditions these soils are moist in the moisture control section in winter and early spring, dry in late spring through fall; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 12 degrees C.
Depth to horizons with firm, brittle matrix: 46 to 66 cm.
Depth to redoximorphic features: 60 to 90 cm.

Particle-size control Section - Clay content: averages 2 to 6 percent.
Rock fragments: averages 15 to 35 percent. Lithology of fragments is mainly granitic rocks.

Ap and A horizons
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 1 or 2, dry or moist.
Structure: Granular or platy in the Ap horizon.
Organic matter content: 1 to 2 percent in the Ap horizon and 0.5 to 0.8 percent in the A horizon.
Reaction: Neutral through strongly alkaline.

C horizon
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Gravelly coarse sand, gravelly loamy coarse sand, loamy coarse sand, or coarse sand.
Rock fragments: 10 to 25 percent gravel.
Structure: Platy or massive.
Organic matter content: 0.3 to 0.5 percent.
Reaction: Neutral through moderately alkaline.

Cq horizons
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Gravelly coarse sand, gravelly loamy coarse sand, or gravelly loamy sand; some pedons have loamy coarse sand or very gravelly coarse sand below 100 cm.
Rock fragments: 15 to 40 percent gravel.
Structure: Platy or massive.
Consistence: Hard or very hard dry, firm and brittle moist.
Organic matter content: 0.1 to 0.5 percent.
Reaction: Neutral to moderately alkaline.
Redoximorphic features: Redox concentrations of iron occur as few to many, faint masses of iron accumulation.
Other features: Some pedons have subhorizons which are slightly effervescent with 0 to 1 percent calcium carbonate equivalent.

C' horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Gravelly coarse sand or very gravelly coarse sand.
Rock fragments: 20 to 40 percent gravel.
Structure: Single grain or massive.
Consistence: Loose or soft dry, loose or very friable moist.
Reaction: Neutral through moderately alkaline.
Redoximorphic features: Redox concentrations of iron occur as few to many, faint to prominent, masses of iron accumulation.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Frewa series. Frewa soils have loamy sand or loamy fine sand particle-size control sections.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ormsby soils are on low stream terraces. These soils formed in alluvium derived dominantly from granitic rocks. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevations range from 1,400 to 1,465 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 200 to 250 mm, mean annual temperature is 8 to 11 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 90 to 110 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Dangberg and Ophir soils. Dangberg soils are fine, moderately deep to duripans, and have natric horizons. Ophir soils are sandy, have mollic epipedons, and are usually saturated to the surface during late winter and spring.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained; very low surface runoff; high saturated hydraulic conductivity. Endosaturation is present with an apparent seasonal high water table between 8 and 13 cm (moderately deep and deep free water occurrence classes) from December through May. Cumulative annual duration classes are Common or Persistent. These soils are susceptible to rare flooding for very brief periods year-round.

USE AND VEGETATION: Ormsby soils are used for irrigated cropland, urban development, and livestock grazing. The main crops are alfalfa for hay, grass-legume hay, and small grains. The vegetation in rangeland is basin big sagebrush, rubber rabbitbrush, Indian ricegrass, and bottlebrush squirreltail.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Nevada and northeastern California. These soils are not extensive. MLRA 26.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Douglas County, Nevada, 1973.

REMARKS: This revision updates the taxonomic subgroup from Aquic Durinodic Xeropsamments to Haploduridic Torripsamments. The Ormsby soils mapped in the soil survey of Sierra Valley Area, California, have mollic epipedons and lack the duric feature, and need correlation in the future to another soil series.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (Ap horizon).
Duric feature - The zone from 60 to 112 cm (Cq1 and Cq2 horizons).
Endosaturation feature - The condition of ground water with an upper boundary between 91 and 152 cm at certain times during normal years (parts of the Cq2, Cq3, and C' horizons).
Particle size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (C and Cq1 horizons and parts of the A and Cq2 horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon at the series type location was sampled in 1959 and characterized by the soil survey laboratory in Riverside, CA as sample number S59Nev-3-7. A separate adjacent pedon was also characterized as sample number S59Nev-3-8. Data for both pedons is published in SSIR No. 23 (pages 146-149).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.