LOCATION SATURDAY ID

Established Series
Rev. ALH/CLM
11/2019

SATURDAY SERIES

The Saturday series consists of deep, well drained soils with moderate permeability that formed in residuum and colluvium from vitric and welded rhyolitic tuffs. Saturday soils are on mountains and foothills. Slopes range from 5 to 25 percent. The average annual precipitation is about 460 mm, and the average annual temperature is about 5.0 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, frigid Vitrandic Argixerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Saturday stony loam -- on a northeast-facing slope of 17 percent, in native rangeland under mountain- mahogany at 1,910 meter elevation. The surface has about 2 percent stone cover. (When described on August 20, 1980, the soil was dry to 51 cm and slightly moist below. Colors are for air dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

Oi--0 to 3 cm; undecomposed leaves and twigs. (0 to5 cm thick)

A1--3 to 8 cm; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) stony loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine and fine vesicular pores; 10 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 18 cm thick)

A2--8 to 26 cm; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) gravelly loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine, few medium and coarse roots; few very fine and fine tubular and irregular pores; 15 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.3); abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 46 cm thick)

Bt--26 to 64 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very gravelly loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine, fine and medium roots; common very fine and fine, few medium tubular pores; many faint clay films on faces of peds, in pores, and on rock fragments; 35 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.3); clear wavy boundary. (15 to 61 cm thick)

C--64 to 145 cm; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) extremely cobbly sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine, few medium roots; 50 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles, 15 percent stones; slightly acid (pH 6.4); gradual irregular boundary. (10 to 91 cm thick)

R--145 cm; highly weathered welded rhyolitic tuff.

TYPE LOCATION: Owyhee County, Idaho; about 27 miles east of Cliffs; 100 feet north and 1,250 feet west of the southeast corner of section 33, T. 8 S., R. 1 W.; USGS Clover Mountain 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 42 degrees 40 minutes 43 seconds N and longitude 116 degrees 27 minutes 28 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 42.6786111 latitude, -116.4577778 longitude.

RANGE OF CHARACTERISTICS:

Mollic epipedon thickness - 18 to 50 cm.
Depth to base of argillic - 50 to 91 cm.
Depth to bedrock - 100 to 150 cm.
Volcanic glass content (very fine sand fraction) - 5 to 30 percent Base saturation in some part above 30 inches - 50 to 75 percent Reaction (pH) - moderately or slightly acid
Average annual soil temperature - 5.0 to 7.2 degrees C.
Average summer soil temperature - 16.1 to 18.3 degrees C.
Soil Moisture: This soil is usually moist, but is dry for 45 to 70 consecutive days during the late summer and autumn. Typic xeric moisture regime.

A horizon
Hue - 10YR or 7.5YR
Value - 2 to 4 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma - 1 or 2 dry or moist
Acid oxalate extractable Al plus 1/2 Fe - 0.40 to 0.60

Bt horizon
Hue - 10YR or 7.5YR
Value - 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma - 3 or 4 dry or moist
Textures - GRV-CL or GRV-L
Clay content - 22 to 35 percent
Rock fragments - 35 to 60 percent

C horizon
Hue - 10YR to 5YR
Value - 4 to 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma - 2 to 6 dry or moist
Textures - CBX-L, CBX-SL or GRV-L
Clay content - 12 to 25 percent
Rock fragments - 50 to 90 percent

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Larabee, Millerflat, Roundbarn, Stemilt, and Wilt series. Larabee and Wilt soils are moderately deep. Millerflat soils are very deep and have a 2Bt horizon below a cambic horizon. Roundbarn soils have a mollic epipedon 75 to 127 cm thick and a depth to the base of the argillic horizon of 100 to 150 cm. Stemilt soils have average annual soil temperature of 7.2 to 8.3 degrees C. and the base of the argillic is 100 to 150 cm.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Saturday soils are on gently to strongly sloping ridges and sideslopes of mountains and foothills at elevations of 1,740 to 2,075 meters. Slopes range from 5 to 25 percent. The soils formed in residuum and colluvium from vitric and welded rhyolitic tuffs. The climate is cool and moist in the winter and warm and dry in summer. Average annual precipitation ranges from 410 to 510 mm and average annual temperature is 3.9 to 6.1 degrees C. The frost-free period is 60 to 80 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Cleavage, Monasterio and Mulshoe soils. Cleavage soils are less than 50 cm deep to bedrock and on more exposed landscape positions. Monasterio and Mulshoe soils are 50 to 100 cm deep and on lower sideslopes.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; slow to medium runoff; moderate saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Saturday soils are used mainly for grazeable woodland and wildlife habitat. The dominant natural vegetation is curlleaf mountain-mahogany, mountain snowberry, Idaho fescue, and mountain brome.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Idaho. This series is moderately extensive. MLRA 25.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Owyhee County Area, Idaho, 1992.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from 3 to 26 cm (A1 and A2 horizons).
Argillic horizon and particle-size control section - The zone from 26 to 64 cm (Bt horizon).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 145 cm (R boundary).
Vitrandic properties - 28 percent volcanic glass & acid-oxalate-extractable Al+1/2Fe = .58 (mixed A1 & A2 horizons)

The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Reno MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Reference sample - NSSL pedon no. 90P-913.

The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Reno MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.