LOCATION SHEFFIT NV

Established Series
Rev. PWB/LJL/JVC/JBF
11/2015

SHEFFIT SERIES

The Sheffit series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils that formed in alluvium over lacustrine deposits derived from mixed rocks and volcanic ash. Sheffit soils are on lake plains and alluvial flats. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 230 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 8 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, calcareous, mesic Xerertic Torriorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Sheffit silt loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

An1--0 to 8 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) silt loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate very thick platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, very sticky and moderately plastic; few very fine roots; many very fine vesicular pores; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 10 cm thick)

An2--8 to 18 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silty clay, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak thin platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, very sticky and moderately plastic; many very fine, few fine, and few medium roots; many very fine vesicular pores; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 15 cm thick)

Cnz1--18 to 58 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine, few fine, and few medium roots; common very fine and few fine vesicular pores; 10 percent weakly cemented durinodes; common fine masses of salt crystals in lower part of horizon; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4); clear smooth boundary. (25 to 50 cm thick)

Cnz2--58 to 81 cm; pale yellow (2.5Y 8/2) clay, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) moist; massive; hard, friable, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine, few fine, and few medium roots; common very fine vesicular pores; common fine masses of salt crystals; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2); clear smooth boundary. (15 to 33 cm thick)

Cn1--81 to 119 cm; pale yellow (2.5Y 8/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; few very fine vesicular pores; common fine faint light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); clear smooth boundary. (25 to 50 cm thick)

Cn2--119 to 152 cm; white (5Y 8/1) silty clay loam, light olive gray (5Y 6/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine prominent yellow (10YR 7/6) masses of iron accumulation; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.6).

TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; in Newark Valley about 4 miles east-southeast of Newark Mountain; 500 feet east and 350 feet north of the southwest corner of section 13, T. 19 N., R. 55 E.; USGS West of Beck Pass 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 30 minutes 43 seconds N and longitude 115 degrees 44 minutes 13 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.5119444 latitude, -115.7369444 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, moist in winter and early spring, dry late spring through fall; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 9 to 11 degrees C.
Depth to lacustrine deposits: 25 to 76 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 35 to 50 percent.

An horizons
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 4 through 6 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 3, dry or moist.
Salinity (EC): 0 to 8 mmhos/cm in the An1 horizon, 0 to 16 mmhos/cm in the An2 horizon.
Sodicity (SAR): 5 to 12 in the An1 horizon, 5 to 45 in the An2 horizon.
Other features: Horizons are influenced by volcanic ash but no data is available on volcanic glass contents; when moisture content is close to saturated state soil material is very sticky; when in moist state it is slightly sticky.

Cnz and Cn horizon
Hue: 2.5Y, 5Y, or 10YR.
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 4 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 3, dry or moist.
Structure: Prismatic, angular blocky, subangular blocky, or massive.
Texture: Stratified silt loam to clay
Consistence: Slightly hard or hard dry, very friable to firm moist, moderately sticky or very sticky and moderately plastic or very plastic wet.
Salinity (EC): 8 to 16 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 13 to 45.
Redoximorphic features: Most pedons have a low chroma matrix or common fine faint iron depletions in the lower subhorizons. Some pedons have substrata with common black manganese masses and high-chroma masses of iron accumulation.
Other features: Some pedons have very thin layers of fine sandy loam below 127 cm.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sheffit soils are on lake plains and alluvial flats. These soils formed in alluvium over lacustrine deposits derived from mixed rocks and volcanic ash. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevations are 1,680 to 1,920 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 10 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 100 to 120 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Katelana and Zorravista soils. Katelana soils are fine-silty and have carbonatic mineralogy. Zorravista soils are sandy and occur on stable dunes.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained; very high surface runoff; moderately low saturated hydraulic conductivity. A water table is commonly present at depths of 150 to 244 cm in late winter and early spring.

USE AND VEGETATION: Sheffit soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly Wyoming big sagebrush, black greasewood, basin wildrye, rubber rabbitbrush, and shadscale.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Nevada. These soils are extensive with about 104,000 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRAs 28A and 28B.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Pine County (Western Part), Nevada, 1990.

REMARKS: March 2004 revision changes the classification from Xeric Torriorthents to Vertic Torriorthents, based on review of linear extensibility in the soils database.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (An1 and An2 horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (Cnz2 horizon and parts of the Cnz1 and Cn1 horizons).

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.