LOCATION SILVERADO               NV

Established Series
Rev. WMA-RAF-GJS-JBF
11/2016

SILVERADO SERIES

The Silverado series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks with a component of volcanic ash. Silverado soils are on beach terraces, inset fans, and fan skirts. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 225 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 7 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Durinodic Xeric Haplocambids

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

A1--0 to 5 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly loamy coarse sand, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; single grained; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine, and common very fine roots; common very fine interstitial pores; 20 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.2); abrupt broken boundary. (0 to 10 cm thick)

A2--5 to 15 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few fine and many very fine vesicular pores; 10 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 18 cm thick)

Bw--15 to 33 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; few medium and fine, common very fine roots; few fine, and many very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 15 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.6); clear wavy boundary. (15 to 50 cm thick)

Bq1--33 to 61 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; hard, firm, brittle; few medium and fine, common very fine roots; few fine, and common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 25 percent gravel; weakly cemented with common very thin silica bridges and few very thin discontinuous silica laminae; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual smooth boundary. (20 to 50 cm thick)

Bq2--61 to 81 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few medium, fine and very fine roots; few fine and very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 25 percent gravel, 20 percent durinodes 0.6 to 1.2 cm in diameter; neutral (pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 40 cm thick)

2Bk--81 to 152 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) very gravelly coarse sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; single grained; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few medium and fine, and many very fine roots; common fine, and many very fine interstitial pores; 45 percent gravel; slightly effervescent, except in discontinuous areas, 1.2 to 5 cm thick, in the upper portion; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8).

TYPE LOCATION: Eureka County, Nevada; approximately 8 miles north of Eureka in Diamond Valley; about 200 feet south and 100 feet east of the northwest corner of section 33, T. 21 N., R. 53 E.; USGS Whistler Mountain 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 39 minutes 1 seconds N and longitude 116 degrees 1 minutes 14 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.6502778 latitude, -116.0205556 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Moist in winter and spring; dry June through October; aridic soil moisture regime bordering on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 7 to 8 degrees C.
Depth to Bq horizon: 25 to 64 cm.
Depth to 2Bk horizon: 75 to 100 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 5 to 15 percent.
Rock fragments: 10 to 30 percent gravel, when mixed.

A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist (greater than 5.5 dry and 3.5 moist when the upper 18 cm are mixed).
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Reaction: Slightly acid through slightly alkaline.
Structure: Granular or platy structure or it is massive.

Bw horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent.
Reaction: Slightly acid through slightly alkaline.

Bq or Bkq horizons
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 4 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 3.
Texture: Sandy loam or gravelly sandy loam.
Reaction: Neutral through moderately alkaline.
Silica cementation: Continuous weakly cemented with few or common very thin discontinuous horizontal and vertical silica laminae. Subhorizons not continuously cemented have durinodes or common pendants on rock fragments in the noncemented part.

2Bk or 2Bkq horizon
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 4 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 3.
Texture: Very gravelly sand or very gravelly coarse sand.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Other features: Some pedons have 2Bkq horizons with discontinuous thin weak or strongly silica cemented laminae.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Humdun, Poorma and Reallis series.

Poorma soils have calcareous A and Bw horizons. Humdun soils have Bq horizons with durinodes in a friable matrix. Reallis soils have less than 10 percent rock fragments in the particle size control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Silverado soils are on beach terraces, inset fans and fan skirts. These soils formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks high in siliceous material with a component of volcanic ash. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. Elevations are 1,800 to 2,140 meters. The climate is cool, semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. Mean annual precipitation is 200 to 250 mm; mean annual temperature is 6 to 7 degrees C., and the frost-free period is 80 to 100 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Kobeh and Lone soils. Kobeh soils are loamy-skeletal. Lone soils have an indurated duripan.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland and wildlife habitat, but some areas are cropped. Small grains and alfalfa are the principal crops. Vegetation in range areas is principally big sagebrush, bottlebrush squirreltail, and Douglas rabbitbrush.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 28B.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Eureka County (Diamond Valley Area), Nevada, 1971.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A1, A2, and part of Bw horizons)
Cambic horizon - The zone from 15 to 33 cm (Bw horizon).
Duric feature - The zone from 33 61 cm (Bq1 horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (Bq1, Bq2 and parts of the Bw and 2Bk horizons).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.