LOCATION SPINLIN                 NV

Established Series
Rev. LIL-RAF-TM-JVC
03/2016

SPINLIN SERIES

The Spinlin series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in colluvium and residuum derived from sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Spinlin soils are on mountains. Slopes are 4 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 330 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 3 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey-skeletal, smectitic Xeric Argicryolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Spinlin stony silt loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is partially covered by 10 percent stones and 15 percent gravel.

A--0 to 15 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) stony silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak thin platy structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 15 percent gravel and 10 percent stones; neutral (pH 6.8); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 30 cm thick)

Bt1--15 to 41 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very cobbly clay, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; common very fine roots; common very fine interstitial and tubular pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 20 percent cobbles and 15 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (15 to 38 cm thick)

Bt2--41 to 61 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) very cobbly clay, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak fine prismatic structure; very hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; many distinct and few prominent clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 20 percent cobbles and 15 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary. (15 to 30 cm thick)

Btk--61 to 91 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very cobbly clay, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak fine angular blocky structure; hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine interstitial and tubular pores; many faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 25 percent cobbles and 15 percent gravel; secondary carbonates segregated as many medium masses and as coats on rock fragments; strongly effervescent matrix; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (15 to 46 cm thick)

Cr--91 to 122 cm; weathered interbedded quartzite, sandstone and chert; massive; hard, firm; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).

TYPE LOCATION: Humboldt County, Nevada; about 15 miles southeast of Winnemucca in the Sonoma Range; about 1,800 feet east and 900 feet north of the southwest corner of section 23, T. 34 N., R. 39 E; USGS Adelaide 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 40 degrees 48 minutes 07 seconds N and longitude 117 degrees 33 minutes 42 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 40.8019444 latitude, -117.5616667 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Moist in the moisture control section during winter and spring; dry mid-July to October; xeric soil moisture regime that borders on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature: 2 to 5 degrees C.
Mean summer soil temperature: 12 to 15 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 25 to 41 cm, includes the Bt1 horizon.
Depth to identifiable secondary carbonates: 46 to 74 cm.
Depth to base of argillic horizon: 76 to 100 cm.
Depth to bedrock: 76 to 100 cm to a paralithic contact. The paralithic materials below the contact are weathered volcanic rocks or sedimentary rocks.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 40 to 60 percent.
Rock fragments: 35 to 50 percent, mainly gravel and cobbles. Lithology of fragments is sedimentary rocks such as sandstone or volcanic rocks such as rhyolite.

A horizon
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Organic matter content: 1 to 3 percent.

Bt1 and Bt2 horizons
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Very gravelly clay or very cobbly clay.
Structure: Subangular blocky, angular blocky, or prismatic.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.
Organic matter content: 1 or 2 percent.

Btk horizon
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Very gravelly clay or very cobbly clay.
Structure: Subangular blocky, angular blocky, or prismatic.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
Identifiable secondary carbonates: Occurs as masses in the matrix and coats on rock fragments.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 5 percent.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Devoy series.

Devoy soils are moderately deep to lithic contacts.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Spinlin soils are on mountains. They occur on summit, shoulder, and backslope positions. These soils formed in colluvium and residuum derived from sedimentary rocks such as sandstone or volcanic rocks such as rhyolite. Slopes are 4 to 50 percent. Elevations range from 1,955 to 2,810 meters. The climate is semiarid with cold, moist winters and cool, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 300 to 380 mm, mean annual temperature is 2 to 4 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 50 to 70 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Dryn, Panin, and Tonin soils. These soils do not have secondary carbonates in the subsoil. Dryn and Tonin soils have more than 50 percent rock fragments. Panin soils are loamy-skeletal and have thick mollic epipedons. Tonin soils have 30 to 50 cm thick A and Bt horizons.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; very high surface runoff; moderately low saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Spinlin soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is principally low sagebrush, lupine, bluebunch wheatgrass, hawksbeard, Phlox ssp., Eriogonum ssp., Sandberg's bluegrass, and Idaho fescue.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. The series concept and main acreage is in MLRA 24, while other acreage occurs in MLRAs 25 and 28B.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: BLM Sonoma Planning Unit, Nevada, 1974.

REMARKS: This revision of March 2001 updates the taxonomic class from Clayey-skeletal, smectitic Argic Cryoborolls.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 41 cm (A and Bt1 horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 15 to 91 cm (Bt1, Bt2, and Btk horizons).
Identifiable secondary carbonates - The zone from 61 to 91 cm (Btk horizon).
Paralithic contact - The boundary at 91 cm to underlying weathered bedrock (Cr layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 15 to 65 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons and part of the Btk horizon).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.