LOCATION STEERLAKE               NV+CA

Established Series
Rev. JBF/TM-JVC
01/2020

STEERLAKE SERIES

The Steerlake series consists of deep to a duripan, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from volcanic rocks. Steerlake soils are on alluvial fans and landslides. Slopes are 4 to 15 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 280 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 8.3 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Vertic Palexerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Steerlake very cobbly loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The surface is partially covered with 5 percent stones, 30 percent cobbles, and 20 percent gravel.

A--0 to 8 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very cobbly loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate thick platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine and fine vesicular and tubular pores; 5 percent basalt stones, 30 percent cobbles, and 20 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 cm thick)

AB--8 to 15 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) cobbly clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate thick platy structure; moderately hard, very friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; many very fine and fine, few medium roots; many very fine tubular pores; 1 percent basalt stones, 10 percent cobbles, and 10 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 13 cm thick)

Btss1--15 to 36 cm; brown (7.5YR 5/3) clay, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; strong medium prismatic structure parting to strong medium and coarse angular blocky; extremely hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; many very fine and fine, few medium and coarse roots between peds; many very fine tubular pores; many pressure cutans on faces of peds; few 10 to 25 millimeter wedge-shaped aggregates; few 5 to 10 millimeter long slickensides; vertical cracks 2 to 15 millimeters wide extend through horizon and are 8 to 13 cm apart; 2 percent basalt cobbles and 5 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 28 cm thick)

Btss2--36 to 79 cm; brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium and coarse angular blocky; moderately hard, very friable, very sticky and very plastic; many very fine and fine, few medium and coarse roots; many very fine tubular pores; many pressure cutans on faces of peds; few 10 to 25 millimeter wedge-shaped aggregates; few 5 to 10 millimeter long slickensides; vertical cracks 2 to 15 millimeters wide extend through horizon and are 8 to 13 cm apart; 5 percent basalt gravel; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (20 to 56 cm thick)

Bk--79 to 122 cm; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; hard, very friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine and medium roots; few very fine tubular pores; few fine masses of secondary carbonate; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (25 to 51 cm thick)

Bqkm--122 to 152 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) cemented material, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak very thick platy structure; hard, firm, brittle; continuous weak cementation in plates; about 40 percent hard, very firm very pale brown (10YR 7/3) gravelly sandy loam between the plates, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; common medium masses of secondary carbonate; 5 percent basalt gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).

TYPE LOCATION: Washoe County, Nevada; approximately 3,000 feet west and 700 feet north of the southeast corner of section 22, T. 37 N., R. 18 E.; USGS Duck Lake 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle; 41 degrees 4 minutes 14.92 seconds north latitude and 119 degrees 57 minutes 17.55 seconds west longitude; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 41.0708111 latitude, -119.9548750 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually dry; moist late fall through spring, dry late June through October; Aridic moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature - 8.3 to 10.0 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness - 25 to 50 cm; includes the Btss1 horizon.
Depth to identifiable secondary carbonates - 64 to 107 cm.
Depth to duripan - 100 to 147 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 45 to 50 percent;
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent, mainly gravel. Lithology of fragments are volcanic rocks such as basalt.

Other features - An abrupt horizon boundary is normally present between the AB and Btss1 horizons accompanied by an abrupt increase in clay content of 15 percent or more.


A and AB horizons
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.
Organic matter content: 1 to 3 percent.


Btss horizons
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 through 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Clay content: 45 to 55 percent.
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.
Vertic features: Common or many pressure cutans on faces of peds; few or common slickensides; few or common wedge-shaped aggregates; vertical cracks 2 to 20 millimeters wide.
Organic matter content: 0.5 to 1.5 percent.


Bk horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR.
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 through 5 dry or moist.
Clay content: 20 to 27 percent.
Structure: Subangular blocky or is massive.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
Effervescence: Violently effervescent or strongly effervescent.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 or 2 percent.
Salinity (EC): 1 to 3 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 0 to 5.


Bqkm horizon
Cementation: Weakly or moderately cemented.

COMPETING SERIES: There are the Pung and Simas series. These soils are very deep and do not have slickensides, wedge-shaped aggregates, or vertical cracks in the argillic horizon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Steerlake soils are on alluvial fans and landslides. These soils formed in alluvium derived from volcanic rocks such as tuff, andesite, basalt, and rhyolite. Slopes are 4 to 15 percent. Elevations range from 4,590 to 6,020 feet. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 250 to 360 mm, the mean annual temperature is 7.2 to 8.9 degrees C., and frost-free period is 100 to 120 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bucklake, Nitpac, and Reywat soils. Bucklake soils are 50 to 100 cm deep to hard volcanic rock. Nitpac soils are moderately deep to a strongly cemented duripan. Reywat soils are loamy-skeletal and shallow to lithic contacts.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; high surface runoff; slow permeability (moderately low or moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity).

USE AND VEGETATION: Steerlake soils are used for rangeland and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is mainly Wyoming big sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, Thurber's needlegrass, and bottlebrush squirreltail.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Nevada and northeastern California. These soils are not extensive with about 1,800 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 23.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Surprise Valley-Home Camp Area, California and Nevada, 2006.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 36 cm (A, AB and Btss1 horizons).

Palexerolls great group feature - The abrupt clay increase of more than 15 percent at 15 cm (between the AB and Btss1 horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 15 to 79 cm (Btss1 and Btss2 horizons).
Slickensides and other vertic features - The zone from 15 to 79 cm (Btss1 and Btss2 horizons).

Identifiable secondary carbonates - The zone from 79 to 152 cm (Bk and Bqkm horizons).
Duripan - The zone from 122 to 152 cm (Bqkm horizon).

Particle-size control section - The zone from 15 to 65 cm (Btss1 horizon and part of the Btss2 horizon).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.