LOCATION SURGEM NV
Established Series
Rev. LIL/WED/JBF
06/2017
SURGEM SERIES
The Surgem series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in residuum derived from granodiorite. These soils are on uplands and have slopes of 8 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 250 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 10 degrees C.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey-skeletal, smectitic, mesic Xeric Haplargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Surgem extremely gravelly sandy loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 5 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) extremely gravelly sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 2 percent stones and 60 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 8 cm thick)
A2--5 to 10 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; many very fine and fine vesicular pores; 35 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 10 cm thick)
Bt1--10 to 25 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) very cobbly clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; weak very fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine and fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on peds and lining pores; 25 percent gravel and 25 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.6); clear irregular boundary. (5 to 20 cm thick)
Bt2--25 to 61 cm; brown (7.5YR 5/4) extremely cobbly clay, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; strong medium angular and subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films on peds and lining pores; 60 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt irregular boundary. (25 to 46 cm thick)
R--61 cm; fractured granodiorite with clay in the fractures.
TYPE LOCATION: Washoe County, Nevada; approximately 5 1/2 miles north of Sparks; about 780 feet west and 1,400 feet south of the northeast corner of section 8, T. 20 N., R. 20 E.; USGS Reno 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 37 minutes 00 seconds N and longitude 119 degrees 45 minutes 17 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.6166667 latitude, -119.7547222 longitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Moist in the winter and spring, dry in summer and fall; aridic soil moisture regime bordering on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 9 to 11 degrees C.
Depth to bedrock: 50 to 76 cm.
Particle size control section - Clay content: Averages 35 to 50 percent.
Sand content: More than 40 percent, dominantly coarse sand.
Rock fragments: 50 to 80 percent
A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry; 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Reaction: Neutral through medium acid.
Bt1 and Bt2 horizons
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR.
Value: 4 through 6 dry; 2 through 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4.
Texture: Clay, sandy clay, with subhorizon of sandy clay loam and loam.
Structure: Blocky with prismatic in some pedons.
Reaction: Slightly acid through slightly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Berning,
Bilbo,
Clenage,
Havingdon,
Lambranch,
Maderbak,
Pula,
Tanawit,
Tenmile,
Vanwyper and
Zephan series.
Berning,
Bilbo,
Lambranch,
Pula,
Tanawit,
Tenmile, and
Zephan soils are deeper than 100 cm to a lithic layer.
Clenage and
Maderbak soils have horizons that are strongly effervescent and have secondary carbonates.
Havingdon soils have coarse fragments consisting of angular chert in the particle-size control section and are underlain by chert bedrock with visible secondary carbonate masses.
Vanwyper soils have less than 40 percent sand in the particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Surgem soils are on convex uplands at elevations of 1,370 to 1,830 meters. Slopes are 8 to 50 percent. They have formed in residuum derived from granodiorite. The climate is semiarid. The mean annual precipitation is 250 to 300 mm, mean annual temperature is 8 to 10 degrees C and the frost-free season is 100 to 110 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Oppio,
Risley,
Wedekind, and
Yuko series. All of these soils have less than 35 percent coarse fragments in the particle-size control section and has a clear boundary between the A an Bt horizons.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; rapid or very rapid runoff; slow permeability; moderately low saturated hydraulic conductivity.
USE AND VEGETATION: Surgem soils are used principally for rangeland, recreation, and wildlife habitat. The native vegetation is low sagebrush, low rabbitbrush, and bottlebrush squirreltail.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Reno area of southwestern Washoe County, Nevada. The series is of small extent. MLRA 26.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washoe County (South Part), Nevada 1980.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizon and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon -The zone from 0 to 10 cm (A1 and A2 horizon).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 10 to 61 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizon).
Lithic contact - The zone at 61 cm (R layer).
Particle size control section - The zone from 10 to 60 cm (Bt1 and most of Bt2 horizons).
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.