LOCATION TITIACK                 NV

Established Series
Rev. JVN-JBF-WED-JVC
07/2016

TITIACK SERIES

The Titiack series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in eolian material derived from mixed rocks and basaltic ash over basaltic cinder deposits. Titiack soils are on cinder cones and adjacent volcanic plateaus. Slopes are 8 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 175 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 11 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal over cindery, mixed, superactive, nonacid, mesic Vitrandic Torriorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Titiack very gravelly sandy loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with approximately 55 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles that are cinders.

A1--0 to 5 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine, many fine, and common medium interstitial pores; 40 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 13 cm thick)

A2--5 to 25 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine, common fine, and few medium tubular pores; 45 percent gravel and 1 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 25 cm thick)

Bqk--25 to 38 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) very gravelly sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive; hard, firm, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine, few fine, and few medium roots; very few fine tubular pores and many very fine, many fine, common medium, and few coarse interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel and 20 percent cobbles; 20 percent weakly cemented durinodes; violently effervescent; secondary carbonates and opaline silica segregated as coats on rock fragments; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4); gradual wavy boundary. (3 to 13 cm thick)

2C--38 to 152 cm; weak red (2.5YR 5/2) gravel; about 90 percent gravel-size basaltic cinders and some cobbles; hard, firm.

TYPE LOCATION: Nye County, Nevada; in the southern end of the Pancake Range about 2 miles northeast of Easy Chair Crater; about 2,100 feet east and 1,800 feet north of the southwest corner of section 16, T. 7 N., R. 53 E.; USGS Lunar Crater 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 38 degrees 27 minutes 45 seconds N and longitude 116 degrees 01 minutes 19 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 38.4626111 latitude, -116.0213889 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in some part of the moisture control section for short periods in winter and spring, dry in summer and fall except for 10 to 20 days between July and October due to summer convection storms; typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 12 to 14 degrees C.
Depth to strongly contrasting cindery material: 38 to 50 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 3 to 8 percent in the upper part over less than 3 percent in the strongly contrasting lower part.
Rock fragments: 45 to 80 percent in the upper part over 90 to 100 percent in the strongly contrasting lower part. Lithology of fragments are basaltic cinders.

A horizon
Hue 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.

Bqk horizon
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Very cobbly sandy loam or extremely cobbly sandy loam.
Rock fragments: 45 to 80 percent.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline through very strongly alkaline (up to pH 9.6).
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 5 percent.
Durinodes: 0 to 20 percent weakly cemented durinodes.

2C horizon
Hue: 2.5YR through 10YR.
Value: 5 through 7 dry.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Rock fragments: 80 to 90 percent gravel; 0 to 25 percent cobbles.
Durinodes: Less than 15 percent.

COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no other series in this family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Titiack soils are on cinder cones and adjacent volcanic plateaus. They formed in eolian material derived from mixed rocks and basaltic ash over basaltic cinder deposits. Slopes are 8 to 50 percent. Elevations range from 1,590 to 2,200 meters. The climate is arid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 150 to 200 mm, mean annual temperature is 11 to 13 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 110 to 130 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Garhill and Keefa soils. These soils do not have cinders.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; medium surface runoff; high saturated hydric conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Titiack soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly shadscale, cheatgrass, Nevada ephedra, bottlebrush squirreltail, rabbitbrush, littleleaf horsebrush, and galleta.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Nevada. These soils are not extensive with about 8,500 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 29.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Nye County (Northeast Part), Nevada, 1991.

REMARKS: This revision of January 2003 updates the taxonomic class from Cindery, mesic Vitrandic Torriorthents.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A1, and part of A2 horizons).
Identifiable secondary carbonates - The zone from 25 to 38 cm (Bqk horizon).
Vitrandic intergrade properties - The zone from 38 to 76 cm (part of the 2C horizon).
Major lithologic discontinuity - The change to cindery material at 38 cm (2C horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (Bqk horizon and part of the 2C horizon).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.