LOCATION TOLICHA                 NV

Established Series
Rev. LNL/LR/JBF
07/2016

TOLICHA SERIES

The Tolicha series consists of shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium derived from basalt and a small amount of loess high in volcanic ash. Tolicha soils are on hills. Slopes are 2 to 30 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 175 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 10 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Lithic Haplocambids

TYPICAL PEDON: Tolicha very stony very fine sandy loam virgin (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) Desert pavement covers from 50 to 75 percent of the soil surface composed of angular and subangular stones and gravel. The rock fragments have burnished dark brown desert varnish on exposed surfaces.

A--0 to 8 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) very stony very fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak thick platy structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common medium and many very fine and fine vesicular pores; 50 percent stones and gravel; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); abrupt smooth boundary (5 to 10 cm thick)

Bw1--8 to 18 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) very stony loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; many very fine vesicular pores and many very fine and fine interstitial pores; 40 percent stones and gravel; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.7); clear wavy boundary (10 to 20 cm thick)

Bw2--18 to 30 cm; very pale brown 10YR 7/3) stony fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; few medium and many very fine and fine roots; many very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 30 percent stones and gravel; violently effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.9); abrupt irregular boundary. (10 to 23 cm thick)

R--30 to 36 cm; somewhat weathered extremely hard basalt that contains thin white carbonate and silica coatings on surface and in cracks and crevices.

TYPE LOCATION: Lincoln County, Nevada; 350 feet west and 1,050 feet south of the northeast corner of sec. 34, T. 2 S., R. 54 E., Mount Diablo base line and meridian; USGS White Blotch Springs NW 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 37 degrees 44 minutes 2 seconds N and longitude 115 degrees 52 minutes 50 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 37.7338889 latitude, -115.8805556 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry moist in winter and spring, and intermittently moist for 10 to 20 days cumulative from July to September due to convection storms; typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 9 to 13 degrees C.
Depth to bedrock: 25 to 50 cm.
Hue: 10YR or 2.5.
Value: 7 or 6 dry, and 5 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline through strongly alkaline.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 5 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: Average 50 to 60 percent, dominantly stones. Lithology of the fragments is basalt.

A horizon
Structure: Weak thick or medium platy structure or is massive.
Pores: Many very fine to medium vesicular.
Effervescence: Noneffervescent through violently effervescent.

Bw horizon
Texture: Fine sandy loam or sandy loam.
Rock fragments: 25 to 80 percent but average 35 to 60 percent.
Structure: Weak, medium or fine granular or subangular blocky structure, or it is massive.
Effervescence: Noneffervescent through violently effervescent.

C horizon (When present)
Effervescence: Strongly effervescent through violently effervescent.
Other features: Silica and carbonate coatings are on the undersides of rock fragments and contains few to common fine to medium soft carbonate segregations.

R Layer:
Coated on surface and in crevices with silica and carbonate.

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

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Tolicha soils are hills and foothllls at elevations of 1,530 to 1,830 meters. Slopes are 2 to 30 percent. Tolicha soils formed in residuum and colluvium derived from basalt and in a small amount of loess high in volcanic ash. Mean annual precipitation is 150 to 200 mm. The mean annual temperature is 8 to 12 degrees C. The freeze-free period is about 130 to 150 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Koyen, Leo, and Silverbow soils. Koyen soils are deep and coarse-loamy particle-size control sections. Leo soils are deep and have sandy-skeletal particle-size control sections. Silverbow soils have duripans.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used primarily for livestock grazing and to a small extent for wildlife habitat. The plant density is about 5 percent, and cover is mainly spiny hopsage, Nevada ephedra, winterfat, Anderson wolfberry, fourwing saltbush, galleta and some desert needlegrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Nevada. These soils are not extensive. MLRA 29.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Pahranagat and Penoyer Valleys Area, Lincoln County, Nevada, July 1965. Tolicha is the name of a mountain peak in the eastern part of Nye County, Nevada.

REMARKS: Tolicha soils were classified as Lithosols in the 1938 Yearbook Classification.
The pedon and the concept should be field checked during the update to verify if cambic horizons, calcic horizons or C horizons exist and adjust the classification if needed.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A and Bw horizons).
Cambic horizon - The zone from 8 to 30 cm (Bw1 and Bw2 horizons).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 30 cm (R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the surface to 30 cm (A, Bw1 and Bw3 horizons).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.