LOCATION UBEHEBE                 NV

Established Series
Rev. JBF/WED/RLB
07/2016

UBEHEBE SERIES

The Ubehebe series consists of shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium derived from siltstone, shale and related sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Ubehebe soils are on hills and mountain slopes. Slopes are 15 to 50 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 300 mm and mean annual temperature is about 8 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Aridic Argixerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Ubehebe very gravelly sandy loam, forest land. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with approximately 40 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles and 1 percent stones.

A1--0 to 5 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak thin platy structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine and fine vesicular pores; 35 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 10 cm thick)

A2--5 to 10 cm; brown (10YR 4/3) very gravelly loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine and fine interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 13 cm thick)

Bt1--10 to 18 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine and fine roots; many very fine and fine interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; few faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 10 cm thick)

Bt2--18 to 43 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine, fine and medium roots; common very fine and fine tubular and interstitial pores; 40 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; common faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 30 cm thick)

Cr--43 cm; partially weathered somewhat altered siltstone.

TYPE LOCATION: Esmeralda County, Nevada; about 1/2 mile southwest of the Microwave Station; about 1,000 feet west of the northeast corner of section 33, T. 7 S., R. 42 E;USGS Gold Point 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 37 degrees 17 minutes 45.7 seconds N and longitude 117 degrees 15 minutes 51.3 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 37.2960278 latitude, -117.2642500 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, moist in winter and spring, dry in summer and fall except for 10 to 20 days during July to October due to convection storms; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 14 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 18 to 30 cm. (includes the Bt1)
Depth to paralithic contact: 36 to 50 cm.
Depth to hard bedrock: 50 to 100 cm.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 18 to 27 percent.
Rock fragments: 35 to 55 percent, mainly 1 to 3 cm across. Some pedons are dominated by channers.

A horizons
Value: 4 or 5 dry.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Carbonates: Noneffervescent or slightly effervescent.

Bt1 horizon
Value: 4 or 5 dry.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Structure: Weak or moderate.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard, very friable or friable, slightly sticky or moderately sticky and slightly plastic or moderately plastic.
Clay films: Few or common.
Carbonates: Slightly effervescent or strongly effervescent.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 10 percent of the material less than 2 mm.

Bt2 horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Consistence: Slightly sticky or moderately sticky and nonplastic to moderately plastic.
Carbonates: Slightly effervescent or violently effervescent.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 20 percent of the material less than 2 mm.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Acrelane, Erastra, Koontz, Roloc and Tulecan series.

Acrelane, Erastra, Koontz and Roloc soils are not moist in the summer for 10 to 20 days. Acrelane, Roloc and Tulecan soils have dominantly 2 to 5 mm gravel and contain more coarse and medium sand in the particle-size control section and have coarse sandy loam or sandy clay loam argillic horizons. Erastra soils are slightly acid or neutral throughout and contain 60 to 75 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section. Koontz soils are not calcareous in the Bt horizon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ubehebe soils are on hills and mountains. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium derived from siltstone, shale, and related sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. Slopes are 15 to 50 percent. Elevations are 1,676 to 2,717 meters. The climate is cool, with moist winters and warm, dry summers, except for occasional summer thunder showers. The mean annual precipitation is 250 to 330 mm, mean annual temperature is 7 to 9 degrees , and the frost-free season is 80 to 110 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Logring, Trailamp, and Weepah soils. Logring soils carbonatic. Trailamp soils are frigid. Weepah soils have an ochric epipedon and do not have an argillic horizon.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Woodland, livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly Utah juniper, singleleaf pinyon, black sagebrush and green ephedra.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: West-central Nevada. These soils are not extensive. MLRA 29 and 28A.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Esmeralda County, Nevada, l984.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from soil surface to 18 cm. (A1, A2 and Bt1 horizons)
Argillic horizon - The zone from 10 to 43 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)
Paralithic contact The boundary at 43 cm (Cr layer)
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 43 cm (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.