LOCATION UPATAD                  NV

Established Series
Rev. JBF/BKP
11/2016

UPATAD SERIES

The Upatad series consists of shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium derived from rhyolite, andesite, and welded tuffs. The Upatad soils are on hills, and mountains. Slopes are 8 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 360 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 8 degrees C.

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

TYPICAL PEDON: Upatad very gravelly silt loam, rangeland. The soil surface is partially covered with approximately 40 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted).

A--0 to 8 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very gravelly silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; many very fine, and fine, few medium vesicular pores; 35 percent gravel; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 10 cm thick)

Bt--8 to 20 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly silt clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films coating ped faces; 15 percent gravel; noneffervescent matrix; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 15 cm thick)

Btq--20 to 30 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly silt clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine angular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films coating ped faces and pores; 10 percent hard and firm discontinuous silica cementation; 10 percent fine silica concretion; durinodes; few thin carbonate coats and pendants on undersides of rock fragments; 25 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; noneffervescent matrix; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 25 cm thick)

2Btqk--30 to 38 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely cobbly clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; few faint clay films coating ped faces; 3 to 10 mm thick carbonate and silica pendants on undersides of rock fragments; 40 percent gravel and 35 percent cobbles; violently effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 15 cm thick)

2R--38 cm; hard nonfractured andesite.

TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; approximately 3 miles west of Robinson Summit, about 1300 feet north and 2500 feet east of the southwest corner of section 20, T. 18 N., R. 61 E.; USGS Marking Corral Summit 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 24 minutes 38 seconds N and longitude 115 degrees 8 minutes 4 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.4105556 latitude, -115.1344444 longitude..

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, moist in winter and spring, dry summer and fall; aridic soil moisture regime bordering on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 11 degrees C.
Depth to bedrock: 36 to 50 cm.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 20 to 40 cm, includes the upper part of the argillic horizon.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 27 to 35 percent.
Rock fragments: Averages 35 to 60 percent gravel and cobbles.

A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.

Bt and Btq horizons
Texture modifiers: Gravelly or very gravelly.
Structure: Weak to moderate, fine to medium angular or subangular blocky.
Concretions: 5 to 15 percent fine to coarse, irregular silica concretions.

2Btqk horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4.
Texture modifiers: Very cobbly or extremely cobbly.
Structure: Weak to moderate, fine to medium subangular blocky.
Other features: Many thin to thick calcium carbonate and silica concretions on undersides of rock fragments. Few to common, fine to medium, soft masses of calcium carbonate on undersides of rock fragments.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Argabak, Bellehelen, Brier, Duco, Horseflat, Nuhelen, Ocud, Orhood, and Reywat series.

Argabak, Bellehelen, Brier, Duco, Horseflat, Nuhelen, Ocud, Orhood, and Reywat soils lack Bk horizons and accumulations of soft, powdery secondary carbonates.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Upatad soils are on hills and mountains. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium derived from rhyolite, andesite and welded tuffs. Slopes are 8 to 50 percent. Elevations are 1,590 to 2,380 meters. The climate is cool, semi-arid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 300 to 400 mm, mean annual temperature is 7 to 9 degrees C, and the frost-free season is 100 to 120 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Atlow and Pioche series. Atlow soils lack mollic epipedons and Pioche soils have more than 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Livestock grazing, woodland, and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly black sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, Nevada bluegrass, bottlebrush squirreltail, Thurber needlegrass with a minor invasion of singleleaf pinyon and Utah juniper. The eroded phase of Upatad is pinyon and Juniper woodland with an understory as above.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: East Central Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 28B.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Pine County, Nevada, West Part, 1990.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of about 30 cm (A, Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 8 to 38 cm (Bt, Bt2 and 2Btqk horizons).
Lithic contact - The contact with hard rock at about 38 cm (2R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 8 cm to about 38 cm (Bt1, Bt2 and 2Btk3 horizons).

Classification was updated to 11th edition on 07/2011 changed Lithic Argixerolls to Aridic Lithic Argixerolls.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Previous authors and editors include: ARW-PWB-WED.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.