LOCATION WALA                    NV

Established Series
Rev. JVC/JBF
02/2012

WALA SERIES

The Wala series consists of very shallow, well drained soils that formed in residuum, colluvium, and alluvium derived from andesite, rhyolite and welded tuff. Wala soils are on hills and mountains. Slopes are 4 to 75 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 225 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Lithic Xeric Torriorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Wala very channery loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is partially covered with 60 percent channers and 5 percent flagstones.

A--0 to 8 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very channery loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak thin platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; many very fine and fine interstitial, and common fine vesicular pores; 35 percent channers and 2 percent flagstones; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 10 cm thick)

Bk--8 to 18 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very channery loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine, and few medium roots; common very fine tubular pores; few distinct secondary calcium carbonate coats on bottom of rock fragments; 50 percent channers and 5 percent flagstones; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 15 cm thick)

R--18 cm; fractured andesite with few coarse roots matted in fractures.

TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; approximately 1,800 feet northeast of Tippett Pass; about 500 feet south and 1800 feet east of the northwest corner of section 36, T. 22 N., R. 66 E.; USGS Tippett Pass 7.5 minute quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 44 minutes 45 seconds N and longitude 114 degrees 28 minutes 0 seconds W; NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, moist in winter and spring; intermittently moist for 10 to 20 days cumulative in summer due to convective storms; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8.5 to 12 degrees C.
Depth to lithic contact: 10 to 23 cm

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 12 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 40 to 60 percent, mainly channers. Lithology of fragments is mainly andesite, rhyolite, or welded tuff.

A horizon
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline.

Bk horizon
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 to 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Loam or sandy loam.
Rock fragment content: 40 to 60 percent, mainly channers.
Structure: Massive or subangular blocky.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 10 percent.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Izar, Lomoine, and Wesfil series.

Izar soils have 18 to 25 percent clay in the particle-size control section, are dominated by gravel fragments, are 18 to 35 cm deep to bedrock, and are not intermittently moist during summer months. Lomoine soils are dominated by fine gravel in the particle-size control section and have mean annual soil temperature of 11 to 14 degrees C. Wesfil soils are not intermittently moist during summer months, have rock fragments that are mainly phyllite and shale, and have mean annual soil temperature of 11 to 14 degrees C.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Wala soils are on hills and mountains, occurring on backslope and summit positions. These soils formed in residuum, colluvium and alluvium from andesite, rhyolite and welded tuff. Slopes are 4 to 75 percent. Elevations are 1,463 to 2,710 meters. The climate is cool, semiarid with cool, moist winters and hot, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is primarily 200 to 250 mm, but can extend up to 300 mm in Utah, mean annual temperature is 7 to 11 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 90 to 140 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Tarnach soils. Tarnach soils have a calcic horizon and are 25 to 50 cm deep to bedrock.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Wala soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The potential vegetation is mainly black sagebrush, spiny hopsage, winterfat, Indian ricegrass, needleandthread, and galleta. These soils are correlated to Semidesert ecological sites in Utah.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Nevada. These soils are not extensive. MLRA 28A.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: White Pine County, Nevada, East Part, 2004.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A and Bk horizon).
Identifiable secondary carbonates - The zone from 8 to 18 cm (Bk horizon).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 18 cm to underlying hard, unweathered bedrock (R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A and Bk horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: Previous authors and editors include: PNL/CWL/TM.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.