LOCATION WATOOPAH                NV

Established Series
Rev. JBF/WED/JVC
05/2016

WATOOPAH SERIES

The Watoopah series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from volcanic rocks with a component of volcanic ash. Watoopah soils are on fan piedmonts and fan remnants. Slopes are 0 to 8 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 225 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 10 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Durinodic Xeric Haplargids

TYPICAL PEDON: Watoopah gravelly loamy sand--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A1--0 to 3 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loamy sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium platy structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 25 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 10 cm thick)

A2--3 to 8 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; moderately thick platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; many very fine and fine interstitial and vesicular pores; 10 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 10 cm thick)

Bt--8 to 30 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine, fine, medium, and coarse roots; many very fine and fine tubular pores; few faint clay films bridging sand grains and lining pores; 10 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear smooth boundary. (15 to 34 cm thick)

Bq--30 to 61 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine and few medium roots; many very fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; 30 percent weakly cemented durinodes; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 33 cm thick)

Bqk--61 to 91 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) gravelly loamy sand, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; hard, brittle, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; many very fine interstitial and tubular pores; 30 percent gravel; continuous brittle matrix; discontinuous strong silica cementation; common carbonate coats on rock fragments; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (20 to 110 cm thick)

C--91 to 152 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) stratified gravelly coarse sandy loam to coarse sand; brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine and medium roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 30 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).

TYPE LOCATION: Nye County, Nevada; about 0.1 mile east of Stone Cabin Valley Road on the Kiln Canyon Road; approximately 1,900 feet east and 900 feet north of the southwest corner of section 7, T. 6 N., R. 49 E; USGS McIntyre Summit 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 22 minutes 52.7 seconds N and longitude 116 degrees 32 minutes 12.3 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 38.3813056 latitude, -116.5367500 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Moist in winter and spring and intermittently moist for 10 to 20 days (cumulative) in the upper part of the moisture control section between July and September due to convection storms; aridic soil moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 12 to 15 degrees C.
Depth to base of argillic horizon: 25 to 61 cm.
Volcanic glass content: 5 to 20 percent volcanic glass in the 0.02 mm to 2.0 mm fraction.
Other features: The estimated product of the ammonium extractable aluminum plus half the iron times 60 plus the volcanic glass is 20 to 30.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 10 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 5 to 25 percent, mainly gravel. Lithology of fragments is volcanic rocks such as tuff and rhyolite.

A horizons
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.

Bt horizon
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Sandy loam or gravelly sandy loam; thin subhorizons of sandy clay loam are in some pedons.
Consistence: Friable or very friable moist; nonsticky to slightly sticky and nonplastic to slightly plastic, wet.
Reaction: Neutral or slightly alkaline.

Bq and Bqk horizons
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Gravelly loamy sand, gravelly sandy loam, or sandy loam.
Structure: Massive or subangular blocky.
Consistence: Soft to hard, very friable to firm, nonsticky or slightly sticky and nonplastic or slightly plastic.
Effervescence: Noneffervescent to violently effervescent.
Rock fragments: 5 to 35 percent, mainly gravel.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
Silica cementation: Weakly cemented; most pedons contain 20 to 50 percent weakly to strongly cemented durinodes and may also have a continuous brittle matrix. Some pedons have only 5 to 20 percent durinodes, but have a continuous brittle matrix.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 10 percent.

C horizon - (When present)
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4.
Texture: Stratified coarse sandy loam to very gravelly coarse sand. The average texture is sand or loamy sand.
Rock fragments: 15 to 35 percent, mainly gravel. Individual strata have from 5 to 55 percent rock fragments.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Effervescence: Slightly effervescent to violently effervescent.
Other features: Weakly cemented lenses and durinodes are in some pedons.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Hussell series. Hussell soils are not intermittently moist in the upper part of the moisture control section for 10 to 20 days cumulative during summer months and have argillic horizons with texture of coarse sandy loam and gravelly coarse sandy loam.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Watoopah soils are on fan piedmonts and fan remnants. They formed in alluvium derived from volcanic rocks with a component of volcanic ash. Slopes are 0 to 8 percent. Elevations range from 1,460 to 2,257 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 200 to 250 mm, the mean annual temperature is 9 to 11 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 90 to 130 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Veet and Zadvar series. Veet soils are loamy-skeletal, very deep, and have cambic horizons. Zadvar soils are loamy, shallow to strongly cemented duripans, and have argillic horizons.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Watoopah soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is mainly Wyoming big sagebrush, galleta, Indian ricegrass, bottlebrush squirreltail, spiny hopsage, and needleandthread.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western and central Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRAs 27, 28B, and 29.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Nye County, Nevada, Northwest Part, 1986.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 8 cm (A1 and A2 horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 8 to 30 cm (Bt horizon).
Duric feature - The zone from 30 to 91 cm (Bq and Bqk horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 8 to 30 cm (Bt horizon).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.