LOCATION WHIRLO                  NV

Established Series
Rev. RAF-TM-RLB-JBF
05/2016

WHIRLO SERIES

The Whirlo series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks with a component of loess. Whirlo soils are on inset fans, fan aprons, fan collars and fan skirts. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. The annual precipitation is about 180 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C.

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

TYPICAL PEDON: Whirlo fine sandy loam - rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The surface is partially covered with 3 percent stones.

A1--0 to 8 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak thick platy structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine and very fine, common medium roots; many fine and very fine, few medium vesicular pores; 3 percent stones; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 15 cm thick)

A2--8 to 18 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; moderate thick platy structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine and very fine roots; common fine tubular, and many fine vesicular pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 15 cm thick)

Bw--18 to 33 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine and very fine, common medium roots; many very fine and fine tubular, many very fine interstitial pores; few very faint pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay films bridging mineral grains; 10 percent fine and medium gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 28 cm thick)

2Bk1--33 to 48 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) extremely gravelly sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; massive; hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and few fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 70 percent well graded carbonate coated gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 74 cm thick)

2Bk2--48 to 94 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) extremely gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; common very fine and fine interstitial pores; 50 percent carbonate coated gravel and 20 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 74 cm thick)

2Bk3--94 to 152 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) extremely gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine and fine interstitial pores; 70 percent carbonate coated gravel; slightly effervescent matrix but strongly effervescent on gravel; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).

TYPE LOCATION: Lander County, Nevada; approximately 20 miles northeast of Battle Mountain in Boulder Valley; about 500 feet north and 100 feet east of the southwest corner of section 35, T. 34 N., R. 47 E.; USGS Sheep Creek Range SW 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 40 degrees 46 minutes 21 seconds N and longitude 116 degrees 39 minutes 10 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 40.7725000 latitude, -116.6527778 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Moist in winter and spring, dry mid-May through November; typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 12 degrees C.
Depth to 2Bk horizon: 25 to 50 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 5 to 15 percent.
Rock fragments: Averages 35 to 70 percent, mainly gravel.

A horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Reaction: Neutral through moderately alkaline.

Bw horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Texture: Gravelly sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, silt loam or gravelly loam.
Rock fragments: 0 to 30 percent gravel.
Structure: Prismatic, subangular blocky or massive.
Reaction: Neutral through moderately alkaline.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard, dry; very friable or friable, moist; nonsticky or slightly sticky and nonplastic or slightly plastic, wet.

2Bk and/or 2Bqk horizon
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 3 through 6 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4.
Texture: Stratified very gravelly loam to extremely gravelly coarse sandy loam. Thin strata of extremely gravelly loamy sand are in the lower part of some pedons.
Rock fragments: 35 to 75 percent, mainly gravel with some cobbles and stones.
Consistence: Nonsticky or slightly sticky and nonplastic or slightly plastic, wet.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Effervescence: Slightly effervescent to violently effervescent.
Other features: Up to 10 percent weak durinodes or thin silica pendants or rock fragments common in some subhorizons.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Hollywell and Malpais series.

Hollywell soils have a mean annual soil temperature of 12 to 15 degrees C, are intermittently moist for 10 to 20 days cumulative in July through September, and have silica pendants on rock fragments in all horizons below the cambic horizon. Malpais soils lack an unconformable 2Bk horizon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Whirlo soils are on inset fans, fan collars, fan aprons and fan skirts. These soils formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks with a component of loess. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. Elevations are 1,220 to 1,770 meters. The climate is cool, semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 150 to 200 mm; mean annual temperature is 7 to 10 degrees C, and the frost-free season is 100 to 120 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Brock, Creemon, and Tenabo soils. Brock and Tenabo soils have a clay loam argillic horizon and a duripan. Creemon soils are coarse-silty.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is principally bud sagebrush, shadscale, Indian ricegrass, bottlebrush squirreltail and cheatgrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 24, 27.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lander County, Northern Part, Nevada, 1974.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: The zone from the surface to 18 cm. (A1 and A2 horizons)
Cambic horizon: The zone from about 18 to 33 cm (Bw horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (2Bk1, 2Bk2 and part of the Bw and 2Bk3 horizons).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.