LOCATION URMAFOT                 NV

Established Series
Rev. ARW-PWB-JVC
11/2016

URMAFOT SERIES

The Urmafot series consists of very shallow or shallow to a duripan, well drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks. Urmafot soils are on fan remnants and partial ballenas. Slopes are 2 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 300 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 8 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Haploduridic Durixerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Urmafot gravelly loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted).

A1--0 to 8 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine to coarse roots; many very fine and fine vesicular pores; few medium secondary calcium carbonate pendants on the bottom of rock fragments; 15 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 10 cm thick)

A2--8 to 20 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine to coarse roots; common very fine tubular pores; common medium secondary calcium carbonate pendants on the bottom of rock fragments; 20 percent gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 20 cm thick)

Bk--20 to 36 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine to coarse roots; common very fine tubular pores; many medium secondary calcium carbonate pendants on the bottom of rock fragments; 25 percent gravel; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (15 to 25 cm thick)

2Bqkm1--36 to 66 cm; cemented material with 1 to 3 mm discontinuous laminar cap; massive; very hard, very firm, brittle; strongly cemented by silica and secondary carbonates; few very fine roots; few very fine irregular pores; many thin to thick secondary calcium carbonate and secondary silica pendants on the bottom of rock fragments; 50 percent gravel and 20 percent cobbles; violently effervescent, moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 33 cm)

2Bqkm2--66 to 81 cm; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) cemented material with 2 to 3 mm continuous laminar cap; massive; extremely hard, extremely firm; indurated by silica and secondary carbonates; few very fine roots; few very fine irregular pores; many thin secondary calcium carbonate and secondary silica pendants on the bottom of gravel; few secondary calcium carbonate coats on coarse fragments; 50 percent gravel and 20 percent cobbles; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 33 cm thick)

3Bqk--81 to 152 cm; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) stratified extremely gravelly coarse sandy loam to extremely gravelly sandy loam; brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; very hard, very firm, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine irregular pores; 50 percent secondary calcium carbonate and secondary silica cementation; common distinct secondary calcium carbonate pendants on the bottom of rock fragments; 50 percent gravel and 20 percent cobbles; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4);

TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; about 12 miles south of Ely; approximately 600 feet east and 300 feet south of the northwest corner of section 13, T. 14 N., R. 63 E.; USGS Ward Charcoal Ovens 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 5 minutes 1.8 seconds N and longitude 114 degrees 51 minutes 8.1 seconds W; WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.0838333 latitude, -114.8522500 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Moist in winter and spring, dry summer through mid fall; aridic soil moisture regime bordering on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 11 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 18 to 30 cm.
Depth to duripan: 23 to 50 cm.
Other features: Some pedons have thin subhorizons that have up to 20 percent strong silica cementation above the pan.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: 18 to 27 percent;
Rock fragments: 15 to 35 percent, mainly gravel. Lithology of fragments is mixed rocks such as limestone, quartzite, and rhyolite.

A horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 2 through 4 moist; Averages 5 dry and 3 moist after mixing.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Effervescence: Slightly effervescent to violently effervescent.

Bk horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry.
Chroma: 2 through 4, dry or moist.
Structure: Fine or medium subangular blocky.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard dry, very friable or friable, moist, slightly plastic or moderately plastic, wet.
Identifiable secondary carbonates: Medium or distinct pendants on rock fragments.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 20 to 40 percent in the fraction less than 2 mm.

Bqkm horizon
Cementation: Subhorizons are very strongly cemented or indurated.

3Bqk horizon
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 5 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 4, dry or moist.
Clay content: 5 to 15 percent.
Consistence: Hard or very hard, firm or very firm moist.
Rock fragments: 55 to 80 percent gravel and 5 to 25 percent cobbles with 0 to 5 percent stones.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 20 to 40 percent in the material less than 2 mm.
Other features: 50 to 70 percent discontinuous silica and secondary calcium carbonate cementation.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Blalock, Gorst, and Vadaho series.

Blalock and Gorst soils do not have calcic horizons. Vadaho soils have Bq and Bkq horizons with 5 to 40 percent durinodes above the duripan and less than 15 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Urmafot soils are on fan remnants and partial ballenas. They typically occur on backslope and summit positions. These soils formed in alluvium derived from mixed rocks such as limestone, quartzite, and rhyolite. Slopes are 2 to 50 percent. Elevations range from 1,585 to 2,380 meters. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 250 to 360 mm, the mean annual temperature is 7 to 9 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 100 to 120 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bobs and Palinor soils. Bobs soils lack duripans and Palinor soils lack mollic epipedons.

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

USE AND VEGETATION: Urmafot soils are used for livestock grazing, woodland, and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly black sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, bottlebrush squirreltail, with scattered, invaded singleleaf pinyon and Utah juniper. Urmafot shallow phases have singleleaf pinyon-Utah juniper woodland with an understory of black sagebrush and bluebunch wheatgrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: East-central Nevada. MLRA 28B. These soils are extensive with about 156,000 acres of the series mapped to date.

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

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

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 20 cm (A1 and A2 horizons).
Calcic horizon - The zone from 20 to 36 cm (Bk horizon).
Duripan - The zone from 36 to 81 cm (2Bqkm1 and 2Bqkm2 horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the soil surface to 36 cm (A1, A2, and Bk horizons).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.