LOCATION BLISS              NV

BLISS SERIES

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Xereptic Haplodurids

TYPICAL PEDON: Bliss fine sandy loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 4 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak thick platy structure; soft, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; mildly alkaline (pH 7.5); abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)

Bw1--4 to 13 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and few fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; mildly alkaline (pH 7.5); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)

Bw2--13 to 22 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, few fine and medium roots; many very fine interstitial pores; mostly noneffervescent but slightly effervescent in spots; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)

Bk--22 to 28 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, few fine and medium roots; many very fine interstitial pores; lime is disseminated; slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)

Bqkm--28 to 45 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) strongly cemented duripan, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; moderate thick platy structure; very hard, very firm; common fine faint white (10YR 8/2) soft seams of lime; roots matted between plates; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 27 inches thick.)

2Bqkm--45 to 56 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) strongly cemented duripan, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) moist; massive; very hard, very firm; violently effervescent; 40 percent pebbles, 5 percent cobbles; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick.)

2Bqk--56 to 62 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) very gravelly sandy loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) moist; massive; hard, firm, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine interstitial; 60 percent thick strongly cemented discontinuous lenses; thick lime and silica coatings on rock fragments; violently effervescent; 40 percent pebbles, 5 percent cobbles; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0).

TYPE LOCATION: Humboldt County, Nevada; approximately 4 miles northeast of Winnemucca, about 800 feet west and 600 feet south of the northeast corner of section 14, T. 36 N., R. 38 E.; 41 degrees, 07 seconds north latitude and 117 degrees , 39 minutes , 39 seconds west longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture - Usually dry, moist in winter and spring, dry from late May through November.

Soil temperature - 48 to 53 degrees F.

Depth to the duripan - 20 to 36 inches.

Control section - Clay content: 5 to 15 percent.

Rock fragments: Up to 15 percent.

A horizon - Chroma: 2 or 3.

Reaction: Neutral or mildly alkaline.

Bw horizon - Clay content: 8 to 18 percent.

Rock fragments: Up to 15 percent.

Texture: Very fine sandy loam, silt loam or fine sandy loam containing 15 to 25 percent fine sand or coarser material.

Reaction: Neutral to moderately alkaline.

Bk horizon - Reaction: Strongly alkaline or very strongly alkaline.

Texture: Very fine sandy loam, silt loam or fine sandy loam containing 15 to 40 percent fine sand or coarser material.

Calcium carbonate equivalent: Up to 15 percent.

Bqkm horizon - Structure: Platy, or horizon is massive.

2Bqk horizon: Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.

Value: 6 through 8 dry; 5 or 6 moist.

Chroma: 2 through 4.

Texture: Variable; ranges from sand to extremely gravelly very fine sandy loam.

Reaction: Moderately alkaline to very strongly alkaline.

Cementation: Ranges from 10 percent durinodes to 70 percent discontinuous lenses that are strongly cemented.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Eltopia(T WA), Kodra(NV) and Truesdale(ID) series. Eltopia soils are gravelly or very gravelly or very gravelly in the duripan and do not have Bk horizons above the duripan. Kodra soils contain an accumulation of silica above the duripan. Truesdale soils have 15 to 40 percent calcium carbonate equivalent in the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bliss soils are on fan remnants, fan-piedmont remnants and partial ballenas. These soils formed in alluvium from mixed rock sources. Slopes are 0 to 30 percent. Elevations are 4,000 to 5,800 feet. The climate is cool, semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 8 to 10 inches; mean annual temperature is 45 to 50 degrees F, and the frost-free season is 100 to 120 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Chiara, Rad, and Shabliss series. Chiara and Shabliss soils have duripans within depths of 20 inches. Rad soils lack duripans.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow to rapid runoff; moderate permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly Wyoming big sagebrush, spiny hopsage, bottlebrush squirreltail and Sandberg bluegrass.

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

MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Reno, Nevada

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Humboldt County, Nevada. (BLM Sonoma Planning Unit) 1974.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Xerollic Intergrades - Meets the organic carbon requirement for "Xerollic".

Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 4 inches (A horizon).

Cambic horizon - The zone from 4 to 22 inches (Bw1 and Bw2 horizons).

Strongly silica cemented duripan - The zone from 28 to 45 inches (Bqkm horizon).

Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 28 inches.