LOCATION DEADYON NVEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Xeric Haplargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Deadyon loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is partially covered with 5 percent pebbles.
A1--0 to 2 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak thin platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; many fine vesicular pores; 5 percent pebbles; mildly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
A2--2 to 5 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak thin platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 5 percent pebbles; mildly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick)
Bt1--5 to 15 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; many fine and common medium tubular pores; few thin clay films lining pores and bridging mineral grains; 5 percent pebbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 11 inches thick)
Bt2--15 to 24 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common fine and few medium tubular pores; few thin clay films lining pores and bridging mineral grains; 5 percent pebbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
C--24 to 35 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist, with thin lenses of stratified gravelly coarse sand in parts of the horizon; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; few fine tubular pores; 5 percent pebbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick)
2Ck1--35 to 43 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) gravelly coarse sand, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; single grained; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many fine interstitial pores; 30 percent pebbles; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear smooth boundary. (6 to 15 inches thick)
3Ck2--43 to 60 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; few fine strongly effervescent segregated soft lime masses in a noneffervescent matrix; 8 percent pebbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4). (6 to 25 inches thick)
TYPE LOCATION: Pershing County, Nevada; approximately 5 miles east of Winnemucca Lake and north of Sage Hen Spring about 1,400 feet west and 1,700 feet south of the northeast corner of section 9, T. 26 N., R. 25 E.; 40 degrees, 08 minutes, 28 seconds north latitude and 119 degrees, 10 minutes, 35 seconds west longitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, moist in winter and early spring, dry from June through October.
Soil temperature - 47 to 53 degrees F.
Depth to 2Ck horizons - 20 to 40 inches.
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon - 15 to 30 inches.
A horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 5 or 6 dry and 3 or 4 moist, when the upper 7 inches is mixed, the value is lighter than 5.5 dry.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard dry.
Reaction: Neutral through moderately alkaline.
Bt horizons - Value: 4 through 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4.
Texture: Loam, sandy loam, coarse sandy loam.
Clay content: 12 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 5 to 15 percent, mainly fine pebbles.
Structure: Weak or moderate subangular blocky or is massive.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard dry, very friable or friable moist.
Reaction: Mildly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
Clay films: Few or common on ped faces, bridging mineral grains or lining pores.
C horizons - Chroma: 3 or 4.
Texture: Loam, sandy loam, coarse sandy loam.
Clay content: 3 to 8 percent.
Rock fragments: 5 to 15 percent, mainly fine pebbles.
Structure: Platy, or horizon is massive.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard dry, very friable or friable moist, slightly sticky or nonsticky wet.
Reaction: Mildly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
Ck horizons - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4.
Texture: Stratified sandy loam through gravelly coarse sand.
Clay content: Averages 3 to 7 percent.
Rock fragments: Averages 15 to 35 percent, mainly fine pebbles; subhorizons contain from 5 to 60 percent.
Structure: Platy or horizon is massive or single grained.
Consistence: Loose, soft or slightly hard dry, loose or very friable moist; nonsticky or slightly sticky wet.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Carbonates: Noneffervescent through strongly effervescent.
Segregated lime: Few or common fine lime filaments or soft lime masses in the lower part.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Portmount, Ratleflat, Saralegui, and Tarloc series. Portmount soils have a calcic horizon at depths of 26 to 38 inches and 15 to 35 percent rock fragments in the argillic horizon. Saralegui soils are noncalcareous above 40 inches and lacks a discontinuity above 40 inches. Ratleflat soils are moist for 10 to 20 days in the summer, have mean annual soil temperatures of 54 to 59 degrees F and 15 to 35 percent rock fragments in the argillic horizon. Tarloc soils have a paralithic contact within a depth of 20 to 40 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Deadyon soils are on fan skirts, inset fans and fan piedmonts. These soils formed in alluvium derived mainly from granite. Slopes are 0 to 8 percent. Elevations are 4,000 to 5,500 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 51 degrees F, and frost-free season is 100 to 130 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Biga, Shawave and Slipback soils. All of these soils have a natric horizon with more than 18 percent clay.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, slow to medium runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly Wyoming big sagebrush, spiny hopsage, Indian ricegrass and pine bluegrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Nevada. These soils are not extensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Reno, Nevada
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Pershing County, Nevada, West Part, 1986.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are.
Argillic horizon - The zone from 5 to 24 inches (Bt1, Bt2 horizons).
Xerollic intergrades - Meets organic carbon requirement for "Xerollic".
Particle-size control section - The zone from 5 to 24 inches (the argillic horizon).
The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Reno MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.