LOCATION SETTLEMEYER NV+CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Fluvaquentic Endoaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Settlemeyer silty clay loam, meadow. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 5 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silty clay loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; strong fine and medium granular structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine, and common fine roots; many very fine and fine interstitial pores; slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick)
A2--5 to 15 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silty clay loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; weak medium prismatic structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine and common fine roots; few very fine and fine tubular pores; common very fine interstitial pores in many worm casts; common fine prominent white lime filaments; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)
AC--15 to 22 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silty clay loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; massive; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine and fine roots; few very fine and fine tubular, and common very fine and fine interstitial pores; common worm casts; slightly effervescent in few fine prominent white lime filaments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
C--22 to 35 inches; olive gray (5Y 4/2) silty clay loam, common fine distinct brown iron mottles, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; massive; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine and few fine tubular pores; common worm casts; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (10 to 18 inches thick)
2C1--35 to 41 inches; olive gray (5Y 4/2) sandy clay loam or loam, common fine distinct dark brown (10YR 4/3) iron mottles, olive gray (5Y 5/2) dry; massive; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 20 inches thick)
2C2--41 to 60 inches; olive gray (10YR 4/2) fine sandy loam, many fine, medium and coarse dark brown (10YR 3/3) iron mottles, olive gray (5Y 5/2) dry; massive; hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Douglas County, Nevada; approximately 150 feet south of Genoa Lane on the F. Settlemeyer Ranch; about 1,000 feet west and 1,100 feet south of the apparent northeast corner of section 14, T. 13 N., R. 19 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Dry in mid summer and early fall, moist in late fall through early summer. Apparent seasonal water table is between 12 to 36 inches in winter and spring. Drained phases are recognized.
Soil temperature - 47 to 52 degrees F.
Mollic epipedon thickness - 12 to 24 inches.
Control section - Clay content: 25 to 35 percent, when mixed.
Sand fraction and pebble-sized fragments: 15 to 30 percent fine sand or coarser particles.
Profile reaction: Neutral to very strongly alkaline. The higher reactions are only in sodium affected pedons.
A and AC horizons - Hue: 2.5Y or 10YR.
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 3.
Effervescence: Noneffervescent or slightly effervescent in the upper part of the A horizon, but is not effervescent in all parts between 10 to 20 inches.
Other features: Some pedons have up to 6 inches of 0 horizon of primarily undecomposed base of plants and stems.
C horizons - Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y.
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 3.
Structure: Weak, medium and fine angular blocky or it is massive.
Texture: Very stratified clay, silty clay, silty clay loam, clay loam, loam, silt loam, or very fine sandy loam.
Consistence: Slightly hard or hard dry, friable to firm moist, nonsticky to sticky and nonplastic to plastic wet..
Mottles: Distinct or prominent Redoximorphic features of reddish, greenish, or yellowish hues with chromas of 1 through 4, or the matrix has base colors indicative or gleying.
Other features: Some pedons have few small 1/4 or 3/4-inch lime concretions.
2C horizons - Effervescent: Noneffervescent or slightly effervescent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ambraw, Toppenish and Sloan series.(Expected to be reclassified to this family) Voltaire soils are similar. Ambraw and Sloan soils have firm consistence, are noncalcareous in all parts, and are medium acid to mildly alkaline in their control sections with alkalinity generally increasing as depth increases. Toppenish soils have unconformable very gravelly materials within the particle-size control section. Voltaire are in a calcareous family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Settlemeyer soils are on flood plains and inset fans. These soils formed in alluvium from mixed rock sources including granitic and basic igneous rocks. Slopes are 0 to 4 percent. Elevations are 4,500 to 6,300 feet. The climate is cool, semiarid with warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters. The mean annual precipitation is 4 to 12 inches; mean annual temperature is 40 to 47 degrees F., and the frost-free season is 100 to 130 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Heidtman, Job, Voltaire and Yobe soils. Heidtman soils are never saturated above a depth of 20 inches. Job soils do not have mollic epipedons and have coarse-loamy particle-size control sections. Voltaire soils are in a calcareous family. Yobe soils do not have mollic epipedons and have fine-silty particle-size control sections.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained; very slow or slow runoff; moderately slow permeability. These soils are subject to overflow. Some areas have altered drainage due to stream channel entrenchment.
USE AND VEGETATION: Meadow hay, rangeland, and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly creeping wildrye, basin wildrye, and sedges. Saltgrass and alkali sacaton dominate in salt and sodium affected areas.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central and western Nevada. These soils are inextensive. MLRA 26, 27, 29, 21, 28B.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Reno, Nevada
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Nye County, Nevada (Big Smoky Valley Area), 1972.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizon and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to about 22 inches (A1, A2 and AC horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 40 inches (AC and C horizons and a portion of the A2 and 2C1 horizons).
Seasonally high water table - at about 12 to 36 inches.
Classification was changed from Fluvaquentic Haplaquolls to Fluvaquentic Endoaquolls in 1993.
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.