LOCATION URMAFOT NVEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Haploduridic Durixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Urmafot gravelly loam, rangeland and woodland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted).
A1--0 to 3 inches; 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 to fine vesicular pores; few distinct secondary calcium carbonate pendants on the bottom of rock fragments; 15 percent pebbles; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
A2--3 to 8 inches; 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; moderate very fine tubular pores; distinct secondary calcium carbonate pendants on the bottom of rock fragments; 20 percent pebbles; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)
Bk--8 to 14 inches; 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 distinct secondary calcium carbonate pendants on the bottom of rock fragments; 25 percent pebbles; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
2Bqkm1--14 to 26 inches; strongly cemented duripan with 1 to 3 millimeter discontinuous laminar cap; massive; very hard, very firm, brittle; 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 pebbles, 20 percent cobbles; violently effervescent, moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 13 inches)
2Bqkm2--26 to 32 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) indurated duripan with 2 to 3 millimeter continuous silica laminar cap; massive; extremely hard, extremely firm; few very fine roots; few very fine irregular pores; many thin secondary calcium carbonate and secondary silica pendants on the bottom of pebbles; few secondary calcium carbonate coats on coarse fragments; 50 percent pebbles, 20 percent cobbles; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 13 inches)
3Bqk--32 to 60 inches; 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 pebbles, 20 percent cobbles; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary.
TYPE LOCATION: White Pine County, Nevada; approximately 12 miles south of Ely, about 600 feet east and 300 feet south of the northwest corner of section 13, T. 14 N., R. 63 E.; 39 degrees, 5 minutes, 2 seconds north latitude and 114 degrees, 51 minutes, 5 seconds west longitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Moist in winter and spring, dry summer through mid fall. Aridic soil moisture regime bordering on xeric.
Soil temperature - 47 to 52 degrees F.
Depth to duripan - 9 to 20 inches.
Mollic epipedon thickness - 7 to 12 inches.
Other features: Some pedons have thin subhorizons that have up to 20 percent strong silica cementation above the pan.
Control section - Clay content: 18 to 27 percent.
Rock fragments: 15 to 35 percent.
A horizons - Value: 5 or 6 dry, 2 through 4 moist. Averages after mixing values less than 5.5 dry and 3.5 moist.
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 calcium carbonates: Distinct or prominent pendants.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 20 to 40 percent in the material less than 2 mm.
Other features: This horizon is absent in some pedons.
Bqkm: 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 pebbles 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 (OR), Gorst (WA), Moxee (WA), and Vadaho (NV) series. Blalock, Gorst and Moxee soils lack 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 control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Urmafot soils are on fan remnants and partial ballenas, on backslope and summit positions. These soils formed in alluvium from mixed rock sources. Slopes are 2 to 50 percent. Elevations are 5,200 to 7,800 feet. The climate is cool, semi-arid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 12 to 16 inches; mean annual temperature is 44 to 49 degrees F.; and the frost-free season 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 PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to very high runoff; moderate permeability.
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.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Reno, Nevada
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 a depth of 8 inches (A1 and A2 horizons).
Calcic horizon - The zone from 8 to 14 inches (Bk horizon).
Duripan - The zone from 14 to about 32 inches (2Bqkm1 and 2Bqkm2 horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the soil surface to a depth of 14 inches (A1, A2, and Bk horizons).