LOCATION GANDO NVEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, frigid Lithic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Gando very gravelly loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The surface is covered with approximately 70 percent pebbles.
A1--0 to 2 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very gravelly sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate very fine and fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; common very fine interstitial pores; 50 percent pebbles; mildly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
A2--2 to 8 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly loam, very dark grayish grown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 40 percent pebbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
Bk--8 to 13 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) extremely gravelly loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; thin lime coats and pendants on undersides of pebbles; 65 percent pebbles; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 10 inches thick)
R--13 inches; highly fractured argillitic bedrock; thick lime pendants along fracture planes.
TYPE LOCATION: Elko County, Nevada; about 40 miles north of Elko; approximately 1,600 feet south and 1,700 feet west of the northeast corner of section 27, T. 40 N., R. 53 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Moist in winter through early summer, dry early July through mid October.
Soil temperature - 43 to 46 degrees F.
Thickness of the mollic epipedon - 7 to 14 inches.
Depth to bedrock - 10 to 20 inches.
Depth to carbonates - 7 to 14 inches.
Control section - Clay content: 10 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 50 to 70 percent, mainly pebbles.
Reaction - Mildly or moderately alkaline, normally increasing with depth.
A horizon - Value: 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Bk horizon - Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4.
Structure: Subangular blocky, granular or is massive.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard dry, slightly sticky to sticky and slightly plastic to plastic.
Texture: Extremely gravelly loam, extremely gravelly sandy loam or very gravelly loam.
Rock fragments: 50 to 70 percent, mainly pebbles with up to 20 percent cobbles.
Carbonates: Slightly effervescent to strongly effervescent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Agassiz (UT), Alomax(T)(CA), Anatone (WA), Bocker (WA), Cedaran (NV), Falula (UT), Foxol (UT), Grink (NV), Hogsby (MT( Little Pole (UT), Nayrib (ID), Rexmont (UT), Swanner (ID) and Van Wagoner (UT) series. Agassiz soils are generally noncalcareous and lack a Bk horizon. They also have very cobbly or extremely stony texture modifiers. Alomax soils lack a Bk horizon and textures are modified with mainly cobble or stone rock fragments. Anatone and Bocker soils have a cambic horizon, are neutral or slightly acid and have hue of 7.5YR or redder. Also, Bocker soils have bedrock at a depth of 4 to 10 inches. Cedaran soils are noncalcareous and have a cambic horizon. Falula soils have hue of 7.5YR or redder in the Bk horizon and are calcareous in the lower part of the mollic epipedon. Foxol soils have hue of 7.5YR or 5YR in the B and C horizons and are neutral or slightly acid. Grink soils are calcareous throughout. Hogsby soils are noncalcareous throughout. Little Pole soils have a cambic horizon, are neutral or slightly acid and have a cobbly sandy clay loam control section. Nayrib soils are less than 10 inches deep. Rexmont soils lack a Bk horizon and have a mean annual soil temperature of 37 to 41 degrees F. Swanner soils have a Bk horizon with 3 to 15 percent calcium carbonate and angular or platy rock fragments. Van Wagoner soils are neutral to medium acid and lack carbonates.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Gando soils are on mountain crest and side slopes. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium from chert, shale, quartzite, rhyolite, argillite, or tuffaceous sandstone. Slopes are 8 to 75 percent. Elevations are 6,200 to 8,500 feet. The climate is cool, semiarid with moist winters and dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 14 to 18 inches; mean annual temperature is 39 to 44 degrees F., and the frost-free season is 70 to 90 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bullump, Hackwood, Hapgood, Inpendence, Sumine and Tusel soils. Bullump soils have an argillic horizon, bedrock at 40 to 60 inches, and a mollic epipedon that is 20 to 30 inches thick. Hackwood soils are fine-loamy, are very deep to bedrock, and have a mollic epipedon that is 16 to 35 inches thick. Hapgood soils are deep and have a mollic epipedon that is 20 to 35 inches thick. Inpendence soils are very deep and have an umbric epipedon that is 17 to 35 inches thick. Sumine soils are moderately deep to bedrock, have an argillic horizon, and have a mollic epipedon that is 10 to 15 inches thick. Tusel soils are deep, have an argillic horizon, and a mollic epipedon that is 16 to 20 inches thick.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium or rapid runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly low sagebrush, black sagebrush, Sandberg bluegrass, bottlebrush squirreltail, Idaho fescue, low rabbitbrush and bluebunch wheatgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Nevada. MLRA 25,24,28B. Gando soils are not extensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Reno, Nevada
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Eureka County, Nevada, 1983.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to about 8 inches (the A1 and A2 horizons).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 13 inches (the R horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the surface to about 13 inches (the A1, A2 and Bk horizons).
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.