LOCATION GRANZAN NVEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, frigid Typic Calcixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Granzan very gravelly loam, rangeland. (Colors
are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
Al--0 to 2 inches; grayish brown (l0YR 5/2) very gravelly
loam, very dark brown (l0YR 2/2) moist; moderate very fine and
fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly
sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many
very fine tubular pores; 40 percent pebbles; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 4
inches thick)
A2--2 to 7 inches; grayish brown (l0YR 5/2) very gravelly
loam, very dark grayish brown (l0YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and plastic; many very fine and fine roots; common very
fine and few fine tubular pores; 45 percent pebbles; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary.
(0 to 6 inches thick)
A3--7 to l4 inches; grayish brown (l0YR 5/2) very gravelly
silt loam, very dark grayish brown (l0YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine and fine, few medium and coarse
roots; common very fine tubular pores; 50 percent pebbles; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary.
(6 to 9 inches thick)
Bk1--l4 to 25 inches; pale brown (l0YR 6/3) very gravelly silt loam, dark brown (l0YR 3/3) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine and fine, few medium roots; many very fine tubular
pores; few fine lime filaments and coatings on underside of
pebbles; 45 percent pebbles; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 11 inches thick)
Bk2--25 to 35 inches; pale brown (l0YR 6/3) very gravelly silt loam, dark brown (l0YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine, fine and few medium roots; many very fine tubular pores; common fine lime filaments
and coatings on underside of pebbles; 50 percent pebbles; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual wavy boundary. (8 to l7 inches thick)
Bk3--35 to 49 inches thick; pale brown (l0YR 6/3) very gravelly silt loam, dark brown (l0YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard,
very friable, sticky and plastic; few very fine and fine roots;
many very fine tubular pores; thin lime coats on underside of pebbles; l5 percent cobbles, 45 percent pebbles; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt wavy boundary.
(7 to l8 inches thick)
R--49 inches; calcareous shale.
TYPE LOCATION: Eureka County, Nevada; approximately l9 miles
south of Crescent Valley; about 500 feet west and 500 feet south
of the approximate northeast corner of section 5, T. 26 N., R. 48
E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually moist; dry mid July to September.
Soil temperature - 43 to 47 degrees F.
Mollic epipedon thickness - 11 to l9 inches.
Depth to bedrock - 40 to 60 inches.
Control section - Clay content: l8 to 27 percent.
Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent, when mixed, dominantly pebbles with up to l5 percent cobbles.
Carbonates: The calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 40 to 50 percent.
Reaction - Mildly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
A horizon - Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Structure: Weak to moderate, fine to medium, granular or
subangular blocky.
Effervescence: Slight through violent.
Bk horizon - Value: 6 or 7 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4.
Texture: Very gravelly loam or very gravelly silt loam, with extremely gravelly loam common in the lower subhorizon of some pedons.
Effervescence: Strong or violent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Cavehill,
Lizzant,
Lonjon, and
Sylvaniam series. Cavehill, Lonjon and Sylvaniam soils are 20 to
40 inches deep to bedrock. Lizzant soils have a cambic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Granzan soils are on mountain side slopes. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium from limestone and calcareous shale. Slopes are 30 to 75 percent. Elevations are
6,500 to 9,l00 feet. The climate is semiarid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. Mean annual precipitation is l4 to
l8 inches; mean annual temperature is 42 to 44 degrees F., and frost-free season is 70 to l00 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Highams,
Labshaft, and
Pie Creek soils. Highams soils are shallow to bedrock and
lack a mollic epipedon. Labshaft soils are shallow to bedrock and lack lime throughout their profile. Pie Creek soils have 60 to 70 percent clay in the argillic horizon, and are less than 40 inches deep to bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium or rapid runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly mountain big sagebrush, basin wildrye,
bluebunch wheatgrass and mountain brome.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern and north-central Nevada. These soils are not extensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Reno, Nevada
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Eureka County Area, Nevada, l983.
DIAGNOSTIC HORIZONS AND FEATURES RECOGNIZED IN THIS PEDON ARE:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to about 14
inches (the A1, A2, and A3 horizons).
Calcic horizon - The zone from about 17 to 49 inches (the Bk1,
Bk2, and Bk3 horizons).
Lithic contact - The boundary at about 49 inches (the R horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 40 inches (the Bk1 and Bk2 horizons and parts of the A3 and Bk3 horizon).