LOCATION PARANAT NVEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Fluvaquentic Endoaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Paranat silty clay loam, hayland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 2 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) silty clay loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; strong fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and plastic; many very fine and fine random roots; many very fine vesicular, interstitial and tubular pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
A2--2 to 7 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) silty clay loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; strong very fine and fine angular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, sticky and very plastic; many very fine and fine random, and few medium oblique roots; few very fine tubular and common very fine interstitial pores; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 9 inches thick)
A3--7 to 20 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) silty clay loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; moderate medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; slightly hard, very friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine and fine random, and few medium oblique roots; many micro and very fine tubular and interstitial pores; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear irregular boundary. (0 to 13 inches thick)
AC--20 to 31 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) silty clay loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; common fine distinct iron mottles, brown (7.5YR 4/4), dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky; slightly hard, very friable, sticky and very plastic; common very fine and fine random, and few medium oblique roots; many very fine tubular and few fine tubular and interstitial pores; common thin silt coats lining pores; violently effervescent lime occurs as few fine and medium segregated filaments or threads; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)
C1--31 to 36 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; common fine distinct iron mottles; brown (7.5YR 4/4) dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine and fine random, and weak medium oblique roots; very fine and fine tubular and few fine interstitial pores; many thin and moderately thick silt coats lining pores; few fine, segregated white (10YR 8.2) and light gray (10YR 7/2) moist lime in filaments or threads; few snail shells present; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 15 inches thick)
C2--36 to 48 inches; light gray (10YR 7/1) silt loam, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; common fine distinct iron mottles, brown (7.5YR 4/4) dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and plastic; common very fine random, and few fine oblique roots; many very fine tubular and few fine interstitial pores; common thin silt coats lining pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual smooth boundary. (9 to 15 inches thick)
Ck--48 to 60 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) very fine sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist common fine distinct iron mottles, brown (7.5YR 4/4), dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine random, and few fine oblique roots; common very fine tubular and few fine interstitial pores; about 10 percent medium irregular shaped segregated lime concretions; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Lander County, Nevada; about 1.6 miles northwest of Battle Mountain; approximately 200 feet south and 500 feet east of the northwest corner of section 8, T. 32 N., R. 45 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Soil moisture - Dry in mid-summer and early fall, moist in late fall, winter, spring and early summer. Apparent seasonal water table is between 18 and 40 inches in winter to early summer months. Drained phases are recognized.
Soil temperature - 47 to 52 degrees F.
Thickness of mollic epipedon - 10 to 20 inches.
Calcium carbonate equivalent - 1 to 10 percent.
Effervescence - The soil is effervescent throughout.
Reaction - Moderately alkaline to strongly alkaline, usually decreasing with depth.
Exchangeable sodium - 0 to 15 percent. Saline-sodic phases with strong salinity and slight to moderately sodicity in the upper part are recognized.
Control section - Clay content: 18 to 35 percent.
Rock fragments: Less than 5 percent.
A horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 3.
Other features: One or more buried A horizons up to 8 inches thick occur in some pedons.
AC horizon (when present): Value 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma 1 or 2 dry.
C horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 4 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 1 through 4.
Texture: Stratified silty clay loam and silt loam with thin strata of very fine sandy loam or silty clay in some pedons.
Carbonates: Up to 15 percent lime filaments, soft masses, or concretions in some pedons with up to 40 percent in some subhorizons below 40 inches.
Consistence: Soft or slightly hard, dry, very friable or friable, moist; slightly sticky to very sticky and slightly plastic to plastic, wet.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Colville(WA), Gibbon(NE), Kittitas(WA), and Pahranagat(NV) series. (expected to be reclassified to this family) Colville soils have a cambic horizon and Bq and Cq horizons. Gibbon soils have a 10 to 15 percent calcium carbonate equivalent throughout the series control section and are somewhat poorly drained. Kittitas soils have more than 15 percent exchangeable sodium in the mollic epipedon. Pahranagat soils have average annual soil temperatures of 53 to 59 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Paranat soils are on axial stream flood plains, alluvial flats and stream terraces. These soils formed in silty alluvial deposits from loess and mixed rock sources. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevations are 4,200 to 7,000 feet. The climate is cool, semiarid with warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters. The mean annual precipitation is 6 to 10 inches; mean annual temperature is 46 to 49 degrees F., and the frost-free season is 90 to 120 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Sonoma and Wendane soils. These soils lack a mollic epipedon. Also, Wendane soils have more than 15 percent sodium percentage in the upper part of the series control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained; slow runoff; moderately slow permeability; flooding is common. Some areas have altered drainage due to stream channel entrenchment or stream realignment.
USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland, hayland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly creeping wildrye, basin wildrye, Nevada bluegrass, inland saltgrass, alkali sacaton, sedges and wiregrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North and central Nevada. MLRA 24, 25, 28B. These 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 20 inches (A1, A2 and A3 horizons).
Seasonal water table - Within 18 to 40 inches.
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 40 inches (AC and C1 horizons and parts of the A3 and C2 horizons).
Classification was changed in 1992 from Haplaquolls to Endoquolls.
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.