LOCATION SEAMAN NV+CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, thermic Typic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Seaman sandy loam. Rangeland and wildlife habitat. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 4 inches; light brownish-gray (l0YR 6/2) sandy loam, dark grayish-brown (l0YR 4/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine and very fine roots; many fine and very fine interstitial pores; many glass shards, particularly on the soil surface; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick).
Cl--4 to l4 inches; light brownish-gray (l0YR 6/2) sandy loam, dark grayish-brown (l0YR 4/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine and very fine roots; many fine and very fine interstitial pores; contains many glass shards; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (7 to l5 inches thick).
C2--l4 to 24 inches; light gray (l0YR 7/2) fine sandy loam, brown (l0YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine and very fine roots; many fine and very fine interstitial pores; many glass shards; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear smooth boundary. (8 to l5 inches thick).
C4--24 to 60 inches; light gray (l0YR 7/2) heavy fine sandy loam stratified with thin lenses of gravelly sandy loam, brown (l0YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; many interstitial pores of various sizes; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6).
TYPE LOCATION: Lincoln County, Nevada; approximately 2 miles south of Ash Springs and 200 feet west of U.S. Highway 93, about 300 feet east and 800 feet north of the southwest corner of section 20 T. 5 S., R. 6l E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually dry, moist in winter, early spring and for a few brief intermittant periods following summer convection storms.
Soil Temperature - 59 to 64 degrees F.
Texture - Dominantly stratified coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, or fine sand loam.
Rock fragments - Up to l5 percent by average; up to 40 percent in any one strotum.
Profile reaction - Moderately alkaline through very strongly alkaline.
Other features - Some pedons have bedrock or cemented substrata at depths below 40 inches.
A horizon - Hue: l0YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Cl and C2 horizons - Hue: 7.5YR or l0YR.
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Texture: Dominantly coarse sandy loam through fine sandy loam. Minor strata of loamy sand or loamy fine sand occurs in some pedons.
Rock fragments: Commonly less than l5 percent, but some sub- horizons of some pedons contain up to 40 percent.
C3 and C4 horizons - Hue: 7.5YR or l0YR.
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Texture: Commonly coarse sandy loam through fine sandy loam. Minor strata of coarser or finer textures occur in some pedons within a depth of 40 inches.
Rock fragments: Commonly less than l5 percent.
Segregated lime: Up to 5 percent by volume of visible secondary lime occurs in some pedons below a depth 20 inches as coatings on rock fragments or as seams or filament.
Other features: Below a depth of 40 inches, some pedons have sandy or sandy-skeletal substrata.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bitterwater, Cobat, Colhill, Elkhills, and Kimberlina series. Bitterwater soils have mean annual soil temperatures of 65 to 69 degrees F., and are not appreciably moistened by summer precipitation. Cobat soils have control sections with fine-loamy lacustrine strata in the lower part. Colbill soils average l5 to 30 percent rock fragments in the textural control section. Elkhills soils are not appreciably moistened by summer precipitation. Kimberlina soils have noneffervescent A horizons and are not appreciably moistened by summer precipitation.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Seaman soils are on fan skirts and on inset fans and fan aprons of the fan piedmont. These soils formed in mixed alluvium with a component of volcanic ash or pyroclastic materials. Slopes are 0 to 8 percent. Elevations are 3,000 to 3,500 feet. The climate is warm, with hot dry summers and mild winters. The mean annual precipitation is 3 to 8 inches; mean annual temperature is 57 to 62 degrees F., and the frost-free season is l70 to 220 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Arizo,
Maynard Lake, and
Penoyer soils. Arizo soils have sandy-skeletal textural control sections. Maynard Lake soils have sandy textural control sections. Penoyer soils have coarse-silty textural control sections.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Slow runoff; moderately rapid permeability. In areas where drainage has been altered by irrigation, depth to a seasonal watertable is 3 to 6 feet.
USE AND VEGETATION: Irrigated argiculture, rangeland and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly creosotebush, white bursage, fourwing saltbush, big saltbush, shadscale, white burrobrush, and big galleta.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Nevada. These soils are moderately extensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES PROPOSED: Lincoln County, Nevada, (Pahranagat-Penoyer Areas) l958.
REMARKS: Seaman is the name of a mountain range in Nye County, Nevada.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Particle-size control section - The zone from l0 to 40 inches.