''Orovada'' series
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
is the official state soil of Nevada. The soil series has an extent of , primarily in northern and central Nevada, and extending into southern Idaho and Oregon. They are common soils on semiarid
rangeland
Rangelands are grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts that are grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savannas ...
with
sagebrush-
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...
plant communities. Orovada soils are
arable, able to be cultivated, when irrigated and are considered prime
farmland
Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...
.
Alfalfa
Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...
for
hay
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...
and seed,
winter wheat
Winter wheat (usually ''Triticum aestivum'') are strains of wheat that are planted in the autumn to germinate and develop into young plants that remain in the vegetative phase during the winter and resume growth in early spring. Classification ...
,
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...
, and
grasses
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...
for hay and
pasture
Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...
are the principal crops grown on these soils.
Orovada soils are well drained and formed in
alluvium
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...
derived from mixed rock sources and in
loess
Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits.
Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...
and
volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used t ...
. These soils typically occur in the
Great Basin section
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California. It is noted fo ...
of the
Basin and Range
Basin and range topography is characterized by alternating parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is a result of crustal extension due to mantle upwelling, gravitational collapse, crustal thickening, or relaxation of confining stresses. The e ...
physiographic province.
Orovada series profile[Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Official Soil Series Descriptions. https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/O/OROVADA.html. Accessed 3/04/2019/ref> ]
* A Horizon (0-5 cm): light brownish gray fine sandy loam, slightly alkaline (pH 7.5)
* Bw1 Horizon (5-20 cm): light brownish gray loam, change in color from A Horizon, but no accumulation of material, slightly alkaline (pH 7.8)
* Bw2 Horizon (20-36 cm): light gray fine sandy loam, change in color from Bw1 Horizon, but no accumulation of material, slightly alkaline (pH 7.8)
* Bq1 Horizon (36-66 cm): pale brown fine sandy loam, accumulation of secondary silica, moderately alkaline (pH 8.4)
* Bqk1 Horizon (66-86 cm): light brownish gray very fine sandy loam, accumulation of secondary silica and alkaline carbonates, very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2)
* Bqk2 Horizon (86-122 cm): light brownish gray silt loam, accumulation of secondary silica and alkaline carbonates, very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2)
* B'q Horizon (122-155 cm): pale brown silt loam with accumulation of secondary silica, alkaline (pH 8.8)
See also
*
List of U.S. state soils
This is a list of U.S. state soils. A state soil is a soil that has special significance to a particular U.S. state, state. Each state in the United States has selected a state soil, twenty of which have been legislatively established. These offic ...
References
{{reflist
External links
OROVADA series description
Soil in the United States
Geology of Nevada
Types of soil