LOCATION HERLONG CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Lithic Haplocalcids
TYPICAL PEDON: Herlong fine sandy loam--on a nearly level lake terrace under shadscale, black greasewood, spiny hopsage, and bud sagebrush at 1,228 meters elevation--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described June 13, 1978, the soil was dry throughout.)
A--0 to 8 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; moderate thin and medium platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine vesicular and interstitial pores; 10 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; 12 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 10 cm thick)
Bkn1--8 to 15 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; strong medium and thick platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; many very fine and common fine vesicular and interstitial pores; strongly effervescent; secondary carbonates segregated as common (5 percent) fine masses on faces of peds; 13 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); SAR is 15; clear wavy boundary.
Bkn2--15 to 23 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 14 percent gravel; violently effervescent; secondary carbonates segregated as common (10 percent) fine masses on faces of peds and as filaments in the matrix; 16 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; strongly alkaline (pH 9.0); SAR is 13; abrupt wavy boundary. (The combined thickness of the Bkn horizons is 15 to 20 cm.)
2R--23 to 30 cm; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) indurated tufa bedrock, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) moist; massive; extremely hard, extremely firm; cementation is completely destroyed after soaking for 20 minutes in concentrated HCL; cobbles and gravel cemented into matrix; some cobbles have a 5 centimeter thick cap of calcium carbonate; many spaces between rock fragments have indurated calcium carbonate pendants; strongly effervescent, 60 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 18 cm thick)
3Ck--30 to 43 cm; light gray (10YR 7/2) very gravelly sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few medium pores; 5 percent cobbles and 45 percent gravel; violently effervescent, carbonate is disseminated; 6 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 13 cm thick)
3Ckq1--43 to 61 cm; pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) very gravelly coarse sandy loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; massive; hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine and fine tubular and interstitial pores; many thin carbonate and silica coats bridging mineral grains; 5 percent cobbles; 50 percent gravel; noneffervescent matrix, many medium and large filaments and seams of carbonate; 60 percent of the surface of rock fragments covered with coats of carbonate; 20 to 30 percent of the horizon is discontinuous weakly calcium carbonate cemented-pieces slake in dilute HCL after effervescing; 6 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.4); clear wavy boundary. (13 to 30 cm thick)
3Ckq2--61 to 117 cm; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) gravelly coarse sandy loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; massive; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; many thin lime and silica coats bridging mineral grains; 30 percent gravel; noneffervescent matrix, common medium and large filaments and seams of carbonate; 9 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; very strongly alkaline (pH 10.3); clear wavy boundary. (25 to 50 cm thick)
3Ck--117 to 173 cm; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) very gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; no roots; common fine interstitial pores; 50 percent gravel; violently effervescent, carbonate is disseminated; 6 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.9); clear wavy boundary. (28 to 56 cm thick)
4R'--173 to 183 cm; very strongly cemented tufa bedrock; cobbles and gravel form the rock matrix.
TYPE LOCATION: Lassen County, California; in Honey Lake Valley about 3 miles southeast of Herlong Siding and 59 feet north and 59 feet east of the dirt road intersection; approximately 2,550 feet south and 49 feet east of the northwest corner of section 27, T. 28 N., R. 17 E.; USGS Spencer Creek 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 40 degrees 15 minutes 9.1 seconds N and longitude 120 degrees 3 minutes 20.3 seconds W; NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soils are dry in all parts of the moisture control section from May 1 to December 1 (214 days), and moist in all parts from December 15 to April 15. The soil temperature exceeds 5 degrees C from March 1 to December 1 (275 days), and exceeds 8.5 degrees C from April 15 to November 15; Typic aridic moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature - 12 to 14 degrees C.
Ochric epipedon thickness - 5 to 10 cm.
Depth to base of calcic horizon - 23 to 36 cm.
Depth to bedrock - 23 to 36 cm to a lithic contact of tufa. Tufa is a chemical sedimentary rock composed mainly of calcium carbonate and deposited from solution in the water of springs adjacent to lakes.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: 10 to 18 percent; Sand content: 35 to 55 percent.
Other features - Uncemented parent material is present below the lithic contact; other thin layers of tufa may be present between uncemented layers of parent material.
A horizon
Dry color: 10YR 6/2, 6/3, 7/3, 8/2 or 2.5Y 7/2.
Moist color: 10YR 4/2, 4/3, 5/2, 5/3 or 2.5Y 4/2.
Clay content: 10 to 18 percent.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Salinity (EC): 1 to 4 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 13 to 30.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 15 percent.
Other features: The soil surface has 5 to 10 percent gravel and gravel-size tufa fragments.
Bkn horizons
Dry color: 10YR 6/3, 7/2, 7/3, 8/2 or 2.5Y 7/2.
Moist color: 10YR 4/2, 4/3, 5/2, 5/3 or 2.5Y 4/2.
Clay content: 10 to 18 percent.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Salinity (EC): 1 to 4 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 13 to 30.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 18 percent.
Identifiable secondary carbonates: Occurs as masses (coats) on faces of peds or rock fragments and as filaments in the matrix.
C horizons below lithic contact
Dry color: 10YR 7/2, 8/2; 2.5Y 6/2, 6/4, 7/2 or 7/4.
Moist color: 10YR 6/2; 2.5Y 4/2, 4/4 or 6/3.
Texture: Stratified gravelly sand to very gravelly sandy loam.
Rock fragments: 15 to 50 percent, mainly gravel.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 13 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Pennell series. Pennell soils have hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, have sodium adsorption ratios of less than 13, and do not have uncemented parent materials below the lithic contact.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Herlong soils are on lake terraces. These soils formed in loess over alluvium and lacustrine deposits derived from mixed sources. The tufa layer is thought to have formed on a surface that was immediately offshore of ancestral Pleistocene Lake Lahontan. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevation ranges from 1,219 to 1,234 meters. The climate is arid with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 152 to 203 mm, the mean annual temperature is 9.5 to 11 degrees C., and the frost-free period is 100 to 130 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Calneva, Lieberman, Mazuma, McConnel, and Zorravista soils. These soils are all very deep. In addition, Calneva soils have a natric horizon; Lieberman soils are fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal; Mazuma soils are coarse-loamy; McConnel soils are sandy-skeletal; and Zorravista soils are sandy.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderately rapid permeability; high saturated hydraulic conductivity above the root-limiting tufa layer.
USE AND VEGETATION: Herlong soils are used mainly for rangeland. The vegetation is mainly shadscale, spiny hopsage, bud sagebrush, black greasewood, Indian ricegrass, and bottlebrush squirreltail.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern California. These soils are not extensive with about 576 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 27.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lassen County (Susanville Area Soil Survey), California, 2000.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 8 cm (A horizon).
Calcic horizon - The zone from 8 to 23 cm (Bkn1 and Bkn2 horizons).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 23 cm to underlying hard bedrock (2R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the soil surface to 23 cm (A, Bkn1, and Bkn2 horizons).
The revision of September 2001 updated the taxonomic class from Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Calcic Petrocalcids, changed horizonation, and recognized the root-limiting layer as geologic material.
ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon at the series type location has full characterization by the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as user pedon ID 81CA035001 (pedon # 81P0693).