LOCATION RANGEE CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Very-fine, smectitic, mesic Abruptic Argiduridic Durixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Rangee sandy clay loam--on a 1 percent west-facing slope under bluebunch wheatgrass, rabbitbrush, Nevada bluegrass, bottlebrush squirreltail, low sagebrush, and cheatgrass at 4,440 feet elevation--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described on August 20, 1980, the soil was dry throughout.)
A1--0 to 2 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) sandy clay loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; strong fine and medium platy structure; slightly hart, friable, sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 8 percent cobbles, 5 percent pebbles; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
A2--2 to 6 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) sandy clay loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate very coarse platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 8 percent cobbles, 5 percent pebbles; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
Bt1--6 to 10 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; common thin clay pressure faces on peds; 1 percent cobbles, 2 percent pebbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick)
Bt2--10 to 22 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; strong medium prismatic structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine interstitial and tubular pores; many moderately thick pressure faces; 1 percent cobbles, 2 percent pebbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 14 inches thick)
Bt3--22 to 24 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) clay, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; strong medium prismatic parting to strong medium angular blocky structure; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; continuous moderately thick pressure faces on peds; 1 percent cobbles, 2 percent pebbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
Bqm--24 to 30 inches; black (5YR 2.5/1) cemented material, pink (7.5YR 7/4) moist; massive; extremely firm and extremely hard; very strongly cemented with continuous opal laminar coatings; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); clear wavy boundary. (1 to 6 inches thick)
R--30 inches; hard fractured basalt.
TYPE LOCATION: Siskiyou County, California; about 14 miles east of Macdoel and 75 feet east of a dirt road on Little Tablelands; about 2,125 feet east and 3,030 feet north of the southwest corner of section 3, T. 46 N., R. 2 E.; USGS Mount Dome 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 41 degrees 51 minutes 29 seconds north latitude and 121 degrees 44 minutes 06 seconds west longitude, NAD27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to duripan ranges from 20 to 40 inches. The mean annual soil temperature is 48 degrees to 52 degrees F. The soil temperature at a depth of 20 inches is above 41 degrees F from about March 15 to December 1 (255 days) and is above 47 degrees F from about April 15 to November 15 (210 days). The soil between depths of 6 to 18 inches is dry in all parts from June 15 until November 10 (145 days). The soil moisture control section is dry more than half the time the soil temperature is greater than 41 degrees F. Mollic epipedon is 7 to 15 inches thick.
The A horizon has dry color of 10YR 5/2 or 7.5YR 5/2 and moist color of 10YR 2/2, 3/2 or 7.5YR 3/2. It has 20 to 27 percent clay and O to 13 percent rock fragments. Cobbles range from O to 10 percent. Pebbles range from O to 5 percent. Content of organic matter ranges from 1 to 2 percent in the surface 10 inches.
The Bt horizon has dry color of 10YR 5/2, 5/3; 7.5YR 5/2, or 5/4 and moist color of 10YR 3/2, 3/3, 4/3; 7.5YR 3/2, 4/4 or 5/4. Reaction is neutral or slightly alkaline. The Bt horizon has between 40 to 65 percent clay, but the weighted average of the textural control section ranges from 60 to 65 percent clay and O to 5 percent rock fragments. Cobbles range from O to 2 percent. Pebbles range from O to 3 percent. Bt has an increase of 15 to 20 percent clay within a distance of 2.5 cm at the upper boundary.
COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no other series in this family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Rangee soils are on lava plateaus. These soils formed in eolian materials and residuum weathered from basalt. Slopes are 0 to 5 percent. Elevations are 4,100 to 4,800 feet. The climate is semiarid with dry summers and cold moist winters. The annual precipitation is 10 to 14 inches. Snowfall is 10 to 20 inches. Mean January temperature is about 30 degrees F; mean July temperature is about 65 degrees F; mean annual temperature is about 48 degrees F. Frost-free season is 50 to 80 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Dehill, Dunnlake, Hedox, Porterfield, and Searles soils. Dehill soils are very deep and coarse-loamy. Dunnlake and Porterfield soils are less than 20 inches deep to bedrock. Hedox and Searles soils lack duripans at depths of 20 to 40 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; high surface runoff; very slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Rangee soils are used for rangeland. Vegetation is bluebunch wheatgrass, Idaho fescue and low sagebrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central California. These soils are not extensive. MLRA 21.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Siskiyou County, California, 1986.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon--The zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 10 inches (Al, A2, Bt1).
Argillic horizon--The zone from approximately 6 to 24 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3).
Very fine family--The particle-size control section (6 to 24 inches) weighted average clay content is 60 percent.
Aridic moisture--Moisture control zone from 6 to 18 inches. Dry in all parts 145 days.
ADDITIONAL DATA: The typical pedon at the series type location has full characterization data by the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL), Lincoln, NE, as soil survey sample number S80CA-093-017 (pedon # 80P0460).