LOCATION APOLLO CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Calcic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Apollo clay loam - on an east facing slope of 4 percent under harvested barley residue at an elevation of 350 feet. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. When described on August 22, 1978, the soil was dry to 18 inches and slightly moist from 18 to 64 inches).
Ap--0 to 10 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 1.24 percent O.M. organic matter; strongly effervescent with disseminated lime; calcium carbonate equivalent is 20 percent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 13 inches thick)
BA--10 to 18 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent with disseminated lime and segregated as common fine irregular filaments; calcium carbonate is 30 percent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--18 to 31 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine and few fine tubular pores; few thin clay films line pores; violently effervescent with disseminated lime and segregated as common fine irregular filaments and soft masses; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (15 to 25 inches thick)
Bt2--31 to 41 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) and brown (10YR 5/3) clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine and few fine tubular pores; few thin clay films line pores; violently effervescent with disseminated lime and segregated as few fine irregular soft masses; 34 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (9 to 12 inches thick)
Cr1--41 to 50 inches; yellow (10YR 7/6) soft coarse-grained shale with plates inclined at 15 degrees to the surface, brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) moist; 68 percent calcium carbonate equivalent. (5 to 20 inches thick)
Cr2--50 to 64 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) soft coarse-grained shale with plates inclined at 15 degrees to the surface, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist.
TYPE LOCATION: Merced County, California; 1.9 miles south southwest of Interstate 5 and Highway 152 intersection, 5 miles south southwest of the community of Volta, about 1,300 feet north and 300 feet west of the SE corner of sec. 27, T. 10 S., R. 9 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to soft calcareous shale or sandstone ranges from 40 to 60 inches. Up to 5 percent soft lime masses are in the Bt horizon and calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 20 to 35 percent. The mean annual soil temperature is 59 to 65 degrees F and is below 47 degrees F in parts of January and February. It is not below 41 degrees F at any time. The soil between depths of 6 and 18 inches is moist in all parts from January 1 to May 1 and dry in all parts from July 1 to October 31. The particle-size control section commonly has 27 to 35 percent clay and has less than 1.2 times more clay than the A. horizon. Twenty-five to 50 percent of the original surface was lost through erosion.
The A horizon is 10YR 4/2, 4/3, 5/2 or 5/3. Moist colors are 10YR 3/2 or 3/3. It is clay loam, loam, or silt loam. It is mildly alkaline or moderately alkaline. Organic matter content is 1 to 2 percent. Calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 10 to 25 percent.
The BA horizon is 10YR 5/4, 5/6, 6/3, 6/4; 7.5YR 5/6 or 6/6. Moist colors are 10YR 4/3, 4/4, 4/6, 5/5, 5/6; 7.5YR 3/4, 4/6 or 5/6. It is clay loam or silty clay loam. Some pedons have clay films. Organic matter content is less than 1 percent.
The Bt horizon has dry color of 10YR 4/4, 5/3, 5/4, 5/6, 6/3, 6/4; 7.5YR 4/4, 5/6 or 6/6. Moist colors are 10YR 4/4, 4/6, 5/4, 5/6; 7.5YR 3/4, 4/4, 4/6 or 5/6. It is clay loam or silty clay loam.
The Cr horizon is calcareous, strongly weathered, soft or very soft coarse-grained shale or fine grained sandstone.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Fontana, Nacimiento, Sorrento and Woo series in the same family and the Arburua, Kettleman, Kilmer, and Oneil series in other families. Arburua, Kettleman, and Kilmer soils have ochric epipedons. Fontana and Nacimiento soils have a paralithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Oneil soils are fine-silty. Sorrento and Woo soils do not have a paralithic contact within a depth of 60 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Apollo soils are on low foothills just above the valley floors. Slopes are 2 to 30 percent. The soils formed in material weathered from soft and very soft calcareous shales and sandstones of the Moreno Formation. Elevations are 200 to 600 feet. The climate is semiarid with hot dry summers and cool moist winters. Mean annual precipitation is 10 to 12 inches. Mean January temperature is 45 degrees F; mean July temperature is 80 degrees F; and mean annual temperature is 60 to 64 degrees F. Frost-free season is 200 to 280 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Arburua, Nacimiento, and Ayar soils. Ayar soils have wide cracks and intersecting slickensides within 40 inches of the surface.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for irrigated cotton, barley, sugar beets, and milo production. They are also used for dryland barley, and annual range where irrigation water is not available. Natural vegetation consists of soft chess, wild oats, filaree, clover, and other annual grasses and forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Apollo soils occur in the Coast Range foothills near the western edge of the Central San Joaquin Valley. The soils are not extensive in MLRA 15.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Merced County, California, 1980.
REMARKS: These soils were formerly included with and mapped as the Kettleman series in the Los Banos Area, series 1939 report. These soils are being differentiated by characteristics that indicate more leaching and development (soft lime masses, mollic epipedon, cambic horizon and are deeper than 40 inches to a paralithic contact. Reaction is determined by colorimetric method using Thymol Blue and Hellige-Truog Triplex indicators. Texture is determined by modified Bouyoucos method. Presence of lime determined by 10 percent HC1. Calcium carbonate equivalent determined by HC1 and syringe field method. Organic matter determined by Walkley-Black digestion method.
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL Pedon S87CA-047-001 (Range in characteristics)