LOCATION BITTERWATER CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, thermic Typic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Bitterwater sandy loam, on a slope of 58 percent under red brome, filaree and allscale, at 600 feet elevation. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. When described on March 21, 1976, the soil was moist from 0 to 36 inches).
A11--0 to 10 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine roots; common very fine tubular and many very fine interstitial pores; 5 percent pebbles, 2 to 10 mm in diameter; strongly effervescent with disseminated lime; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)
A12--10 to 23 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine roots; many very fine interstitial and few very fine tubular pores; 5 percent pebbles, 2 to 10 mm in diameter; strongly effervescent with disseminated lime; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 16 inches thick)
C1--23 to 41 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak very coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard; very friable; nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; common very fine interstitial pores; 10 percent pebbles, 2 to 10 mm in diameter; violently effervescent, lime disseminated and segregated in common, fine filaments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 20 inches thick)
C2--41 to 60 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine interstitial pores; 10 percent pebbles, 2 to 10 mm in diameter; violently effervescent with lime disseminated and in common, fine filaments; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 65 inches thick)
C3r--60 to 65 inches; soft, weathered soft sandstone.
TYPE LOCATION: Kern County, California; at the SE end of the Wagon Wheel Mountain area, about 900 feet north and 250 feet west, (halfway on the NE facing slope), from the SE corner of section 36, T.25S., R.18E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to a paralithic contact is 40 to 80 inches. The soil between depths of 8 to 24 inches is dry in all parts from April through November and is not moist for as long as 90 consecutive days. Mean annual soil temperature is 65 degrees to 69 degrees F. Organic matter is less than 1 percent and decreases regularly with depth. Gravel content ranges from 0 to 35 percent with some pedons containing up to 5 percent cobbles. It is sandy loam, gravelly sandy loam, loam and gravelly loam. Clay content ranges from 5 to 10 percent.
The A horizon has dry color of 10YR 5/3, 6/3, or 7/3 and moist color of 10YR 4/3, 4/4, 5/3, or 5/4. It has subangular blocky or platy structure or is massive. It is neutral to moderately alkaline.
The C horizon has dry color of 10YR 6/4, 7/3, 7/4, 8/2, or 8/3 and moist color of 10YR 4/4, 5/3, 5/4, 6/4, 7/3 or 7/4.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Elkhills, Kimberlina, McCullough and Seaman (T) series and the Cantua and Wasco series in other families. Cantua soils are noneffervescent to a depth of more than 40 inches. Elkhills soils are stratified and have lithologic discontinuities within a depth of 40 inches, lack a paralithic contact within a depth of 60 inches, and have silt content ranging from 20 to 36 percent. Kimberlina soils have 10 to 18 percent clay in the control section, have 1 to 5 percent calcium carbonate, and are on slopes less than 9 percent. McCullough soils have thin B2 horizons with 5YR or 7.5YR hue and sandy textures in the lower part of the control section. Seaman soils are stratified with some influence of the soil material from volcanic ash or other pyroclastic material.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bitterwater soils are on foothills. Slopes are 9 to 75 percent. The soils formed in material weathered from sandstone. They occur at elevations of 600 to 2,000 feet. The climate is arid with hot dry summers and cool, somewhat moist winters. Mean annual precipitation is 5 to 8 inches. Mean January temperature is 46 degrees F.; mean July temperature is 82 degrees F.; mean annual temperature varies from 63 degrees to 67 degrees F. Frost-free season is 250 to 275 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Cantua and Kimberlina soils and the Delgado, Kettleman, and Panoche soils. Delgado soils are shallow. Kettleman soils are fine-loamy. Panoche soils are fine-loamy.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to very rapid runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for spring grazing of sheet and cattle. Oil wells are a common feature on this soil. Natural vegetation consists of red brome, fescues, filaree, allscale, and saltbush (Atriplex spp.).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Kettleman Hills, Pyramid Hills, and the Temblor Range of Central California. The soil is moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kern County, Northwestern Part, California, 1982.
REMARKS: The activity class was added to the classification in January of 2003. Competing series were not checked at that time. - ET