LOCATION BLASINGAME CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Typic Haploxeralfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Blasingame loam, annual grass range. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 1 inch; brown (7.5YR 5/4) loam, very dark brown (7.5YR 2/2) moist; thin platy structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and plastic; common fine and very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; slightly acid (pH 6.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 14 inches thick)
A2--1 to 6 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) moist; massive; hard, friable, slightly sticky and plastic; common fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular pores; slightly acid (pH 6.5); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
B--6 to 10 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) sandy clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) moist; weak subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; similar roots and pores as in the above horizon; few thin clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
B1t--10 to 26 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) moist; strong very coarse angular blocky structure; very hard, firm, slightly sticky and plastic; few fine roots; few fine tubular pores; moderately thick continuous clay films on faces of peds; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual wavy boundary. (11 to 20 inches thick)
B2t--26 to 32 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) sandy clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; moderate very coarse angular blocky structure; very hard, firm, slightly sticky and plastic; few very fine tubular pores; many thin and moderately thick clay films on faces of peds; mildly alkaline (pH 7.5); abrupt wavy boundary. (6 to 14 inches thick)
Cr--32 to 60 inches; varicolored; black, dark brown, reddish yellow and red, well weathered, medium to coarse grained gabbrodiorite; original rock fabric clearly visible but hand samples crush easily to a sandy mass; grades into unweathered rock within several feet; few tongues of B22t horizon penetrate this horizon for several inches and clay films coat some joint faces.
TYPE LOCATION: Fresno County, California; 1.45 mile northeast of Blasingame Range; SW1/4 NE1/4 section 27, T.11S., R.22E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to a paralithic contact of weathered rock is 20 to 40 inches. The mean annual soil temperature is 60 to 65 degrees F. and the soil temperature usually is not below 47 degrees F. at any time. Soil between the depths of about 5 and 15 inches usually is moist in some or all parts from November or early December until late April or May and is dry all the rest of the year. Coarse fragments include up to 10 percent stones by volume. The profile has less than 15 percent coarse and very coarse sand.
The A horizon is yellowish brown, grayish brown, dark yellowish brown, brown (10YR 4/3, 4/4, 5/2, 5/3, 5/4) brown (7.5YR 5/4, 4/4) or reddish brown (5YR 5/4, 4/4, 4/3). It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam or loam and is neutral or slightly acid. The A horizon has less than 1 percent organic matter or it has 1 to 2 percent in only the upper 1 to 3 inches in some pedons. The lower boundary is clear or gradual.
The Bt horizon is brown (7.5YR 5/4, 4/4), reddish brown, dark reddish brown or yellowish red (5YR 5/4, 4/4, 3/4, 5/6, 4/6, 3/3, 4/3). In some pedons, the lower part of the horizon is reddish brown or red (2.5YR 3/4, 4/4, 4/6). This horizon is loam, clay loam or sandy clay loam and has about 20 to 30 percent clay and about 4 to 10 percent more clay absolute than the A horizon. It is medium acid to neutral or in some pedons it is mildly alkaline in the lower part. Base saturation is 75 to 95 percent. Some pedons have a B3 horizon and some have a C horizon of soil material between the Bt2 horizon and the paralithic contact.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Arbuckle, Borden, Bressa, Esparto, Fallbrook, Montpellier, Ramona, Sesame, Snelling, Tivy, Wasioja and Wyman series. Arbuckle, Borden, Esparto, Montpellier, Ramona, Snelling, Wasioja and Wyman soils lack a paralithic contact. Bressa, Sesame, and Tivy soils lack hue as red as 7.5YR in the argillic horizon. Fallbrook soils have a paralithic contact at depths of 40 to 60 inches and have 15 to 28 percent coarse and very coarse sand.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Blasingame soils are on foothills at elevations of 400 to 4,500 feet. Slopes are 2 to 75 percent. The soils formed in material weathered from gabbrodiorite and other basic igneous rocks. The climate is dry subhumid mesothermal with warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters. The mean annual precipitation is 9 to 25 inches. The average January temperature is about 50 degrees F.; the average July temperature is about 70 degrees F.; and the average annual temperature is 58 to 66 degrees F. The frost free season is 150 to 300 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Auburn, Las Posas, Los Robles and Temescal soils and the competing Wyman soils. Auburn and Temescal soils lack argillic horizons and are less than 20 inches deep to a lithic contact. Las Posas soils have an argillic horizon with more than 35 percent clay and are as red or redder than 2.5YR hue. Los Robles soils lack an argillic horizon and lack a paralithic contact.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to very rapid runoff; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mostly as range. A few areas are used for growing small grains without irrigation and citrus fruits with irrigation. Vegetation is mainly annual grasses and forbs with some shrubs and blue oak trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Foothills along the east side of San Joaquin Valley and foothills in the west part of southern California. The soils are moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Fresno County, California, 1973.
REMARKS: Study shows that the Cajalco soils of the Western Riverside Area, California, are in a Typic subgroup, and could be correlated to the Blasingame series as described in the preceding description. The Cajalco series will not be established.