LOCATION CANTUA CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, nonacid, thermic Typic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Cantua sandy loam, on a SW facing slope at 15 percent under red brome and Russian thistle at 600 feet elevation. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. When described on 7/30/74 th soil was dry throughout.)
A1--0 to 1 inch; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) coarse sandy loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; moderate thin platy structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine roots; many fine interstitial and many fine tubular pores; slightly acid (pH 6.5); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 6 inches thick)
C1--1 to 55 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) coarse sandy loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine roots; many fine interstitial common fine tubular pores; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (39 to 54 inches thick)
C2r--55 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2); soft, calcareous sandstone.
TYPE LOCATION: Kings County, California; in the Kettleman Hills, approximately 2 1/4 miles east of the intersection of Highways 41 and 33 in the SW1/4 NE1/4 SE1/4 sec. 27, T. 23 S., R. 18 E., MDB&M.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to soft weathered sandstone is 40 to 60 inches. The mean annual soil temperature is 62 to 71 degrees F. The between depths of 8 and 24 inches in dry from mid March to January. The soils are moist in some or all parts for 60 to 80 consecutive days. The soil temperature is always above 47 degrees F. The soils are noncalcareous and are very low in organic matter throughout.
The A horizon has dry color of 2.5Y 5/2, 6/4; or 10YR 6/3 and moist color of 2.5Y 4/2 or 10YR 4/3. It is usually platy but some pedons are massive. This horizon is slightly acid or neutral.
The C horizon has dry color of 2.5Y 6/2 or 6/4 and moist color of 2.5Y 4/2, 4/4; 10YR 4/2 or 4/3. It is coarse sandy loam or sandy loam. This horizon is neutral or slightly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Embudo, Wasco and Yana series. Embudo soils have stratified gravelly and sandy substrata and are irregularly moist in the summer. Wasco soils are effervescent at a depth of 16 to 40 inches. Yana soils have 15 to 35 percent rock fragments in the control section and are irregularly moist in the summer.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cantua soils occur on uplands t elevations of 500 to 2,000 feet and have slopes of 5 to 50 percent. The underlying bedrock consists of light brownish gray or white soft calcareous sandstone. The climate is arid with hot dry summers and mild, somewhat moist winters. The average annual precipitation is 5 to 7 inches. The mean January temperature is about 47 degrees F. and the mean July temperature is about 84 degrees F. The mean annual temperature is 65 degrees F. The frost-free season is 230 to 250 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Delgado, Kettleman, Mercey and Panoche soils and the competing Wasco soils. Delgado soils are shallow. Kettleman soils are effervescent and have more than 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section. Mercey soils have a cambic horizon. Panoche soils have more than 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; medium runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used for cattle and sheep grazing during the late winter and spring seasons. Where irrigation water is available, barley or cotton is grown on small acreages of Cantua soil. Natural vegetation is annual grasses, forbs, and saltbush (Atriplex).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Kettleman Hills, Pyramid Hills and the east side of the Diablo Range. Series is moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kings County, California, 1980.
REMARKS: The activity class was added to the classification in January of 2003. Competing series were not checked at that time. - ET