LOCATION CATELLI CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Ultic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Catelli sandy loam, forested. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
0--3 inches to 0; litter of leaves, bark, and twigs in various stages of decomposition; medium acid (pH 6.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 6 inches thick)
A1--0 to 7 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak and moderate fine and medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine, few medium roots; many very fine and fine tubular and interstitial pores; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary. (7 to 10 inches thick)
B21--7 to 13 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate coarse and very coarse granular, and medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine and medium roots; many very fine and fine tubular pores; few thin clay films a s bridges between mineral grains and on faces of some peds; slightly acid (pH 6.2); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
B22--13 to 23 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few medium roots; many very fine and fine tubular pores; very few thin clay films as bridges between mineral grains and on faces of some peds; moderately acid (pH 6.0); clear wavy boundary. (7 to 10 inches thick)
C1--23 to 37 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine, fine and medium roots; common very fine and fine tubular pores; strongly acid (pH 5.5); few pebbles; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 24 inches thick)
C2r--37 to 42 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) strongly weathered sandstone, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive and hard in places but crushes to sandy loam under hand pressure; roots in fractures that are more than 10 cm apart; strongly acid (pH 5.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Cruz County, California; about 2,100 feet (0.4 mile up) Bloom Grade Road from Hilton Drive, opposite junction with a side road, and 15 feet back from road cut; northwest corner of section 14, T.9S., R.3W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to a paralithic contact of weathered bedrock is 20 to 40 inches. The soil between depths of 10 and 29 inches becomes moist in some part in late November or December, and remains moist until about May. The mean annual soil temperature is about 56 to 58 degrees F. Organic matter content is more than 1 percent at depth of 10 inches and less than 1 percent at depth of 20 inches. Base saturation is more than 50 percent in all parts and less than 75 percent in some or all parts of the soil to a depth of 30 inches. Pebbles in the solum range from 0 to 15 percent by volume.
The A horizon is dark grayish brown, dark brown, grayish brown, or brown (10YR 4/2, 4/3, 5/2, 5/3). It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or very fine sandy loam. This horizon is moderately acid to neutral.
The B2 horizon is yellowish brown, light yellowish brown, or brown (10YR 5/4, 6/4; 7.5YR 5/2, 5/4). It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or very fine sandy loam. This horizon is moderatey acid or slightly acid.
The C horizon is light yellowish brown, very pale brown, or pinkish gray (2.5Y 6/4; 10YR 6/4, 7/4, 8/3; 7.5YR 6/2). It is gravelly sandy loam or sandy loam. This horizon is strongly acid to slightly acid.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Crouch, Spokane, and Wind River series. Crouch and Wind River soils are deeper than 40 inches to bedrock. Spokane soils have a mean annual soil temperature of 50 to 54 degrees F. and a frost free season of about 110 to 140 days.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Catelli soils are on uplands and have slopes of 30 to 75 percent. They formed in material weathered from sandstone and grandiorite at elevations from 400 to 3,000 feet. The climate is humid mesothermal having warm, dry but foggy summers and cool, moist winters. The mean annual precipitation is 35 to 60 inches. The average January temperature is 45 degrees F.; the average July temperature is 65 degrees F.; and the mean annual temperature is 54 to 57 degrees F. The frost free season is 220 to 240 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Aptos, Ben Lomond, Felton, Lompico, Nisene, Sur and Zayante soils. Aptos, Felton, Lompico and Nisene soils have B2t horizons with 18 to 35 percent clay. Ben Lomond soils have more than 1 percent organic matter and have value of 3 through 5 dry and 2 or 3 moist to depths of more than 20 inches. Sur soils have more than 75 percent base saturation in all parts to depth of 30 inches and have more than 35 percent rock fragments. Zayante soils have sandy texture throughout the profile.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; rapid to very rapid runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for timber production, recreation, wildlife, and watershed. Vegetation is redwoods, Douglas fir, madrone, tanoak, ferns and poison oak.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central part of the Coast Range of California. The soils are not extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Santa Cruz County, California, 1976.
REMARKS: The activity class was added to the classification in February of 2003. Competing series were not checked at that time. - ET