LOCATION CLIMARA CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, magnesic, thermic Aridic Haploxererts
TYPICAL PEDON: Climara clay - annual grass pasture. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted).
A--0 to 12 inches; gray (5Y 5/1) clay, very dark gray (5Y 3/1) moist; strong very fine granular structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky, very plastic; many very fine and fine roots few very fine and fine tubular pores; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 13 inches thick)
Bss--12 to 28 inches; gray (5Y 5/1) clay, very dark gray (5Y 3/1) moist; strong fine angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky, very plastic; common very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; many small, medium and coarse intersecting slickensides; slightly effervescent, carbonates disseminated; slightly alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (13 to 20 inches thick)
Bk--28 to 36 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) gravelly clay, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, very sticky, very plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine and fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent, carbonates segregated as common small seams and soft masses; moderately alkaline; gradual irregular boundary. (7 to 12 inches thick)
R--36 to 60 inches; fractured, fine grained greenish gray serpentine rock.
TYPE LOCATION: San Benito County, California; approximately 1,000 feet east of the San Andreas Fault, on the Tully Ranch, 10 yards south of ranch road and 0.75 mile east of State Highway 25; 1,400 feet north and 550 feet east of the southeast corner of section 24, T. 18 S., R. 9 E., MDB&M; Latitude 36 degrees, 20 minutes, 47 seconds north and Longitude 120 degrees, 56 minutes, 23 seconds west; USGS Lonoak Topographic Quadrangle, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean soil temperature is about 59 to 65 degrees F. The soils have cracks more than 1 mm wide to a depth of 20 inches or more. The cracks are open from about May until December and remain closed the rest of the year. Depth to a lithic contact is 20 to 40 inches. Gravel, cobbles and stones are present in some pedons, particularly in or near the surface but constitute less than 35 percent of the volume. The average calcium/magnesium ratio is about 2.
The A horizon has color of 10YR 2/1, 3/1, 4/1, 5/1, 5/2; 2.5Y 4/1, 4/2, 5/2; 5Y 4/1, 5/1, 5/2 or N 5/0. Moist color is 10YR 2/1, 3/1, 3/2, 4/2; 2.5Y 2/1, 3/1, 3/2; 5Y 3/1, 3/2 or N 3/0. Texture is clay loam, stony clay or clay. Structure is usually granular or fine blocky in the upper few inches. Some diagonal ped faces are usually present in the lower part. Reaction is neutral to moderately alkaline and alkalinity generally increases with depth.
The Bss horizon has color of 10YR 2/1, 3/1, 3/2, 4/1, 4/2, 4/3, 5/3, 7/1, 7/2; 2.5Y 4/3, 5/2, 6/4; 5Y 4/2, 4/3, 5/2, 5/3, 6/2 or 6/3. Moist color is 10YR 2/1, 2/2, 3/1, 3/2, 5/3, 6/3; 2.5Y 3/2, 3/3, 4/4; 5Y 3/2, 4/4, 5/1 or 5/6. Clay content is 40 to 60 percent. Intersecting slickensides are present in some part.
The Bkss and/or Bk horizon has color of 10YR 2/2, 3/1, 3/2, 4/1, 4/2, 4/3, 5/3, 7/1, 7/2; 2.5Y 4/3, 4/4, 5/2, 6/4; 5Y 4/2, 4/3, 5/2, 5/3, 6/2 or 6/3. Moist color is 10YR 2/1, 2/2, 3/1, 3/2, 5/3, 6/3; 2.5Y 2/2, 3/2, 3/3, 4/4; 5Y 3/2 or 5/1. Texture is silty clay loam, gravelly clay or clay. Some pedons have intersecting slickensides. Segregated carbonates occur as seams, filaments or soft masses.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series at this time.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Climara soils are on mountains and uplands. Slope is 9 to 50 percent. These soils formed in mass movement deposits derived from Franciscan melange serpentine, serpentinite, graywacke, chert, gabbro and blue schist and other ultrabasic rocks with low Ca/Mg ratios. Elevation is 500 to 3,860 feet. The climate is dry subhumid mesothermal with hot dry summers and cool wet winters. Mean annual precipitation is 10 to 24 inches. Mean annual temperature is 57 to 63 degrees F; mean January temperature is about 46 degrees F;mean July temperature is about 80 degrees F. Frost-free season is about 200 to 250 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Alo, Altamont, Los Osos, Maymen, Millsholm, Montara and Toomes soils. Alo and Altamont soils, on uplands, have a smectitic mineralogy class. Los Osos soils, on uplands, have an argillic horizon. Maymen soils, on hills and mountains, have a lithic contact at a depth of 10 to 20 inches. Millsholm soils, on hills and mountains, have a lithic contact at a depth of 10 to 20 inches. Montara soils, on uplands and ridge tops, have a lithic contact at a depth of 10 to 20 inches. Toomes soils, on ridges and plateaus, have a lithic contact at a depth of 10 to 20 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; high or very high runoff; permeability is slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for livestock grazing with some small areas cultivated and planted with grain. Soft chess, wild oats, red brome, fescues, and filaree are the main annual grasses and forbs. Scattered oaks and shrubs occur in some areas.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: These soils are in the Diablo Range in the central and southern California Coast Ranges. The soils are moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: San Benito County, California, 1971.
REMARKS: Problems associated with mapping Climara and other magnesic soils are found in the appropriate Component Correlation notes of the NASIS database.