LOCATION CUTTERBANK              CA

Established Series
Rev: JG/CAH/ET
04/2015

CUTTERBANK SERIES

The Cutterbank series consists of very shallow and shallow, somewhat excessively drained soils that formed in non-marine sediments derived from granite. Cutterbank soils are on eroded backslopes of uplifted lakebed sediments. Slopes range from 15 to 75 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 150 millimeters and the mean annual air temperature is about 19 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, thermic, shallow Typic Torriorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Cutterbank fine sandy loam on a convex, 38 percent slope at an elevation of 1,015 meters. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The surface is covered by 10 percent fine gravel, 40 percent medium and coarse gravel, 3 percent cobbles, 1 percent stones, and 1 percent boulders.

A--0 to 2 centimeters (0 to 1 inches); pale brown (10YR 6/3) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium platy structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and medium roots; common very fine interstitial pores; 7 percent fine and 3 percent medium and coarse gravel; slightly alkaline(pH 7.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 7 centimeters thick)

Bk--2 to 24 centimeters (1 to 9 inches); pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; moderate coarse and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; few very fine, fine and very coarse roots; common very fine interstitial pores; 2 percent distinct light gray (10YR 7/2), dry, carbonate coats on all faces of peds and 2 percent distinct light gray (10YR 7/2), dry, carbonate coats on rock fragments; 10 percent fine and 5 percent medium and coarse gravel; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 35 centimeters thick)

Cdk1--24 to 66 centimeters (9 to 26 inches); pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; few fine and very fine roots in fractures greater than 10 centimeters apart; common very fine interstitial pores; 10 percent fine gravel and 5 percent medium and coarse gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary.

Cdk2--66 to 78 centimeters (26 to 31 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots in fractures greater than 10 centimeters apart; common very fine interstitial pores; 10 percent fine gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary.

Cdk3--78 to 150 centimeters (31 to 60 inches); pale brown (10YR 6/3) stratified loamy coarse sand to sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; moderately hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; very few very fine roots in fractures greater than 10 centimeters apart; 10 percent fine gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4). (Combined thickness of the C horizons is greater than 100 centimeters).

TYPE LOCATION: Kern County, California; about 33 kilometers north and 15 kilometers east of Mojave, California; approximately 5 kilometers north and 0.5 kilometers west of Jawbone Canyon OHV Visitors Center, within the BLM Jawbone-Butterbredt ACEC; 675 meters north and 20 meters east of the southwest corner of Section 32, T.29 S., R.37 E., MDBM; 35 degrees, 22 minutes, 0.8 seconds north latitude and 118 degrees, 2 minutes, 20.7 seconds west longitude; USGS Cinco, California, 7.5 minute quadrangle; UTM 11S, 405607e 3914227n; (NAD83).

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture control section: Usually dry, moist in some part during winter and spring and intermittingly moist near the soil surface following occasional summer convection storms; Typic-Aridic soil moisture regime..

Soil temperature: 19 to 22 degrees C.
Depth to densic contact: 10 to 36 centimeters.

Control section
Clay content: averages 8 to 16 percent, ranges from 7 to 19 percent.
Rock fragments: averages 3 to 30 percent, dominantly fine gravel.
Organic matter: 0 to 0.5 percent.
Reaction: neutral or slightly alkaline.
Effervescence: very slightly to violently.
Calcium carbonate equivalence: 0 to 1 percent.

A horizon
Value: 4 to 7 dry, 3 to 6 moist.
Chroma: 2 to 4 dry, 2 to 4 moist.
Texture: fine sandy loam or sandy loam.
Clay content: 7 to 19 percent.
Structure: weak to strong, thick platy, and medium or coarse subangular blocky.
Consistence: soft to hard.
Rock fragments: 3 to 35 percent gravel.
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.

Bk horizon (when present)
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry and moist.
Texture: fine sandy loam, sandy loam, coarse sandy loam.
Clay Content: 10 to 15 percent.
Structure: massive or subangular blocky.
Consistence: soft to moderately hard, dry and very friable or friable, moist.
Rock fragments: 5 to 30 percent gravel, 0 to 5 percent cobbles.
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.

Cdk horizons
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist.
Chroma: 2 to 4 dry and moist.
Texture: loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, sandy loam.
Clay Content: 5 to 12 percent.
Structure: massive or subangular blocky.
Consistence: slightly hard to hard, dry and very friable to firm, moist.
Rock fragments: 1 to 30 percent gravel, 0 to 20 percent cobbles.
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Calwash (NV), Chinkle (NV), Cochora (CA), Cougarbutte (T CA), and Randsberg (CA) series. Calwash, Chinkle, Cochora, Cougarbutte, and Randsberg are shallow to paralithic contacts and are formed from colluvium over residuum. In addition, Calwash soils have 20 to 26 percent clay and 20 to 35 percent calcium carbonate equivalence in the fine earth fraction. Chinkle soils also are moist in some part of the moisture control section for very brief intermittent periods in summer and fall, 10 to 20 days cumulative following summer convection storms. Cochora soils also have a mean annual soil temperature of 17 to 19 degrees C. Cougarbutte soils also form from granitic parent materials, and are moist in some part for 10 to 20 days cumulative between July and October following summer convection storms.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cutterbank soils are on eroded backslopes of uplifted lakebed sediments. Slopes range from 15 to 75 percent. These soils formed from non-marine sediments derived from granite. Elevations are 670 to 1,200 meters. The climate is arid with hot, dry summers and warm, moist winters. The mean annual precipitation is 125 to 175 millimeters; mean annual air temperature is 17 to 20 degrees C. The frost-free season is 200 to 270 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Koehn (T) and Dovecanyon (T) soils. Koehn soils are located in drainageways and on stream terraces and are sandy throughout the control section. Dovecanyon soils are located on fan remnants and have an argillic horizon.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat excessively drained; very high runoff; high saturated hydraulic conductivity in the subsoil and moderately low in the underlying material.

USE AND VEGETATION: Cutterbank soils are used for recreation and wildlife habitat. The present vegetation is mainly blackbrush, creosotebush, and white bursage.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwest Mojave desert of southern California, U.S.A.; MLRA 30. These soils are of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: PHOENIX, ARIZONA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kern County, California, 2004; Jawbone-Butterbredt Off-Highway Vehicle Area Soil Survey, part of Mojave Desert Area, Northwest Part Soil Survey, California. The name is from nearby Cutterbank Canyon.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in the profile are:
1. Ochric epipedon -- 0 to 18 centimeters (A and part of the Bk horizon)
2. Particle-size control section -- 0 to 24 centimeters (A and Bk horizons)
3. Densic material -- 24 to 150 centimeters (Cdk1, Cdk2, and Cdk3 horizons)

Responsibility for this series was transferred from Davis to Phoenix 4/2015. The last revision to the series was 5/2007. ET

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.