LOCATION DRIVER CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Durinodic Xeric Haplargids
TYPICAL PEDON: Driver coarse sandy loam, on a slope of less than 1 percent at an elevation of 450 feet, under cotton. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described on 3/7/79 the soil was moist throughout).
Ap--0 to 16 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) coarse sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine roots; few very fine interstitial pores; 10 percent pebbles; slightly effervescent, disseminated lime; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (13 to 16 inches thick)
Bt1--16 to 23 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/6) moist; weak medium angular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few very fine interstitial and few very fine tubular pores; common thin clay films on ped faces and in pores; 5 percent pebbles; violently effervescent, lime segregated in common medium sized soft masses; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bt2--23 to 27 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) moist; weak medium angular blocky structures; hard, firm, slightly sticky and plastic; few fine and very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; common thin and few moderately thick clay films on ped faces and lining pores; 5 percent pebbles; violently effervescent, lime disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 13 inches thick)
Bq--27 to 37 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) coarse sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/6) moist; massive; very hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 10 percent pebbles; brittle and weakly cemented; slightly effervescent, lime disseminated; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 18 inches thick)
2C--37 to 44 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; many very fine tubular pores; 2 percent pebbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (7 to 15 inches thick)
3C--44 to 65 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loamy coarse sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; common very fine interstitial pores; 15 percent pebbles; slightly effervescent, disseminated lime; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0). (18 to 23 inches thick)
TYPE LOCATION: Kern County, California; 30 feet NE of the SE corner of section 33, T.27S., R.26E.; about 1/8 mile NE of Merced Avenue and Highway 99.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of solum is 22 to 35 inches. The soil from a depth of 9 to 23 inches is assumed to be dry in all parts from April 15th until January 15th and is continuously moist in some part for less than 90 consecutive days. Gravel content is 0 to 15 percent.
The A horizon has dry color of 10YR 6/4, 6/3, 5/4 or 5/3 and moist color of 10YR 5/3, 4/4, 4/3 or 3/4. It is sandy loam, coarse sandy loam or sandy clay loam. Clay content is 8 to 25 percent. The B2t horizon has dry color of 10YR 5/4, 5/6, 6/4; 7.5YR 5/4 or 5/6 and moist color of 10YR 3/6, 4/4, 4/6; or 7.5YR 4/4. The texture is loam, or clay loam. Clay content is 20 to 35 percent. The clay increase from the A to the Bt horizon is 5 to 20 percent. In some pedons the lower part of the Bt horizon is weakly cemented with silica.
The upper part of the C horizon has dry color of 7.5YR 5/4; 10YR 5/6 or 6/4 and moist color of 10YR 4/3, or 4/4. It is weakly cemented with silica but when crushed it is sandy loam or coarse sandy loam. The structure is moderately subangular blocky or structureless.
The lower part of the C horizon has dry color of 10YR 5/4, 5/6, 6/3 or 6/4 and moist color of 10YR 4/3 or 4/4. It is commonly stratified with textures of loam, sandy loam, coarse sandy loam or loam coarse sand. There are 2 to 15 percent gravel in this horizon. Clay content is 5 to 20 percent throughout the C horizon.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Aladshi, Caudle, Nyala, Unsel, and Vigus series in other families. All these soils have a mesic soil temperature regime.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Driver soils are on alluvial terraces with slopes of 0 to 2 percent. The soils formed in alluvium derived from granitic rock. Elevation is 400 to 525 feet. The climate is arid with hot dry summers and cool somewhat moist winters. Ground fog occurs in winter. The mean annual precipitation is about 7 inches. Mean January temperature is 48 degrees F.; the mean July temperature is 84 degrees F.; the mean annual temperature is 64 degrees F. Frost-free season is 250 to 300 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Wasco and Delano soils. Wasco soils lack Csi and a B horizon and are coarse-loamy. Delano soils lack a silica cemented Csi horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; very slow runoff; moderate permeability in the subsoil and moderately slow in the weakly cemented substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Driver soils are used for irrigated crops such as cotton and alfalfa.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Kern. The soils are not extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kern County, Northwestern part, California, 1982.
REMARKS: This soil was originally mapped as Exeter, but the moisture regime did not fit that series. Also, the silica cementation is too weak to qualify as a duripan. Statement by Dr. Parson.
Series reclassified on September, 1994. Competing series not reviewed at that time.
The activity class was added to the classification in February of 2003. Competing series were not checked at that time. - ET