LOCATION FAYCREEK CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, mesic, shallow Psammentic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Faycreek gravelly loamy coarse sand - on a north facing slope of 48 percent under buckbrush, big sagebrush, mountain mahogany, pine bluegrass, annual grasses and Digger Pine at an elevation of 2,960 feet. (When described on May 3, 1990, the soil was slightly moist from 0 to 6 inches and dry below 6 inches; Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated).
A1--0 to 5 inches (0 to 13 cm); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) gravelly loamy coarse sand, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine roots; many medium interstitial pores; 16 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
A2--5 to 12 inches (13 to 30 cm); brown (10YR 4/3) gravelly loamy coarse sand, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few fine and medium roots; common fine interstitial and few fine tubular pores; 16 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 17 inches thick)
Cr--12 to 22 inches (30 to 56 cm); partly decomposed granitic bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Kern County, California; about 2,250 feet south and 1,600 feet west of the northeast corner of Sec. 7, T. 26 S., R. 33 E.; Lake Isabella North, Calif. Quadrangle; lat. 35 degrees 40 minutes 57 seconds N and long 118 degrees 28 minutes 27 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Moisture - Usually dry in all parts above the paralithic contact from about mid May to mid November and usually moist in all parts for 90 or more consecutive days sometime between late December and late April.
Soil Temperature - The mean annual soil temperature is 50 to 59 degrees F.(10 to 15 degrees C.)
Depth to decomposed granitic bedrock : 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 cm).
Reaction : Slightly acid to neutral
Thickness of mollic epipedon : 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 cm).
A horizon -
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Organic Matter: 1 to 3 percent in the upper part and 1 to 2
percent in the lower part.
Texture: Bouldery loamy coarse sand, gravelly loamy coarse
sand; some areas are loamy coarse sand in the lower
part.
Clay content: 4 to 10 percent.
Rock fragments: 10 to 35 percent, dominantly gravel, some areas have up to 15 percent boulders.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Faycreek soils are on mountain slopes. Slopes are 30 to 75 percent. These soils formed in material weathered from granitic rocks. Elevations are 2,600 to 5,500 feet (792 to 1676 meters). The mean annual precipitation is 8 to 14 inches (203 to 356 mm), some as snowfall. The mean January temperature is about 38 degrees F. (3.3 degrees C.); the mean July temperature is about 73 degrees F. (23 degrees C.) The mean annual temperature is 49 to 57 degrees F. (9 to 14 degrees C.) The frost-free season is 130 to 200 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: This is the Kernville (T) soil. Kernville soils lack a mollic epipedon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; medium or rapid runoff; rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Faycreek soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is pricipally buckbrush, big sagebrush, mountain-mahogany, pine bluegrass, annual grasses and Digger Pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California. The series is not extensive in MLRA-18 and 29.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kern County; Kern County, Northeastern Part and Southeastern Part of Tulare County Soil Survey, California, 2005. The name is taken from a local geographic feature, Fay Creek.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from 0 to 12 inches (A1, A2)
Paralithic contact - The zone from 12 to 22 inches (Cr)
Classification improved from Sandy, mixed, mesic Entic Haploxerolls (March 2005)