LOCATION FISHSNOOZE CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, isotic Xeric Humicryepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Fishsnooze very gravelly peaty coarse sandy loam--forest land. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with 2 inches of undecomposed forest duff along with 35 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles.
A1--0 to 1 inch; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) very gravelly peaty coarse sandy loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate medium platy structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; common very fine and fine roots; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 2 inches thick)
A2--1 to 9 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots and many medium and coarse; common very fine interstitial and tubular pores; 45 percent gravel; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
A3--9 to 13 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots and many medium and coarse; common very fine interstitial and tubular pores; 50 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bw--13 to 35 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely cobbly coarse sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots and many fine to coarse; common very fine interstitial and tubular pores; 45 percent gravel and 40 percent cobbles; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (10 to 22 inches thick)
R--35 inches; hard andesite.
TYPE LOCATION: Alpine County, California; on the Toiyabe National Forest about 1.5 miles northwest of Lost Lakes; approximately 2,250 feet south and 150 feet east of the northwest corner of section 36, T. 10 N., R. 18 E.; USGS Carson Pass 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 38 degrees 40 minutes 11.7 seconds north latitude and 119 degrees 57 minutes 39.0 seconds west longitude, NAD27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually moist in the moisture control section during late fall, winter, and spring; dry from mid-July through September for 60 to 80 consecutive days in the four months following the summer solstice; Typic xeric moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature - 40 to 44 degrees F.
Mean summer soil temperature - 44 to 47 degrees F.
Umbric epipedon thickness - 7 to 16 inches.
Depth to bedrock - 20 to 40 inches to a lithic contact.
Sodium fluoride pH - 10.0 to 11.5.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 12 to 18 percent; Rock fragments: Averages 60 to 80 percent, dominantly gravel and cobbles. Lithology of fragments are andesite, tuff, or tuff-breccia.
A1 horizon
Organic matter content: 10 to 18 percent.
Reaction: Very strongly acid or strongly acid.
Other features: Some pedons have A1 horizons with less than 10 percent organic matter and do not have the peaty texture modifier.
A2 and A3 horizons
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Extremely gravelly coarse sandy loam, extremely gravelly sandy loam, or very gravelly coarse sandy loam.
Organic matter content: 2 to 10 percent.
Reaction: Very strongly acid or strongly acid.
Bw horizons
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR.
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Texture: Extremely cobbly coarse sandy loam or extremely gravelly sandy loam.
Clay content: 12 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 60 to 85 percent.
Reaction: Very strongly acid or strongly acid.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Callat (T), Florand, Forsell, Lostridge, Sibelia, Sonorapass, and Sumeadow series.
Callat soils are moderately deep to densic contacts. Florand and Sibelia soils are deep to paralithic contacts. Forsell and Sumeadow soils are very deep. Lostridge soils are moderately deep to paralithic contacts. Sonorapass soils have A1 horizons with 2 to 4 percent organic matter.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Fishsnooze soils are on mountains. They typically occur on planar to convex-shaped backslope positions. These soils formed in residuum and colluvium derived from andesite, tuff, or tuff-breccia. Slopes are 8 to 50 percent. Elevations range from 8,000 to 12,000 feet. The climate is subhumid- continental with cold, moist winters and cool, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 35 to 55 inches, the mean annual temperature is 36 to 39 degrees F., and the frost-free period is 15 to 60 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Florand and Lostridge soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; high surface runoff; moderately rapid permeability (high saturated hydraulic conductivity).
USE AND VEGETATION: Fishsnooze soils are used for forest land, recreation, watershed, and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is mainly a forest canopy of mountain hemlock, western white pine, and whitebark pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern California, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Range. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 22A.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Alpine County (Toiyabe National Forest Area), California, 2006.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Umbric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 13 inches (A1, A2, and A3 horizons).
Cambic horizon - The zone from 13 to 35 inches (Bw horizon).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 35 inches to underlying hard bedrock (R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 35 inches (Bw horizon and part of the A3 horizon).
The revision of December 2006 updated the taxonomic class from Xeric Dystrocryepts based on the tenth edition of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 2006. The isotic mineralogy class is based on the field determined values for sodium fluoride pH and on laboratory data for the associated Florand and Lostridge soils.