LOCATION GOLDENHILLS             CA

Established Series
Rev: SMR/PBF/CAH/ET
04/2015

GOLDENHILLS SERIES

The Goldenhills series consists of deep, somewhat excessively drained soils formed in colluvium and residuum weathered from granitoid or gneissic rocks. Goldenhills soils are on mountains. Slopes range from 30 to 75 percent. The mean annual precipitation is 100 millimeters (4 inches) and the mean annual air temperature is 21.5 degrees C (71 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, hyperthermic Typic Torriorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Goldenhills gravel on a south-facing, 67 percent slope at an elevation of 465 meters (1,525 feet). (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

C -- 0 to 6 centimeters (0 to 2 inches); gravel; 9 percent fine gravel, 35 percent medium and coarse gravel, 25 percent cobbles, 10 percent stones and 1 percent boulders; abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 15 centimeters thick)

A -- 6 to 8 centimeters (2 to 3 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly loamy sand, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; common very fine dendritic tubular and vesicular pores; 20 percent fine gravel, 20 percent medium and coarse gravel, 10 percent cobbles and 1 percent stones; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 5 centimeters thick)

Bw -- 8 to 25 centimeters (3 to 10 inches); pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly loamy sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; 10 percent fine gravel, 25 percent medium and coarse gravel and 5 percent cobbles; very slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 54 centimeters thick)

Ck1 -- 25 to 67 centimeters (10 to 26 inches); pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly loamy sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; 10 percent prominent, light gray (10YR 7/2) dry, calcium carbonate coats on rock fragments; 10 percent fine gravel, 20 percent medium and coarse gravel and 3 percent stones; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); abrupt wavy boundary.

Ck2 -- 67 to 120 centimeters (26 to 47 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) extremely cobbly loamy sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots in cracks; 50 percent prominent, light gray (10YR 7/2) dry, calcium carbonate coats on rock fragments; 5 percent fine gravel, 35 percent medium and coarse gravel, 30 percent cobbles and 10 percent stones; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (42 to 143 centimeters thick)

R -- 120 to 158 centimeters (47 to 62 inches); very strongly cemented, hard granitoid bedrock with cracks greater than 10 centimeters apart.

TYPE LOCATION: Riverside County, California; approximately 24 kilometers (15 miles) north of the city of Indio; approximately 280 meters (920 feet) west and 380 meters (1,245 feet) south of the NE corner of section 16, T. 3 S., R. 6 E., San Bernardino Base and Meridian; USGS East Deception Canyon 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 33 degrees, 54 minutes and 54 seconds north latitude and 116 degrees, 21 minutes and 22 seconds west longitude; UTM 11S 559509e 3752907n (DTM: NAD83).

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture control section: usually dry, moist in some parts for short
periods during winter and early spring and for 10 to 20 days cumulative
between July and September following summer convection storms. These soils have a typic-aridic soil moisture regime.

Soil temperature: 22 to 25 degrees C. (72 to 77 degrees F)
Surface rock fragments: 80 to 95 percent, dominated by gravel.

Control section -
Rock fragments: 35 to 80 percent.
Clay content: 3 to 10 percent.
Organic matter: 0 to 0.5 percent.
Depth to a lithic contact: 100 to 150 centimeters (40 to 60 inches).

C horizon
80 to 95 percent rock fragments, with 10 to 84 percent gravel, 10 to 30 percent cobbles, 1 to 25 percent stones and 1 to 15 percent boulders.

A horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, and 2 to 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3 dry, and 1 to 3 moist.
Texture of the fine earth: sand, loamy sand or loamy fine sand.
Clay content: 3 to 8 percent.
Rock fragments: 50 to 65 percent, with 35 to 55 percent gravel, 2 to 10 percent cobbles, and 0 to 20 percent stones.
Effervescence: noneffervescent to slightly effervescent.
Reaction: slightly or moderately alkaline.

Bw or Bk horizons
Value: 5 or 6 dry, and 2 to 4 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry, and 2 to 4 moist.
Texture of the fine earth: loamy sand, loamy fine sand or sandy loam.
Clay content: 3 to 10 percent.
Rock fragments: 40 to 60 percent, with 35 to 45 percent gravel, 2 to 10 percent cobbles, and 0 to 5 percent stones.
Effervescence: noneffervescent to strongly effervescent.
Reaction: slightly to strongly alkaline.

Ck horizon
Value: 5 to 8 dry, and 2 to 6 moist.
Chroma: 1 to 4 dry, and 2 to 4 moist.
Texture of the fine earth fraction: sand, loamy sand or loamy fine
sand.
Clay content: 1 to 10 percent.
Rock fragments: 30 to 85 percent, with 20 to 65 percent gravel, 3 to 15 percent cobbles and 0 to 30 percent stones.
Effervescence: noneffervescent to violently effervescent.
Reaction: moderately or strongly alkaline.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Carrizo (CA), Carrwash (NV), Chemwash (CA) and Rizzo (CA) series. All of these soils are formed in alluvium and are very deep. In addition, Chemwash and Rizzo soils have mean annual soil temperatures greater than 25 degrees C, do not receive appreciable summer precipitation and are generally dry throughout the moisture control section for most of the year.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Goldenhills soils are on mountains. Slopes range from 30 to 75 percent. These soils formed in colluvium and residuum weathered from granitoid or gneissic rocks. Elevations range from 120 to 1,000 meters (395 to 3,330 feet). The climate is arid with hot, dry summers, and warm, moist winters. The mean annual precipitation is 75 to 125 millimeters (3 to 5 inches) and the mean annual air temperature is 20 to 23 degrees C (68 to 73 degrees F). The frost-free season is 300 to 340 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bulletproof, Fanhill and Whiterobe soils. All of these soils are on similar landscape positions. Bulletproof and Fanhill soils are shallow and Whiterobe soils are moderately deep to a paralithic contact. In addition, Bulletproof soils have sandy particle-size control sections and Fanhill soils have loamy particle-size control sections with a cambic horizon above the contact.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat excessively drained; low to medium runoff; high saturated hydraulic conductivity above the bedrock and low saturated hydraulic conductivity within the bedrock.

USE AND VEGETATION: Goldenhills soils are used for recreation and wildlife habitat. The native vegetation is creosote bush, brittlebush and burrobush.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Mojave Desert of southeastern California. MLRA 30. The series is of moderate extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Riverside County, California; Soil Survey of Joshua Tree National Park, California, 2012. The name is coined.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon include:

Ochric epipedon - from a depth of 6 to 24 centimeters (A and Bw horizons).
Particle size control section - from a depth of 25 to 100 centimeters.
(the Ck1 and part of the Ck2 horizon)
Lithic contact - the zone beginning at 120 centimeters. (R horizon)

ADDITIONAL DATA: NASIS User Pedon ID: 1249811121.

Responsibility for this series was transferred from Davis to Phoenix 4/2015. The last revision to the series was 5/2012. ET

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.