LOCATION HOUSER CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, calcareous, thermic Vertic Fluvaquents
TYPICAL PEDON: Houser clay, on a nearly level slope of less than 1 percent under irrigated barley at 189 feet elevation. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. When described on 5/13/76 the soil was moist below 9 inches.)
Ap--0 to 9 inches; light olive gray (5Y 6/2) light clay, olive gray (5Y 4/2) moist; moderately coarse subangular blocky structure; extremely hard, firm, sticky and plastic; common very fine roots; few very fine interstitial and tubular pores; slightly effervescent, disseminated carbonates; electrical conductivity 3.5 decisiemens per meter; sodium adsorption ratio 8; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (7 to 10 inches thick)
Bgnyz1--9 to 20 inches; gray (5Y 6/1) clay, variegated very dark olive gray (5Y 3/2) and olive (5Y 4/3) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; extremely hard, firm, sticky and plastic; common very fine roots; few very fine interstitial and tubular pores; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) redoximorphic masses of iron accumulation, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; few fine black (N 2/0) redoximorphic manganese concretions; slightly effervescent, disseminated carbonates; common scattered gypsum crystals; electrical conductivity 14 decisiemens per meter; sodium adsorption ratio 31; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (9 to 14 inches thick)
Bgnyz2--20 to 23 inches; light olive gray (5Y 6/2) silt loam, olive (5Y 5/3) moist; massive; very hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) redoximorphic masses of iron accumulation, dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; common scattered gypsum crystals; electrical conductivity 19 decisiemens per meter; sodium adsorption ratio 50; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick)
Bgnyz3--23 to 31 inches; gray (5Y 6/1) clay, olive gray (5Y 4/2) moist; massive; extremely hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) redoximorphic masses of iron accumulation, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; common scattered gypsum crystals; electrical conductivity 28 decisiemens per meter; sodium adsorption ratio 52; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (7 to 10 inches thick)
Bgnyz4--31 to 60 inches; olive gray (5Y 5/2) clay, olive gray (5Y 4/2) moist; massive; extremely hard, firm, sticky and very plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; common scattered gypsum crystals; electrical conductivity 30 decisiemens per meter; sodium adsorption ratio 51; many medium prominent dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) iron concentrations, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Kings County, California; 150 feet north of Blakeley Canal; 150 feet west and 825 feet south of the northeast corner of section 7, T. 23 S., R. 20 E., MDB&M; Latitude 35 degrees, 56 minutes, 47 seconds north and Longitude 119 degrees, 50 minutes, 35 seconds west; USGS Dudley Ridge Quadrangle.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The soil is more than 60 inches deep and is stratified. Vertical cracks extend from the surface and range from 1/2 to 1 inches wide at a depth of 20 inches at some time in most years. A few slickensides are present in most pedons but they do not intersect, or wedge-shaped aggregates are present. The organic matter is 1 percent or less at the surface and decreased irregularly with increasing depth. It is typically saline-sodic below the A horizon. Salinity ranges from 1 to 16 decisiemens per meter in the surface and 4 to 30 decisiemens per meter in the lower part of the profile. The soil ranges from slightly effervescent to violently effervescent with carbonates throughout to a depth of 20 inches. The substratum below a depth of 20 inches ranges from noneffervescent to violently effervescent. Gypsum crystals may absent in some pedons and are a result of additions of gypsum to the soil by farmers. The mean annual soil temperature is 64 to 67 degrees F. Distinct or prominent redoximorphic iron and manganese accumulations or depletions occur in the lower part of the A horizon and in the B horizon.
The A horizon has dry color of 5Y 7/1, 6/1 or 6/2, and 2.5Y 6/2, and moist color of 5Y 3/2, 4/2, 5/2 or 4/3, and 2.5Y 4/2. It commonly is clay or silty clay but may have thin (3 to 6 inches) surface layers of fine sandy loam. This horizon is moderately alkaline to strongly alkaline.
The B horizon has dry color of 5Y 5/1, 6/1, 7/1, 5/2, 6/2; 10YR 7/3; or 2.5Y 6/2 and 7/2, and moist color of 5Y 4/1, 4/2, 5/2, 5/3, 4/3; 2.5Y 4/2 and 5/2; or 10YR 5/4. It is clay or silty clay and has thin strata of silt loam or silty clay loam. This horizon is moderately alkaline to very strongly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other soils in this family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Houser soils occur on basin rims. Slopes are 0 to 1 percent. The soils formed in mixed alluvium dominantly from granitic and sedimentary rocks. Elevations are 180 to 220 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 6 to 7 inches. The climate is arid with cool moist winters and warm dry summers. The mean January temperature is about 47 degrees F.; mean July temperature is about 85 degrees F.; mean annual temperature is 62 to 65 degrees F. Frost-free season is 260 to 275 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Lethent and Rambla soils. Lethent soils have a natric horizon. Rambla soils have a contrasting particle-size control section of sandy over clayey and lack cracks in the surface.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained; medium runoff; very slow permeability. Most areas of this soil are now partially drained or drained due to dams and drainage ditches in the area. The previous water table was at 1 to 2 feet. A water table now varies with depth depending on the amount and kind of reclamation. The frequency of flooding is none to rare and the duration of flooding is more than one month.
USE AND VEGETATION: Irrigated cropland, mainly cotton and barley. Some areas are used for building site development.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: San Joaquin Valley. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kings County, California, 1980.