LOCATION KERNVILLE CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, thermic, shallow Typic Xeropsamments
TYPICAL PEDON: Kernville gravelly loamy coarse sand - on a west facing slope of 52 percent under buckbrush, scrub oak and Digger Pine at an elevation of 2,960 feet(~900 meters). (When described on May 3, 1990, the soil was dry throughout; Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated).
A1--0 to 5 inches (0 to 13 cm); brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly loamy coarse sand, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; many fine interstitial pores; 20 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
A2--5 to 16 inches (13 to 41 cm); brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly loamy coarse sand, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; common fine interstitial and few fine tubular pores; 20 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.6); abrupt wavy boundary. (7 to 13 inches thick)
Cr--16 to 19 inches (41 to 48 cm); partly decomposed granodiorite bedrock.
R--19 inches (48 cm); hard fractured granodiorite bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Kern County, California; about 0.3 miles west of intersection between Highway 155 and Sawmill Rd. and about 100 feet upslope on west side of Sawmill Rd.; about 1,630 feet west and 2,260 feet north of the southeast corner of Sec. 7, T. 26 S., R. 33 E., Lake Isabella North, Calif. quadrangle; lat. 35 degrees 40 minutes 51 seconds N and long. 118 degrees 27 minutes 57 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to decomposed granitic bedrock is 9 to 19 inches (23 to 48 cm). Depth to hard fractured bedrock is 10 to 20 inches (25 to 51 cm).
Soil Temperature - The mean annual soil temperature is 59 to 64 degrees F. Above 41 degrees F from February 1 to December 1 (290 to 310 days) above 47 degrees F from February 15 to November 15 (260 to 280)
Soil moisture - dry from June 1 to November 1
Control section - Texture: gravelly loamy coarse sand or bouldery loamy coarse sand
Clay content: 4 to 10 percent.
Rock fragments: 15 to 35 percent, dominantly fine (2-5 mm) gravel. Some areas are bouldery with 5 to 15 percent boulders.
Reaction - Slightly acid to neutral.
A horizon - Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3.
Organic matter: 0.5 to 1.0 percent.
In some of the deeper pedons, a C horizon is present. All characteristics are similar to the A horizon with the exception that the chroma is typically one value higher, both moist and dry.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Pismo and Sumiwawa series. These soils are derived from sandstone and occur at elevations below 2600 feet.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Kernville soils occur on hills and mountains. Slopes are 5 to 75 percent. These soils formed in material weathered from granitic rocks. Elevations are 2,600 to 5,000 feet (792 to 1524 meters). The mean annual precipitation is 9 to 14 inches (230 to 356 mm). The mean January temperature is about 44 degrees F. (7 degrees C.); the mean July temperature is about 81 degrees F.(27 degrees C.) The mean annual temperature is 56 to 62 degrees F.(13 to 17 degrees C.) The frost-free season is 175 to 225 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Faycreek, Hogeye and Hungrygulch soils. Faycreek soils have a mollic epipedon and a mesic soil temperature regime and are on north facing slopes. Hogeye and Hungrygulch soils are deeper than 20 inches to a paralithic contact and have a coarse-loamy particle-size class.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; medium to rapid runoff; rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Kernville soils are used for livestock grazing, wildlife habitat and homesite development.. The vegetation is mainly white brittlebush, goldenbush, buckbrush, scrub oak, Digger Pine, red brome and wild oats.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California. The series is not extensive in MLRA's 18 and 29.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kern County, California; Kern County, Northeastern Part amd Southeastern Part of Tulare County 2005. Source of name is from the town of Kernville.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 16 inches (A1, A2)
Paralithic contact at 16 inches.