LOCATION MARIPOSA                CA

Established Series
Rev. GMK-RCH-LCL-ET-AGB-TKK-JTW
12/2018

MARIPOSA SERIES

The Mariposa series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils formed in material weathered from metasedimentary rocks. These soils are on mountains. Slopes are 2 to 75 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 1400 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 12 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Haploxerults

TYPICAL PEDON: Mariposa gravelly silt loam, second growth timber. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted).

Oi--0 to 3 cm; pine needles, duff and partly decomposed litter.

A--3 to 23 cm; pink (7.5YR 7/4) gravelly silt loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine, common fine and medium roots; many very fine and common fine pores; 20 percent pebbles; moderately acid (pH 6.0); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 30 cm thick)

Bt1--23 to 41 cm; reddish yellow (7.5YR 7/6) gravelly silt loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common very fine, fine and medium roots; many very fine, common fine, few medium pores; few thin discontinuous clay films line pores; moderately acid (pH 5.6); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 25 cm thick)

Bt2--41 to 69 cm; reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) gravelly heavy silt loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common very fine and fine, few medium roots; common very fine, few fine pores; common thin continuous clay films lining pores and ped faces; strongly acid (pH 5.5); abrupt irregular boundary. (10 to 35 cm thick)

R--69 cm; yellow (10YR 7/6) weathered slate, yellowish brown moist with nearly vertical cleavage planes.

TYPE LOCATION: El Dorado County, California; 1.2 km (3/4 mile) southeast of Kelsey; about 300 meters (1000 feet) northwest of center of section 24, T.11 N., R.10 E. WGS84 38.789611 latitude and -120.814222 longitude. UTM Zone 10 689840 meters E 4295699 meters N NAD83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil temperature: the mean annual soil temperature at 50 cm depth is 8 to 15 degrees C. The difference between mean summer and mean winter soil temperature is greater than 6 degrees C. The soils have a mesic temperature regime.

Soil moisture: the soil moisture control section is dry in all parts from about June to October. The soils have a xeric moisture regime.

Diagnostic Feature(s)
Ochric epipedon thickness: 10 to 30 cm
Argillic horizon thickness: 35 to 90 cm
Depth to lithic contact: 50 to 100 cm

Particle size control section weighted averages:
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 35 percent gravel, cobbles or stones
The argillic horizon is interrupted by bedrock within a horizontal distance of 40 to 140 inches.

A horizon
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR, 5YR
Value: 4 to 7 dry; 2 to 4 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6 dry or moist
Textures: loam, silt loam, very fine sandy loam
Clay content: 12 to 25 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 35 percent gravel, cobbles or stones
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral


Bt horizon
Hue: 7.5YR, 5YR
Value: 4 to 8 dry; 3 to 7 moist
Chroma: 4 to 8 dry or moist
Textures: loam, silt loam, clay loam, silty clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 35 percent gravel, cobbles or stones
Reaction: very strongly acid to moderately acid
Base saturation (by sum of cations): 5 to 35 percent

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Diamond Springs soils. Diamond Springs soils have a paralithic contact of fine grained metamorphosed acid igneous and rhyolitic rocks at a depth of 50 to 100 cm and do not have a lithic contact in the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: These soils are on mountain slopes at elevations of 470 to 1475 meters. Slope ranges from 2 to 75 percent. The soils formed in material from metasedimentary rocks. The climate is Mediterranean with, warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters. Mean annual precipitation is 840 to 1800 mm. Mean annual air temperature is 11 to 16 degrees C, average January temperature is about 4 degrees C, average July temperature is about 24 degrees C. The frost-free season is about 175 to 265 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Aiken, Cohasset, Jocal, Laughlin, Maymen, McCarthy, Musick and Sites soils. Aiken, Cohasset, Jocal, Musick and Sites soils do not have a root-restrictive bedrock contact within 100 cm. Laughlin soils are 50 cm or less to a lithic contact (sandstone). Maymen soils are 50 cm or less to a paralithic contact (metamorphic or sedimentary rocks). Laughlin, Maymen and McCarthy soils do not have argillic horizons. Cohasset and Musick soils have a base saturation (by sum of cations) of more than 35 percent in the lower argillic horizon. Aiken, Cohasset and McCarthy occur on lahars. Jocal and Sites occur on mountain slopes and formed from metasedimentary rocks. Sites soils occur on more stable summits and backslopes and have greater than 35 percent clay in the upper argillic horizon.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high throughout the profile. Saturated hydraulic conductivity of the fractured bedrock is moderately low to moderately high.

USE AND VEGETATION: The dominant land use is timber production, with some grazing and deciduous fruit orchards. Vegetation is typically mixed coniferous forest-shrub, with Douglas fir, white fir, ponderosa pine, sugar pine, California black oak, tanoak, whiteleaf manzanita and Pacific poison oak.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Sierra Nevada Mountains of California; MLRA 22A. The series is extensive.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sacramento Valley Area Reconnaissance, California, 1913.

REMARKS:
Particle size control section for this pedon: 23 to 69 cm

Diagnostic features and properties recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 23 cm
Argillic horizon: 23 to 69 cm
Lithic contact: 69 cm

This series was formerly classified as fine-loamy, mixed, mesic Ruptic-Lithic-Xerochreptic Haploxerults. It can be expected that the areas mapped with this older taxonomy have areas of shallower bedrock. Where the bedrock is within 50 centimeters the argillic horizon is absent.

ADDITIONAL DATA:

NASIS User Pedon ID: 08CA624001

The soil was classified using the 12th edition of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.