LOCATION MURKEN CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Pachic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Murken very stony loam on a northeast-facing 17 percent slope under a cover of digger pine, western juniper, birchleaf mountain mahogany, and grasses at an elevation of 3870 feet. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. When described May 2, l979, the soil was slightly moist throughout).
A--0 to 2 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very stony loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak fine platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; few very fine vesicular pores; 20 percent gravel and 20 percent stones; slightly acid (pH 6.5); clear wavy boundary.
ABt--2 to 7 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) very stony loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, common fine and few very fine roots; common very fine tubular and common very fine interstitial pores; few thin clay films in bridges between pores; 20 percent gravel and 20 percent stones; slightly acid (pH 6.5); clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon is 5 to 9 inches)
Bt1--7 to 13 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) bouldery loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine, fine, medium and few coarse roots; few very fine, fine and medium tubular pores; common thin clay films in bridges between mineral grains, in pores and few thin clay films on ped faces; 10 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones and 10 percent boulders; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--13 to 23 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) bouldery loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and common fine roots; common very fine, fine tubular and interstitial pores; common thin clay films in bridges of mineral grains and in pores and thin clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles and 10 percent stones and 10 percent boulders; neutral (pH 7.0); clear irregular boundary.
Bt3--23 to 33 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) very bouldery loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) moist; moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common coarse roots; few very fine, fine and medium roots; 10 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, 15 percent stones and 25 percent boulders; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 20 to 31 inches thick)
2R--33 inches, fractured unweathered basalt with cracks 6 to 10 inches apart, 1/2 to 2 inches wide, with little soil material in cracks.
TYPE LOCATION: Shasta County, California; about 8 miles southeast of McArthur, 0.75 mile south of the intersection of Pittville Rd. and Cindercone District BLM entrance road; 400 feet south and 1,320 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 24, T. 36 N., R. 5 E. Jellico NE (Cable Mtn.) quadrangle (7.5 minute series).
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to a lithic contact is 20 to 40 inches. Mollic epipedon thickness is 20 to 40 inches. The mean annual soil temperature is 47 to 50 degrees F. The soil temperature exceeds 41 degrees F from mid March to late November (260 days) and exceeds 47 degrees F from mid May to early November. The soil moisture control section (11 to 34 inches) is dry in all parts from about early July to early November (110 to 130 days) and is moist in all parts from December to May. The particle size control section averages 18 to 25 percent clay and 35 to 60 percent rock fragments, mostly stones and boulders. Rock fragments, mostly stones or cobbles on the soil surface, range from 35 to 60 percent. NaF pH is 8.0 to 8.5 and decreases with depth. Base saturation by Hach Kit ranges from 75 to 90 percent and increases with depth. Organic matter ranges from 1 to 2 percent throughout and decreases regularly with depth. Reaction is slightly acid to neutral and increases with depth.
The A horizon moist color is 7.5YR 3/2 or 5YR 3/2. Rock fragments, mostly stones or gravel, range from 35 to 60 percent. Clay content ranges from 18 to 25 percent.
The Bt horizon color is 7.5YR 4/4 or 5/4.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Dehlinger (OR), Demox (T CA), Drit (NV), Gamboa (CA), Langrell (OR), Packard (T OR), Plumas (CA), Raster (T NV) and Wrentham (OR) series. The Dehlinger, Demox, Drit, Gamboa, Langrell, Packard, Plumas, and Raster soils are more than 40 inches to bedrock. Wrentham soils have 25 to 35 percent clay in the control section and are dry for less than 90 days.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Murken soils are on lava plateau escarpments. Slopes are 15 to 30 percent. These soils formed in colluvium and eolian deposits weathered from extrusive igneous rock. Elevation is 3500 to 4000 feet. The climate is semiarid with warm dry summers and cold moist winters. Mean annual precipitation is 16 to 20 inches. Snowfall is 24 to 36 inches. The mean annual temperatures is 47 to 49 degrees F. The mean January temperature is about 32 degrees F. The mean July temperature is about 70 degrees F. Frost-free period is 80 to 100 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Coneward, Jellico, and Splawn soils. Coneward soils are on lava plateaus and stabilized dunes and are deep and sandy throughout. Jellico soils are on hills and lava plateaus, and have an argillic horizon. Splawn soils are on hills and lava plateaus and are clayey-skeletal.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; rapid runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is mainly used for wood products and livestock grazing. The vegetation is ponderosa pine, digger pine, western juniper, rabbitbrush, mountain mahogany, and perennial grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern California. The soils are not extensive. MLRA is 22.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Shasta County, Intermountain Soil Survey Area, California 1994. Source of name is from a spring.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - the zone from 0 to 33 inches (A1, A2, Bt1, Bt2, Bt3).
Lithic contact - the boundary at 33 inches (2R).
The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Reno MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data. The remainder of this document has not been updated.