LOCATION NARLON CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, thermic Typic Albaquults
TYPICAL PEDON: Narlon loamy sand - annual and perennial grasses. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A11--0 to 2 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loamy sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak thick platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; many very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; moderately acid (pH 6.0); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick)
A12--2 to 15 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loamy sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common very fine roots; many roots on a few soil joints; many very fine interstitial and few very fine tubular pores; small reddish brown sandy iron concretions 1/8 to 1/4 inch make up 2 percent of soil mass; strongly acid (pH 5.3); gradual wavy boundary. (2 to 15 inches thick)
A21--15 to 23 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) loamy sand, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; many medium faint mottles of pale brown (10YR 6/3); massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial, common very fine, few fine tubular pores; small reddish and larger yellowish concretions 1/8 to 2 inches make up 8 percent of soil mass; strongly acid (pH 5.3); gradual smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
A22--23 to 32 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) loamy sand, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial and few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial and few very fine tubular pores; strongly acid (pH 5.5); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
A/B--32 to 35 inches; relic rounded column tops and irregular lumps of degrading B2 horizon 1/4 to 2 inch diameter, brown (10YR 4/3) sandy clay loam, moist; with continuous moderately thick clay films in bridges, 40 percent of soil mass; remainder of soil is light gray to white (10YR 7/2, 8/1) loamy sand with weak skeletal column tops and very few thin clay bridges in places; strongly acid (pH 5.5); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
B21t--35 to 50 inches; gray (5Y 5/1) clay, dark gray (5Y 4/1) moist; many medium prominent yellowish red, reddish yellow and reddish brown mottles, dark reddish brown, strong brown, dark red, and light olive brown moist; moderate coarse columnar structure; very hard, extremely firm, very sticky, very plastic; few very fine roots on exterior of peds; few very fine tubular pores; continuous moderately thick clay films on faces of peds and clay nearly fills all pores, some clay films are dusky red (10R 3/2); few random distinct slickensides; very strongly acid (pH 5.0); diffuse smooth boundary. (9 to 17 inches thick)
B22t--50 to 67 inches; olive gray (5Y 5/2) sandy clay, mottles as above, but olive hues more dominant; moderate coarse prismatic structure; very hard, extremely firm, very sticky, very plastic few very fine roots on faces of peds; clay films and reaction as above; very few irregularly shaped pockets and joints with very abrupt boundary filled with white sand similar to A2 horizon; few slickensides as above. (6 to 18 inches thick)
TYPE LOCATION: Santa Barbara County, California; Vandenberg Air Force Base; 0.9 mile southwest on New Mexico Street from 13th Street, 270 feet south of railroad track.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the top of the B2t horizon is about 12 to 45 inches. The mean annual soil temperature is about 59 degrees to 60 degrees F. In most years the A1 and A2 horizons are saturated to within 3 to 10 inches of the surface from about January through March. These horizons become dry sometime in May, June or July and remain dry until November or early December.
The A1 horizon is gray, light brownish gray, grayish brown or pale brown. Dry values of 5 or less and moist values of 3 or less extend to depths of less than 10 inches. This horizon is loamy sand, loamy fine sand, and in a few pedons, sandy loam or fine sandy loam. It is moderately to strongly acid.
The A2 horizon is light gray or white. It has few to common faint to distinct brownish or reddish mottles and 1 to 15 percent brown and reddish brown concretions 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. In some pedons there are small reddish lumps not fully cemented. This horizon is strongly or very strongly acid.
The lower boundary is abrupt or there are relic parts of the B2t horizon within the lowest part of the A2 horizon. Matrix colors in the B2t horizon are in hue of 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y with chroma of 1 or 2. There are many coarse mottles and blotches or brighter color. Hue of the mottles is 10YR, 7.5YR, 5YR, 2.5YR or 10R and the chroma is 4 to 6.
The B2t horizon is clay or sandy clay. It usually has moderate or strong prismatic or columnar structure but in some pedons the lower part is angular blocky. This horizon is strongly or very strongly acid and has 20 to 35 percent base saturation. Some pedons have a few non-intersecting slickensides and some pockets and veins of bleached sand.
Lower horizons consist of B3 or C horizons. Unrelated rock formations or other slowly or very slowly permeable material underlie the profile at a depth of about 5 to 10 feet.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bladen, Chesterton, Cotati, Haire, Huichica, Kilarc, Las Flores, Leaf, Noyo, San Ysidro, Tangair, and Wright series. Bladen and Leaf soils are not dry for 60 consecutive days in the summer and fall. Chesterton and Huichica soils have a duripan and lack mottles in the argillic horizon. Cotati, Haire, and Kilarc soils lack mottles in the argillic horizons. Las Flores and San Ysidro soils lack mottles and have a base saturation of more than 75 percent in the argillic horizon. Noyo soils have less than 35 percent clay in the argillic horizon. Tangair soils are sandy and lack an argillic horizon. Wright soils have a base saturation of more than 35 percent and the soil temperature is less than 59 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Narlon soils are on partially dissected terraces of nearly level to moderate slopes at elevations of 20 to 800 feet. Typical profile expressions are on nearly level areas. Level phases and more loamy types have low distinct "hog wallow" micro relief. The climate is dry subhumid mesothermal with cool rainless but foggy summers and cool moist winters. The mean annual precipitation is 14 to 18 inches. Average January temperature is about 53 degrees F., average July temperature is about 59 degrees F., and mean annual temperature is about 57 degrees to 59 degrees F. The average freeze-free season is about 300 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: There are the competing Tangair soils and the Baywood, Marina, Santa Lucia, and Sheridan soils. Baywood, Santa Lucia, and Sheridan soils have mollic epipedons. Marina soils are sandy and have lamellae but lack an argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly to poorly drained. Temporary shallow ponds in swales in wet winters; A horizons are saturated in the winter and spring of most years. Slow to medium runoff. Very slow permeability in the B2t horizon.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for range; mostly in military reservation, woodland, and homesites. Vegetation consists of annual grasses and forbs, and low brush in the south and woodland in the north.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Only along the ocean in south and central California; Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Monterey Counties. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Monterey County, California, 1972.
REMARKS: The Narlon soils were formerly classified as Planosols.
The activity class was added to the classification in February of 2003. Competing series were not checked at that time. - ET
OSED scanned by SSQA. Last revised by state on 11/72.