LOCATION NEWCONE                 CA

Established Series
Rev. EWB-JVC
04/2017

NEWCONE SERIES

The Newcone series consists of very shallow, well drained soils that formed in colluvium and residuum derived from hydrothermally altered volcanic rock. Newcone soils are on mountains. Slopes are 30 to 75 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 500 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 5.6 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, isotic, acid, frigid, shallow Dystric Xerorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Newcone very gravelly sandy loam--forestland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with 45 percent gravel, 2 percent cobbles, and less than 1 percent stones.

A--0 to 3 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine interstitial pores; 40 percent gravel; 5 percent paragravel; strongly acid (pH 5.1); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 8 cm thick)

AC--3 to 15 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine through medium roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 50 percent gravel; 10 percent paragravel; strongly acid (pH 5.1); abrupt irregular boundary. (8 to 20 cm thick)

Cr--15 to 51 cm; weathered and fractured hydrothermally altered tuff; few roots and fine-earth in fractures; very strongly acid (pH 4.5).

TYPE LOCATION: Alpine County, California; on the Toiyabe National Forest about 0.3 mile northwest of the abandoned mining town of Loope; approximately 2,000 feet north and 1,250 feet east of the southwest corner of section 32, T. 10 N., R. 21 E.; USGS Heenan Lake 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 38 degrees 40 minutes 1.7 seconds north latitude and 119 degrees 41 minutes 57.4 seconds west longitude, WGS84 Decimal Degrees 38.6671389 latitude, -119.6992778 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in the moisture control section during late fall, winter, and spring; dry from July through early October for 75 to 90 consecutive days in the four months following the summer solstice; xeric moisture regime that borders on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature: 6.7 to 8.3 degrees C.
Depth to bedrock: 10 to 25 cm to a paralithic contact. The paralithic materials below the contact are weathered volcanic rocks such as andesitic tuff.
Sodium fluoride pH: 8.5 to 9.0.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 12 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: Averages 35 to 60 percent, mainly pebbles. Lithology of rock fragments are hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks such as andesitic tuff.

A and AC horizons
Hue: 7.5YR through 2.5Y.
Value: 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 6, dry or moist.
Texture: Very gravelly sandy loam or very gravelly loam.
Rock fragments: 35 to 50 percent, mainly gravel.
Clay content: 12 to 18 percent.
Reaction: Extremely acid, very strongly acid, or strongly acid.
Base saturation: Less than 60 percent in the AC horizon.

COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no other series in this family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Newcone soils are on mountains. They typically occur on backslope positions. These soils formed in colluvium and residuum derived from hydrothermally altered andesitic rocks. The parent rock has undergone acid-sulfate alteration resulting in a soil parent material that is enriched in aluminum and silicon and depleted in bases. Slopes are 30 to 75 percent. Elevations range from 1,830 to 2,445 meters. The climate is subhumid-continental with cold, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 410 to 610 mm, mean annual temperature is 3.9 to 7.2 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 40 to 70 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Carshal, Celeridge, Dogbed, and Pinew soils. All of these soils have slightly acid or neutral soil reaction classes. In addition, Celeridge and Dogbed soils have mollic epipedons.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; very high surface runoff; moderately rapid permeability; high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Newcone soils are used for forestland, recreation, watershed, and wildlife habitat. The native vegetation is mainly a forest canopy of Jeffrey pine with a sparse understory of antelope bitterbrush and greenleaf manzanita.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern California, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Range. These soils are not extensive with about 400 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRAs 22A and 26.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Alpine County (Toiyabe National Forest Area), California, 2006.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 15 cm (A and AC horizons).
Paralithic contact - The boundary at 15 cm to underlying weathered bedrock (Cr layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the soil surface to 15 cm (A and AC horizons).

The isotic mineralogy class is based on the field determined values for sodium fluoride pH. The revision of November 2003 updated the taxonomic class from Loamy-skeletal, isotic, acid, frigid, shallow Typic Xerorthents. The current Dystric subgroup is based on the estimated low base saturation.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.