LOCATION NILAND                  CA

Established Series
Rev. RPZ/LAB/LCL/ET
12/2015

NILAND SERIES

The Niland series is a member of the sandy over clayey, mixed (calcareous), hyperthermic family of Typic Torrifluvents. Typically, Niland soils have very pale brown, stratified, gravelly sand and sand overlying pale brown, silty clay at a depth of 23 inches.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy over clayey, mixed, superactive, calcareous, hyperthermic Typic Torrifluvents

TYPICAL PEDON: Niland gravelly sand - desert. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

C1-- 0 to 23 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) stratified gravelly sand and sand, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable; common very fine random roots; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (14 to 36 inches thick)

IIC2--23 to 48inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silty clay, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak thick platy (or laminated) structure; extremely hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few fine exped roots; few fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.3).

TYPE LOCATION: Imperial County, California; about 2 miles north of Niland on the north bank of "Z" drain and 500 feet east of power line near center of S edge sec. 20, T.10N., R.14E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature at a depth of 20 inches is about 74 degrees F. The soils are usually dry and are not moist for as long as 60 consecutive days. The soil is calcareous throughout. Organic matter content is less than 0.5 percent and decreases irregularly with depth. Thickness of the sandy material overlying the clayey material is 14 to 36 inches. Rock fragments range from 0 to 20 percent by volume in the surface horizon.

The C1 horizon is very pale brown, pale brown, light yellowish brown, light brown or pink (10YR 7/3, 7/4, 6/3, 6/4; 7.5YR 6/4, 7/4) stratified gravelly sand, sand or loamy sand.

The IIC2 horizon is pale brown, light yellowish brown, very pale brown, light brown, pink, light reddish brown (10YR 6/3, 6/4 7/3, 7/4; 7.5YR 6/4, 7/4; 5YR 6/3, 6/4) clay, silty clay or clay loam with more than 35 percent clay. Vertical cracks in the clayey strata are often filled with sandy material and crack surfaces may have yellowish red stains. The IIC horizon ranges from non-saline to strongly saline.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Carrizo, Gilman, Holtville, Imperial, Meloland, Rosamond, and Rositas series. Carrizo soils have over 35 percent rock fragments in the control section. Gilman soils have less than 18 percent clay to a depth of 40 inches. Holtville soils are clayey in the upper part and are sandy in the lower part of the control section. Imperial soils are clayey throughout to a depth of 40 inches. Meloland soils are coarse-loamy over clayey in the control section. Rosamond soils are fine-loamy throughout the control section and have mean soil temperature less than 72 degrees F. Rositas soils are sandy throughout to a depth of 40 inches or more,

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Niland soils are nearly level and on basin and floodplain edges at elevations of 300 to minus 235 feet. They formed in coarse mixed alluvium overlying fine alluvium at depths of less than 36 inches. Slopes are usually less than 1 percent but range up to 5 percent. Average annual precipitation is less than 4 inches. The average January temperature is about 50 degrees F., average July temperature is about 90 degrees F., and the average annual temperature is about 72 degrees F. The frost-free season is about 300 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Coachella soils and the competing Carrizo, Imperial, Meloland, and Rositas soils. Coachella soils are sandy with thin silt and very fine sand strata.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well and moderately well drained; slow runoff; permeability of the sandy portion is rapid and permeability of the clayey portion is slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for growing irrigated row crops, field crops, and winter vegetables. Native vegetation is a sparse growth of creosotebush and wingscale. Mesquite and salt cedar grow where they can reach ground water.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Edges of Old Lake Cahuilla and Lower Colorado River floodplain in southern California in MLRA 31. The soils are of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: PHOENIX, ARIZONA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Imperial County (Brawley Area), California, 1920.

REMARKS: The Niland soils were formerly classified as Alluvial soils. The activity class was added to the classification in January of 2003. Competing series were not checked at that time. - ET

OSED scanned by SSQA. Last revised by state on 9/73.

Responsibility for this series was transferred from Davis to Phoenix 12/2015. The last revision to the series was 2/2003. ET

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.