LOCATION NODHILL CA
Established Series
Rev. PGN-KDA-CEJ
01/2023
NODHILL SERIES
The Nodhill series consists of well drained, moderately deep soils formed in material weathered from dense unconsolidated, calcareous sediments. Nodhill soils are on slopes of 5 to 30 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 11 inches and the mean annual temperature is 81 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Typic Haploxeralfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Nodhill loam on a northwest facing slope of 26 percent under soft chess, red brome, pine bluegrass, ripgut brome, filaree, Mormon tea, goldenbush and snakeweed. The elevation is 2,040 feet. (Color for dry soil unless otherwise stated. (When described November 5, 1985 the soil was dry throughout).
A1--0 to 6 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; strong medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and plastic; many very fine, few fine and medium roots; many very fine, fine tubular and interstitial pores; 20 percent clay content; 2 percent rock fragments, 3/4 to 1 1/4 inch in size; violently effervescent, few fine and medium soft masses and concretions; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 7 inches thick).
A2--6 to 10 inches light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) loam, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) moist; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, sticky and plastic; few very fine, fine and medium roots; common very fine, few fine tubular and interstitial pores; 21 percent clay content; few thin clay films staining and bridging mineral grains; 2 percent rock fragments, 3/4 to 1 1/4 inch in size; violently effervescent, few fine and medium soft masses and concretions; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick).
Btk--10 to 17 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, sticky and plastic; few very fine and medium roots; common very fine and fine tubular and interstitial pores; 24 percent clay content; common thin clay films staining and bridging mineral grains; 7 percent rock fragments 1/2 to l 1/2 inches in size; violently effervescent, common medium seams, soft masses and concretions; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2). (5 to 11 inches thick).
Bk--17 to 28 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) gravelly loam, light olive brown 2.5Y 5/4) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and plastic; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine and fine interstitial pores; 20 percent clay content; 20 percent rock fragments 3/4 to 2 1/2 inches in size; violently effervescent, many moderate seams, soft masses and concretions; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2). (8 to 17 inches thick).
2Cdk--28 to 38 inches; sediments of dense unconsolidated, calcareous, sandstone and shale gravels with laminar capping.
TYPE LOCATION: Fresno County, California; 3.25 miles east of Mercey Hot Springs. 2.5 miles southwest of Panoche Mountain. 200 feet south of the BLM access road. 300 feet north and 300 feet west of the southeast section corner. In the southeast 1/4 of the southeast 1/4 of section 18, T.14S, R.11E. Mercey Hot Springs, Calif. Topo. Quad.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to soft weakly cemented sediments ranges from 20 to 40 inches. The moisture control section of 7 to 23 inches is moist from January 1 to May 1 and dry from June 1 to October 15 in most years. The soil temperature is above 47 degrees F from February 15 to December 15. The mean annual soil temperature is 59 to 65 degrees F. The control section has from 25 to 35 percent clay content. Organic matter is less than 1 percent. The whole profile is moderately alkaline.
The A horizon is 10YR 6/3, 6/4; 2.5Y 5/4 or 6/4. Moist colors are 10YR 4/4; 2.5Y 4/4, 4/6, 5/3, or 5/4. It is loam or silt loam. The clay content ranges from 20 to 27 percent. Some pedons do not have coarse fragments. It is strongly or violently effervescent. Some pedons do not have secondary lime.
The Btk horizon is 7.5YR 6/4; 10YR 7/4; 2.5Y 5/6,or 6/4. Moist colors are 7.5YR 4/4; 10YR 5/6; 2.5Y 4/4, 4/6,or 5/4. It is loam, or clay loam. The clay content ranges from 25 to 35 percent but is always more than 1.2 times greater than the A horizon. Some pedons do not have coarse fragments. It is violently effervescent but some pedons lack concretions.
The Bk horizon is 7.5YR 5/4; 10 YR 6/6; 2.5Y 5/6, 6/4, 7/2, 7/4,or 7/6. Moist colors are 7.5YR 4/4; 10YR 5/6; 2.5Y 5/4, 5/6,or 6/4. It is loam, gravelly loam or clay loam. The clay content ranges from 20 to 32 percent. Some pedons do not have coarse fragments.
COMPETING SERIES: These are
Accelerator,
Arbuckle,
Blasingame, Bordon,
Bressa,
Creviscreek,
Esparto,
Fallbrook,
Montpellier,
Pomo,
Ramona,
Sesame,
Snelling,
Tivy,
Wasioja and
Wyman series. Accelerator and Arbuckle are over 40 inches to paralithic contact, have pHs below 7.8, and are non-effervescent. Blasingame has pHs below 7.8, are non-effervescent and have 5YR hues.
Borden is over 40 inches to paralithic contact, has pHs below 7.8, is slightly effervescent and has slopes of less than 5 percent. Bressa has pHs below 7.8, is not effervescent in the surface, has hues to 5YR. (precipitation. 20-40 inches), and has slopes steeper than 30 percent. Creviscreek is moderately well drained and has pHs below 7.3. Esparto has a lithic contact below 40 inches, has pHs below 7.3 is non-effervescent and has slopes below 5 percent. Fallbrook has a paralithic contact below 40 inches, coarser surfaces textures with less than 20 percent clay content (Granitic PM) and has 5YR hues in the subsoil. Montpellier, Ramona and Wyman are deeper than 60 inches, have pHs below 7.3 and are non-effervescent with 5YR hues in the B horizon. Pomo has a lithic contact below 40 inches, pHs below 7.2 and is non-effervescent, with slopes as steep as 50 percent. Seasame has weathered parent rock (Granite), pHs below 7.3 and is non-effervescent, with slopes steeper than 30 percent. Snelling is deeper than 60 inches, has pHs below 7.8, is non-effervescent, and has coarser surface textures with less than 20 percent clay content. Tivy is deeper than 60 inches, has pHs below 7.3 and is non-effervescent, with chromas below 3. Wasioja is deeper than 60 inches, is non-effervescent, has less than 20 percent clay in parts of the A horizon, and has slopes steeper than 30 percent.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Nodhill soils are on dissected terraces and hillslopes of foothills with 5 to 30 percent slopes. Elevations range from 1,440 to 2,213 feet. The soils have formed in materials weathered from dense unconsolidated, calcareous gravelly sediments of the Tulare formation. They are usually underlain by soft sandstones and soft shales of the Panoche formation at depth greates than 60 inches. The climate is subhumid with hot dry summers and cool moist winters. The precipitation is 9 to 13 inches. The mean annual temperature is 81 degrees F. The mean January temperature is 46 degrees F and the mean July temperature is 81 degrees F The frost free season is 220 to 245 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Exclose (T) and the
Grazer (T) soils. Exclose soils are very deep and are on hillslopes only. They are in a lower physiographic position being formed in the
Panoche formation which is below the
Tulare formation. The Grazer soils are deep, clayey and underlain with soft shales at 40 to 60 inches. They are in hillslopes of a lower physiographic position being formed in the Panoche formation which is below the Tulare formation.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, medium to rapid runoff, moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used as rangeland, and for recreation and wildlife habitat. The vegetation is soft chess, red brome, pine bluegrass, ripgut brome, filaree, cheatgrass, goldenbush, snakeweed, Mormon-tea ephedra and atriplex
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: These soils are in the Coast Range of California. They are not extensive in MLRA-15.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES PROPOSED: Fresno County, California, 1987. Name coined from Nonada Hill which is a nearby summit.
REMARKS: These soils were formerly mapped as Mercey in the unpublished report, Soil Survey of Western Fresno Area, California. The Nodhill soils are being differentiated by having a Xeric moisture regime and slopes that are less than 30 percent. (Nodhill is on dense unconsolidated, sediments of the Tulare formation, Mercey is on Panoche sandstone and shales). pH was determined by colormetric method using Hellige-Troug Triplex indicators and thymol blue. Texture determined by hydrometer method. Presence of carbonates determined by 10 percent HCl. Organic matter estimate based on nearby tests using Walkley-Black digestion method.
MAJOR DIAGNOSTIC HORIZONS:
1. OCHRIC EPIPEDON --0 to 10 inches
1.1 Dry color values over 6 or moist chromas over 3 or both
1.2 Organic matter less than 1 percent (estimate from near by test made by Walkley-Black Digestion method.)
2. ARGILLIC HORIZON --10 to 17 inches
2.2 3 percent clay increase from A to Btk horizon. (Hydrometer method)
2.3 Increase in secondary lime from few soft masses and concretions to common and many seams, soft masses and concretions. (10% HCl)
2.4 5 inches or thicker
2.5 Common thin clay films staining and bridging mineral grains
OTHER DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES AND CHARACTERISTICS:
1. XERIC MOISTURE REGIME
1.1 Moisture control section (7 to 23 inches) moist from 1/1 to 5/1, dry from 6/1 to 10/15. Interpolation from Panoche Junction, Idria, Mercy Hot Springs stations, Isohytal maps, USDC-NOAA and from soil moisture and temperature sites.
MONTHS: J F M A M J J A S O N D
DAYS: |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|
DRY
THROUGHOUT|...|...|...|...|...|<----137 days---->.|...|...|
MOIST
THROUGHOUT|<--121 days--->|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|
EXCEEDS 47
DEGREES F.|...|..<-------------304 days---------------->..|
2. FINE TEXTURE FAMILY
2.1 Texture control section is 20 to 34 percent clay
content (hydrometer method)
3. THERMIC TEMPERATURE FAMILY
3.1 Mean annual temperature is 81 degrees F., January
temperature is 46 degrees F., July temperature is 8l
degrees F. Interpolation from Panoche Junction, Idria,
Mercey Hot Springs stations, Isohytal maps, USSDC-NOAA
and from soil moisture and temperature sites.
3.2 Soil temperature is 59 to 65 degrees F. Interpolation
from Panoche Junction, Idria, Mercey Hot Springs station
and from soil moisture and temperature sites.
4. MIXED MINERALOGY
4.1 Parent material from Tulare formation which is mixed
sedimentary sediments.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.