LOCATION PULS CA+OREstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, smectitic, mesic, shallow Abruptic Xeric Argidurids
TYPICAL PEDON: Puls extremely cobbly loam - range land. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 3 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) extremely cobbly loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak thick and very thick platy structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine roots; common very fine interstitial and few very fine tubular pores; 70 percent cobbles and 10 percent stones by volume on surface; slightly acid (pH 6.5); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
B1t--3 to 9 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, very friable, sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine interstitial and tubular pores; 10 percent gravel by volume; few thin clay films on peds and in pores and common moderately thick clay films as bridges between mineral grains; slightly acid (pH 6.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)
B2t--9 to 17 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay, dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; strong medium, coarse and very coarse prismatic structure; very hard, friable, very sticky, plastic; few very fine roots, mostly concentrated along faces of peds; few very fine tubular pores; continuous thin clay films on peds; mildly alkaline (pH 7.5); abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
C1sim--17 to 20 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) indurated duripan with very dark gray (N 3/) common medium distinct manganese mottles; 0.5mm thick laminar silica tops of moderate thin platy structure; extremely hard; few very fine horizontal roots on top of horizon; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 10 inches thick)
C2sim--20 to 38 inches; reddish yellow (7.5YR 7/6) indurated duripan; massive parting to medium platy structure; extremely hard; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 43 inches thick)
R--38 to 40 inches; hard fractured basalt.
TYPE LOCATION: Modoc County, California; about 11 miles north of Modoc National Forest boundary on Crowder Flat Road, 320 feet easterly on dirt road to Whittemore Spring and 90 feet north of dirt road; in the NW 1/4 SE 1/4 sec. 16, T.44N., R.11E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the duripan is 7 to 20 inches. Depth to hard fractured basalt is 11 to 60 inches. The mean annual soil temperature at the top of the duripan is about 47 degrees to 55 degrees F. The soil temperature is above 41 degrees F. March 1 to December 15. The soil temperature exceeds 47 degrees F. from about April 15 to December 1. The soils between depths of 4 and 12 inches or to the duripan is usually dry all of the time from June until October or early November and is moist in some or all parts when the soil is above 47 degrees F. only from April 20 to July and from October 20 to December 1. It is usually dry and is not moist more than 90 consecutive days when the soil temperature exceeds 47 degrees F. Organic matter content in the upper 15 inches averages more than 1 percent. The A horizon is light yellowish brown or light brown to grayish brown dry (10YR 6/4, 6/3, 6/2, 5/4, 5/3, 5/2; 7.5YR 6/4, 6/2, 5/4, 5/2). Moist colors are dark yellowish brown to very dark grayish brown (10YR 4/4, 4/3, 4/2, 3/4, 4/3; 7.5YR 4/4, 4/2, 4/3, 3/2.) When dry values are 5 the surface is thin or has a moist value or chroma of 4. The A horizon is loam, heavy loam, or clay loam and typically is very or extremely stony or cobbly. It has a weak or moderate granular or platy structure. In some pedons this horizon is massive but has slightly hard consistence. It is slightly acid or neutral. The B horizon is brown and reddish brown to dark reddish brown dry (7.5YR 5/4,k 5/2, 4/4, 4/2; 5YR 5/4, 5/3, 5/2, 4/4, 4/3, 4/2, 3/4, 3/3, 3/2). The B horizon contains up to about 10 to 15 percent coarse fragments. The B1 horizon or B1t horizon is light clay loam and averages less than 30 percent clay. It has granular, subangular blocky or weak platy structure, is slightly hard or hard, and is neutral to medium acid. There is an abrupt boundary between the B1 horizon or B1t horizon and B2t horizon, with more than 15 percent increase in clay. The top of the argillic horizon is the top of the B2t horizon.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ayres, Bieber, Ditchcamp, Floke, Indian Creek, Lookout, Lovejoy, Packwood, Ratto, Sawabe, Thoms, and Trosi series. Bieber soils have mollic epipedons and are underlain by stratified cobbles. Ditchcamp soils have fine-loamy control sections and have duripans at depths greater than 20 inches. Floke, Ratto, and Sawabe soils have mean annual soil temperature less than 47 degrees F. Indian Creek soils lack abrupt textural AB boundaries and have calcareous gravelly and cobbly loamy sand C horizons. Lookout soils have duripans at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Lovejoy soils have duripans at depths of more than 20 inches and are underlain by alluvium that contains vitric materials. Ayres, Packwood and Thoms soils lack abrupt AB textural boundaries and have fine-loamy control sections. Packwood soils are underlain by basalt and Thoms soils by stratified pebbles and cobbles. Trosi soils lack abrupt textural AB boundaries and have more than 35 percent coarse fragments in the control section.
SETTING: Puls soils are nearly level to moderately sloping and are on nearly level to gently rolling hummocky plateaus at elevations of 4,500 to 6,200 feet. They formed in residuum from basalt, andesite flow rock or tuff. The rock occurs at depths of 11 to 60 inches. The climate is cool, semiarid mesothermal with warm, dry summers and cold, moist winters. Mean annual precipitation is 12 to 18 inches. Snowfall is 24 to 48 inches. Average January temperature is 28 degrees F.; average July temperature is 62 degrees F.; mean annual temperature is 45 degrees to 49 degree F. The freeze-free season is 80 to 110 days.
PRINCIPAL ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Bieber, Ditchcamp, and Packwood soils and the Deven, Gleason, Lorella and McQuarrie soils. Deven, Gleason, Lorella and McQuarrie soils have mollic epipedons and lack duripans.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; slow or medium runoff; very slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for rangeland. Vegetation is low sagebrush, phlox, bluegrasses, blue bunch wheatgrass, and scattered Western juniper.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern California in Modoc and Lassen Counties. The soils are moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Modoc County (Alturas Area), California, 1974.
REMARKS: The Puls soils were formerly classified as Chestnut soils. The type location is moved to Modoc County.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Riverside Laboratory, Pedon S73 Calif 25-3, not yet published.
OSED scanned by SSQA. Last revised by state on 6/74.