LOCATION SNOWTELL CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, isotic Lithic Humicryepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Snowtell very gravelly coarse sandy loam--forest land. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is covered with 35 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones, and 5 percent boulders.
A1--0 to 1 inch; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) very gravelly coarse sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 or 2 inches thick)
A2--1 to 3 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine, common fine, and common medium roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
A3--3 to 10 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine, medium and coarse roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; few faint clay bridges between sand grains; 35 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; strongly acid; abrupt irregular boundary. (1 to 7 inches thick)
2R--10 inches; hard, unweathered granodiorite.
TYPE LOCATION: Mono County, California; on the Toiyabe National Forest about 2,000 feet southeast of Sardine Meadow; approximately 2,150 feet south and 1,900 feet east of the northwest corner of section 6, T. 5 N., R. 22 E.; USGS Pickel Meadow 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; 38 degrees 18 minutes 42.7 seconds north latitude and 119 degrees 35 minutes 54.7 seconds west longitude, NAD27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - Usually moist in the moisture control section during late fall, winter, and spring; dry from July through early October; Xeric moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature - 40 to 44 degrees F.
Mean summer soil temperature - 44 to 47 degrees F.
Umbric epipedon thickness - 4 to 10 inches.
Depth to bedrock - 4 to 10 inches to a lithic contact.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 10 to 18 percent;
Rock fragments: Averages 35 to 60 percent, mainly gravel and cobbles.
Lithology of fragments are mixed igneous and metamorphic rocks such as andesite, granodiorite, schist, or gneiss.
A1 and A2 horizons
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Organic matter content: 2 to 4 percent.
Reaction: Very strongly acid or strongly acid.
Sodium fluoride pH: 8.5 to 9.5.
A3 horizon
Hue: 10YR, 7.5YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 4 dry, 2 or 3 moist.
Organic matter content: 2 to 4 percent.
Reaction: Very strongly acid or strongly acid.
Sodium fluoride pH: 9.5 to 11.0.
COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no other series in this family. A potential competitor in the obsolete subgroup of Humic Lithic Dystrocryepts is the Telluride series.
Telluride soils have a udic moisture regime.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Snowtell soils are on mountains with superimposed moraines. They typically occur on summit and footslope positions. They formed in reworked till derived mainly from volcanic rocks such as andesite. Some areas are influenced by colluvium derived from granodiorite, schist, or gneiss. Slopes are 8 to 75 percent. Elevations range from 8,000 to 10,000 feet. The climate is subhumid-continental with cold, moist winters and cool, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 30 to 50 inches, mean annual temperature is 36 to 39 degrees F., and the frost-free period is 30 to 60 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Sonorapass and Stumpatil soils. Sonorapass soils are moderately deep to lithic contacts. Stumpatil soils are very deep.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; very high surface runoff; moderately rapid permeability (high saturated hydraulic conductivity).
USE AND VEGETATION: Snowtell soils are used for forestland, recreation, watershed, and wildlife habitat. The native vegetation is a forest canopy of lodgepole pine and western white pine with an understory of currant, sedge, bluegrass, and needlegrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern California, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Range. These soils are not extensive with about 5,000 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 22A.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mono County (Toiyabe National Forest Area), California, 2006.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Umbric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 10 inches (A1, A2, and A3 horizons).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 10 inches to underlying hard, unweathered bedrock (2R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the soil surface to 10 inches (A1, A2, and A3 horizons).
The revision of December 2006 updated the taxonomic class from Humic Lithic Dystrocryepts based on the tenth edition of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 2006.
The revision of September 2003 updated the taxonomic class from Loamy-skeletal, isotic Lithic Dystrocryepts. The isotic mineralogy class is based on the field determined values for sodium fluoride pH.