LOCATION TALMAGE CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, thermic Fluventic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Talmage gravelly sandy loam--on a 1 percent west facing slope in an abandoned pasture under annual grasses and forbs at 650 feet elevation. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted. When described on May 25, 1978, the soil was slightly moist throughout.)
A1--0 to 9 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine through coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; common very fine and few fine and medium tubular pores; 25 percent pebbles, (2 to 50 mm in diameter); slightly acid (pH 6.5); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
A2--9 to 19 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine through coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few fine roots; common very fine and few fine and medium tubular pores; 50 percent pebbles and cobbles (2 to 150 mm in diameter); neutral (pH 6.6); gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
C1--19 to 33 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) extremely gravelly coarse sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; few very fine through medium tubular pores; 60 percent pebbles and cobbles (2 to 120 mm in diameter); neutral (pH 6.8); gradual wavy boundary. (12 to 20 inches thick)
C2--33 to 66 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very gravelly coarse loamy sand, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; 40 percent pebbles and cobbles (2 mm to 20 cm); neutral (pH 7.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Mendocino County, California; in the NW corner of small pasture on a line 400 feet south of the intersection of Millcreek Road and East Road on the Rehabilitation Center grounds south of the community of Talmage. (Land grant) 534,300 feet north and 1,670,150 feet east. California coordinate system, zone 2.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Talmage soils are over 60 inches deep. The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 59 degrees to 62 degrees F. The soil between a depth of 8 to 80 inches is dry, in all parts, from July through September and is moist in all parts from January to May.
Coarse fragments average 35 to 90 percent in the 10 inch to 40 inch particle-size control section. The fine fraction of the particle-size control section averages loamy very fine sand or finer. Textures are stratified throughout the profile and organic matter decreases irregularly with depth. The mollic epipedon is 10 to 19 inches thick. It is moderately acid through slightly alkaline.
The A horizon is 10YR 5/3, 5/2, 4/2. Moist color is 10YR 3/3, 3/2, or 7.5YR 3/2. It is gravelly sandy loam, gravelly loam, very gravelly sandy loam or very gravelly loam. It has 1 to 3 percent organic matter.
The C horizon is 10YR 5/3, 5/4, 6/3, 6/4, or 7.5YR 6/4. Moist color is 10YR 4/3, 4/4, 5/4, or 7.5YR 4/4. The upper C horizon is stratified gravelly loam through extremely gravelly coarse sandy loam. It may have thin strata of gravelly loam. The lower C horizon is very gravelly loamy sand through very gravelly coarse sand.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Talmage soils are on alluvial fans, terraces and plains, usually adjacent to active streams. Slopes are 0 to 9 percent. They formed in alluvium from mixed sources. Elevations are 350 to 1,800 feet. The climate is subhumid with hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. Mean annual precipitation varies from 25 to 55 inches. Mean annual temperature varies from 54 degrees to 59 degrees F. Frost-free period is 150 to 250 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Russian and Cole soils. Russian soils are coarse-loamy. Cole soils are fine.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained; very slow to medium runoff; moderately rapid permeability. This soil is rarely flooded.
USE AND VEGETATION: Talmage soils are used for irrigated crops, dryland grain, pasture, livestock grazing and urban land. Vegetation is annual grasses, shrubs, forbs, with scattered oaks.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Valleys in Mendocino and Lake Counties. The acreage is of small extent. MLRA 14.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mendocino County, California, 1940.
REMARKS: The activity class was added to the classification in March of 2003. Competing series were not checked at that time. - ET
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - the zone from 0 to 19 inches (A1, A2 horizons)
Fluventic feature - irregular organic carbon distribution.