LOCATION WHITNEY CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, thermic Mollic Haploxeralfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Whitney fine sandy loam (roadside site, relatively undisturbed)
A1, A3--0 to 19 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) fine sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; essentially massive dry, very weak very fine granular structure moist; hard, friable; low in organic matter; numerous fine roots and very fine pores; neutral (pH 6.9); clear smooth boundary. (7 to 20 inches thick).
B2--19 to 28 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) heavy fine sandy loam; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, thin patchy darker brown clay films mainly along tubular pores and on some ped surfaces; low in organic matter; numerous fine roots and very fine pores; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 15 inches thick).
C--28 inches +; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) fine sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; massive weakly consolidated granitic sediments; distinctly micaceous; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8).
TYPE LOCATION: Madera County, California; SW1/4 SW1/4 sec. 1, T. 9S., R. 17E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The A horizons are usually of fine sandy loam or sandy loam texture and commonly of brown towards strong brown color, but they may range in color from strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) to nearly grayish brown (10YR 5/2). The B2 horizons are characteristically less acid, more brownish in color, and slightly fine textured, in places being light sandy clay loam in the lower part. The soils are normally slightly micaceous. The parent material is variable as to degree of consolidation and in places may have some thin irregular cementation in the upper part, approaching in degree the cemented material of the Rocklin soils. It is somewhat stratified but is not so variable with respected to statification and consolidation as the parent material for Pentz soils. Color of parent material may be very pale brown (10YR 7/3) pale brown (10YR 6/8), reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6), or strong brown (7.5YR 5/6).
COMPETING SERIES:
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Undulating, rolling, and hilly and in dissected old terrace positions; slopes smooth, well-rounded, and not broken by rock outcrop. The Whitney soils occur at elevations usually below 500 feet in a dry subhumid, mesothermal climate having a mean annual precipitation of 12 to 20 inches with hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters; an average January temperature of 43 degrees F.; an average July temperature of 80 degrees F. with a mean annual temperature of 61 degrees F. and an average frost free season of 250 to 300 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The Whitney soils occur in the same general area as the Cometa, Montpellier and Rocklin soils. They resemble the Rocklin soils in some respects. The Rocklin soils usually occur on gentler slopes, have more clayey B2 horizons, and have thin strongly cemented hardpans on the upper surfaces of the underlying semiconsolidated sediments.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Generally drainage is good with slow to medium surface runoff and moderate to moderately rapid permeability; not affected by seeps.
USE AND VEGETATION: The Whitney soils are used extensively for dry-farmed grains. Water supply for irrigation is limited, but where irrigated, citrus and deciduous fruits, small fruits, and vegetables, mainly in small holdings, are grown. Where not cultivated, use is mainly for range pasture. Mainly annual grasses and associated herbaceous plants; in places widely scattered oaks.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Dissected low terraces along the eastern edge of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, California. The Whitney series is mapped along the eastern edge of the Central Valley of California where it is extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Auburn Area, Placer County, California, 1924. (Source of name is railroad siding in Placer County.)
REMARKS: The Whitney soils mapped in the Lodi Area, California, conform in the main to the Pentz series as subsequently redefined.
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 1/59.