LOCATION WUNJEY CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, calcareous, thermic Typic Xerofluvents
TYPICAL PEDON: Wunjey silt loam - fallow abandoned pasture (Colors for dry soils unless otherwise noted)
Ap--0 to 6 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) silt loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; abundant very fine roots; few very fine vesicular pores; moderately calcareous with disseminated lime; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 7 inches thick)
A12--6 to 11 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; hard, friable, nonsticky and slightly plastic; abundant very fine roots; many micro and few fine tubular pores; strongly alkaline (pH 8.7); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 6 inches thick)
C1--11 to 25 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky, and slightly plastic; plentiful fine and few coarse roots; common micro and many very fine tubular, few coarse vesicular pores; moderately calcareous with disseminated lime; moderately alkaline with disseminated lime; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); diffuse smooth boundary. (9 to 14 inches thick)
C2--25 to 66 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; nonsticky, slightly hard, friable, and slightly plastic; few medium roots; common micro; many very fine tubular and few, coarse vesicular pores; moderately calcareous with disseminated lime; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Fresno County, California; 1600 feet west and 200 feet north of the junction of Ashlan and Butte Avenues in the SE 1/4, SW 1/4, SE 1/4, of sec. 18, T. 13 S., R. 17 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mineralogy of the soil is mixed; the mean annual soil temperature is approximately 60 to 65 degrees F.; the soil is usually dry but moist for 90 consecutive days between depths of 5 to 15 inches during winter rainy season; the soil is dry for 60 consecutive days after June 21 between a depth of 5 to 15 inches.
The A horizons range in color from pale brown, light brownish gray to gray (10YR 6/2, 6/3, 7/2, 7/3); in texture from very fine sandy loam to silt loam, usually over 50 percent silt and less than 18 percent clay. They are strongly alkaline, calcareous and saline-alkali.
The C horizons are the same color as the A horizons or may range to yellowish brown (10YR 5/6). The texture is fine sandy loam, usually over 50 percent silt and less than 18 percent clay and may be stratified at depths greater than 30 inches. The reaction is moderately to very strongly alkaline and the soils are saline-alkali and calcareous.
COMPETING SERIES: San Emigdio, Hesperia and Rosamond soils are not as silty nor moist for 90 consecutive days. Traver soils have weak B2t horizons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Wunjey soils occur on nearly level to channeled floodplains and recent alluvial fans at elevations of 150 to 300 feet in a semi-arid climate having a mean annual precipitation of 8 to 10 inches, with hot dry summers and cool relatively moist winters; an average January temperature of 45 degrees F.; an average July temperature of 83 degrees F. with a mean annual temperature of 63 degrees F. The average frost free season is over 265 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Chino, Dinuba, Hanford, Grangeville, and Traver soils. Chino soils are grey and may have neutral surfaces. Dinuba soils have slightly acid to neutral surfaces. Grangeville soils have grayish brown surfaces.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: The soil is moderately well to well drained; runoff is slow; permeability is moderate to moderately rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for dry pasture supporting saltgrass, alkali sacaton with some annual grasses and forbs. Some areas have been developed and are being used for cotton, alfalfa, potatoes and irrigated pasture.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: On lower alluvial fans and on flood plains of the San Joaquin Valley in Madera and Fresno Counties. The series is not extensive with a total of 3,500 acres.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Madera Area, California, 1959.
REMARKS: 1938 yearbook classification - Solonchak
The activity class was added to the classification in March of 2003. Competing series were not checked at that time. - ET
OSED scanned by SSQA. Last revised by state on 5/69.