LOCATION MUSICK CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Ultic Haploxeralfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Musick loam--on NE facing slope of 26 percent. Vegetation is 80 to 100 percent woody cover of ponderosa pine, incense- cedar, black oak with bear clover, manzanita and deer brush. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. When described on July 3, 1958 the soil was dry).
Oi--3 to 0 inches; loose, fibrous litter mainly from bear clover, partly decomposed in the lower portion.
A--0 to 6 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable; many very fine and fine roots; slightly acid (pH 6.5); abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick)
AB--6 to 14 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, dark brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium and fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; many very fine, fine, and medium roots; common thin clay films line pores; slightly acid (pH 6.2); abrupt irregular boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--14 to 20 inches; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) clay loam, dark red (2.5YR 3/6) moist; moderate coarse angular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine, medium, and coarse roots; many very fine and few fine pores; thin nearly continuous clay films on vertical peds; slightly acid (pH 6.2); abrupt irregular boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bt2--20 to 45 inches; red (2.5YR 5/6) clay loam, dark red (2.5YR 3/6) moist; weak very coarse prismatic structure parting to coarse angular blocky; very hard, firm, slightly sticky and plastic; few fine, medium, and coarse roots; few very fine and fine pores; moderately thick nearly continuous clay films on peds and in pores; moderately acid (pH 5.7); diffuse smooth boundary. (15 to 30 inches thick)
BCt--45 to 73 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) sandy clay loam, red (2.5YR 4/6) moist; appears massive but parts to weak coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and plastic; few fine, medium, and coarse roots; many very fine interstitial pores; few thin red (2.5YR 5/6) clay films on peds; strongly acid (pH 5.4); diffuse wavy boundary. (15 to 45 inches thick)
C1--73 to 89 inches; reddish yellow (5YR 6/6) sandy loam, yellowish red (5YR 4/6) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable; very few medium and coarse roots; many very fine interstitial pores; original rock structure detectable but indistinct; few thick clay films; moderately acid (pH 5.6); diffuse wavy boundary. (10 to 30 inches thick)
C2--89 to 113 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; otherwise similar to C1 horizon; grades into very pale brown strongly weathered quartz diorite.
TYPE LOCATION: Fresno County, California, about 6 miles south of Shaver Lake and 7 miles east of Tollhouse; 1/4 mile south of the center of section 29, T.10 S., R.25 E., MDB&M.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to a paralithic contact of weathered granitic rock is more than 60 inches. The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 53 to 59 degrees F. The soil is usually dry between depths of about 6 and 26 inches for 120 to 150 days between late May or early June and sometime in October.
The A horizon is 10YR 5/3, 5/2, 4/3, 4/2, 5/1; 7.5YR 5/4, 4/4, 5/2, 4/2 or N/5. Moist color is 10YR 4/4, 3/3, 3/2, 7.5YR 5/4, 5/2, 4/4, 4/2, 3/4, 3/2, or 5YR 5/4, 5/3, 4/6, 4/4, 4/3, 3/4, 3/3, 3/2. It becomes redder or has a higher chroma in the lower part. It is loam, sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, or fine sandy loam. It is slightly acid or moderately acid.
The Bt horizon is 5YR or 2.5YR 5/8, 4/8, 6/6, 5/6, 4/6, 3/6, 5/4, 4/4 or 5YR 6/8, 5/6 or 6/6. Moist color is 2.5YR 3/6, 4/6, or 4/8. It may have variegated streaks or other color segregations in the hue of 5YR or 10R. Clay content in the upper 20 inches ranges from 20 to 35 percent but usually averages more than 30 percent. Coarse and very coarse sand averages 16 to 26 percent. It is dominantly clay loam or sandy clay loam but is clay or sandy clay in the lower part in some pedons. Base saturation by sum of cations ranges from 35 to 60 percent. Mica content ranges up to 40 percent.
The C horizon commonly is 10YR, 7.5YR or 5YR 6/8, 5/8, 6/6, or 5/6 but in some pedons it is 10YR or 5YR 5/4; 7.5YR or 5YR 7/8 or 7/6, or 5YR 4/8, 4/6, 5/3, or 4/3. It is loam, sandy loam, or coarse sandy loam and may be gravelly.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bernhill, Boardburn (T), Boomer, Casabonne, Cherryhill, Cle Elum, Cohasset, Crozier, Dalig (T), Fives, Fordcreek (T), Gunn (T), Holland, Hood, Hotaw, Latourell, Lettia, McGowan (T), Norling, Para (T), Rosehaven (T), Sanhedrin, Searface (T), Speaker, Teanaway, Tigit (T), Trelk (T), Ulhalf (T), Underwood, Varelum, Wilkeson, and Wohly soils. Boomer, Cohasset, and Glenview soils average less than 15 percent coarse plus very coarse sand in the control section. Bernhill, Casabonne, Cherryhill, Cle Elum, Dalig, Fives, Gunn, Hood, Latourell, Lettia, McGowan, Para, Rosehaven, Speaker, Teanaway, Tigit, Trelk, Underwood, Varelum, Wilkeson, and Wohly soils are all dry in the control section for less than 120 days in most years. Cohasset soils are influenced by amorphous material and lack moist hue of 2.5YR in the argillic horizon. Cle Elum Crozier Hotaw, Norling, Speaker, Tigit and Wohly soils are less than 40 inches deep to bedrock. Holland soils lack an abrupt upper boundary to the Bt horizon and lack moist 2.5YR hue in the argillic horizon. Boardburn and Scarface soils have mean annual soil temperatures of 47 to 52 degrees F. Fordcreek and Sanhedrin soils have a combined A and Bt thickness of 40 to 60 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Musick soils are on mountains at elevations of 2,000 to 5,000 feet. Slopes are 2 to 75 percent. These soils formed in material derived from granite, granodiorite, quartz diorite, or syenite. The climate has warm, nearly dry summers and cool, moist winters. Mean annual precipitation varies from 35 to 70 inches, some of which occurs as snow. Mean annual temperature is about 54 degrees F, average January temperature is 37 degrees F, and average July temperature is 72 degrees F. Frost-free season is 140 to 220 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Aiken, Chawanakee, Jocal, Shaver, Sites, and the competing Cohasset and Holland soils. Aiken, Josephine, and Sites soils have a base saturation of less than 35 percent in the control section. Chawanakee and Shaver soils lack an argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to rapid runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for production of commercial timber. A few areas are used for deciduous orchards, or for pasture, wildlife, watershed and recreation. Tree species in order of dominance are ponderosa pine, incense-cedar, white fir, black oak, canyon live oak, mountain dogwood and shrub species.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The upper foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California. The series is moderately extensive. MLRA is 22.
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL Pedons: S83CA-019-302, S77CA-019-003 (ric); in Amador County: S59CA-005-013 (ric) and S59CA-005-014 (taxadjunct) which is in the parasesquic family; in Mariposa County NSSL pedon S92CA-043-102; in Stanislaus NF NSSL pedon S90CA-109-107 (taxadjunct).
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Amador County, California, 1963.