Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
CEAS. F. SflAw
Prof*sot aj San,re"hnoinq!,
unluosit! ol Colitornta
The ReaJtVBl e Book ol Cdlifortuia 267
Vo,r;ation of Soils--4eog'.aphicatDilti.siona_-Soilsol
tke Great Va.lle|-The "yolo" Series-The SanJoarfuinqnd
Madera Se es. Soils Adapted to Dry" Farnling-Wkitc
Ash Soil.s-Ped,t Iand^s-S;its of Coa.sta[VqI]eE,Si;ftq Foot-
hil,ls, dnd,Intermttuntain Vo,ueus.
irrigation the dry bog condition is liable to break do\'r'nard the soils
becomehard, lumpy and difficult to keep in good physical condition,
but by carefully controlled inigation and well planned tillage, the
physical condition of these soils csn be maintaired without much
difffculty.
SOILS ,ADAPTED TO..DRY,,FASMINC
_ On the west side of the San JoaquinValley q\tends a g?€atarea
. of brown, gralsh brown and g?ay old transpor-ted soils having
medium heavy to heavy clay subsoils. Owing to the lack of water,
thesesoils have not been extensively irigated and their use is limiteal
almost wholly to pasture and dry-farming gmin. Where the rarnfall
conditions are sufficient, the production of g?ain is quite successful.
Similar soilsare found in Bmallerscatteredbodiesalonethe west siale
of the Sa.ramenio Valley. whilc thc norther.npart oathai- valley is
made up quite largely of red to light yellowish rpd, gaavelly and
stony soils, somehaving a cementedhardpan-likesubstratum,while
others are moderately open and porous. This land is used for pa8tute
and grain when dry, but vrith inigation considerableareas have been
plantedto fruits with goodrcsults.
GRAINANDPASTIMESOILS
Thloughout the ceniral part of the SacramentoValley occurlarg€
areas of heavy soils, the black clays and clay adobes of the Butte
Basin (Stockton series). the chocolatebrown of the Colusa B6sin
(Willows sedes), and the dark gray soils (Saoamento) of the Lower
Colusa,American and Yolo BasiDs. These heavy soils have been
larg€ly devoted[o grain and pasture. bul, with the developmentof
rice, grain has largely given \oay to l,hFlallcr crop for which these
soilshave provento be well suited.
..WHITEASH,,SOII^S
Throughoutthe central portion of San JoaquinValley, in a body
narlow in the north but gradually broadening out to the south, lie the
so-called"v,rhiteash" soils (Fresno and Pond series) occuplng level
topog"aphyand readily commandedby irrigation wat€r. To a con-
sidembleextent thesesoils have beeninjured by poor drainag€ and
the resultingaccumulationsof alkali, and are utilized only for pasture.
Where free from alkali, they are giving excellent retums with grains,
alfalfa, grapes and fruits. The future development of this great
body of soils dependson the possibilitiesof protection from poor
drainageand of reclamationfrom iniurious accumulationsof alkali.
PEAT LANDS
At the junction of the Sacramentoand San Joaquin rive$ lies
an areaof nearly 300,000acresof peat lands. In their natuml condi-
tion, theseislandswere subjectto periodicoverflowand were covered
\{ith a heavygrowth of tule and other water-lovingplants. They have
beenreclaimed by dyking out the overflow water and now constitute
an exceptionallyproductiveregion noted particularly for asparagus,
onionsand potatoes,but which produceslarge quantities of barley,
corn and beans. They are exceedinglyproductive,giving large yields
270 The Redtu Bl,ueBook of California ,
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DESERTLAND SOILS
AdjoiniDg the Imperial Valley on either side is a consialerable
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aresime areas oI very fine soils inrerspeised with conside;able
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TIIE SOILS O]I THE GBEA1 BASIN REGION
The creat Basin Region includes the Mojave Desert and the other
ai€a! lying norlh ol rhF lmperjal Valley and easrof rn"
Si"",." :f,ioun_
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SOILS OI' THE COASTALVALLEY RECION
T h e C o a s l _R a n g e s f r o m S a n r a B a r b a r a n o r l h t o r h e
] .'+ffxJ,il;,ilTH
Oregon line
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are confinedlo thesevallpys.although grain, hay and somp fruil is
produced on the residual soils of the louer slopps and ridgps. Thc
soils of the valleys are almost e,'holly Lransporled, occu-rrins as
terr:rces and benchps.as sloping alluvial ,[ans oi as level ffood p[ins.
Tlcy. vary widely in .haracrer, bui, usually are depp ancl free from
alkatr,nardpans,or other serioussjructul'aldelects.alihough they are
sometimesratlerdefi.ient in drainage. The fans and borto; landsof
most oI these\alleys.onsist of lhe brown soils of the yolo seriesor
the d€rk gra) ro black soils of tne Dublin serips. Thpseare of hish
_uality and are vely producri\e. Jn the Sanla Maria and Salin"as
ValleysLhey are extensivelyde\oted to beansand bFets,while in the
valreyslarlher north they are utilized lor the production of pruncs,
apricotsand other.fruits and for allalla and r rtck crops. tn jhe Eei
River Valley, soils somewhat similar to these have been developed.
They ar€ deep.-highlyproductive and here are generally devoted io the
proclu.lron ol lorage crop! and root clops with dairyinq as Lhe imDor_
lart jnclustry o_flhe region. The lerracF and bench landi of t he valieys
Includea numbpr oI dtffarentsoil series.\ary;ng widely in charanier
and in productivity. They are ulilized for pistu=re.grain, beans,ae_
clquousffutrs anct grapes.ctependingon ihe kind of soil and jhe
( male, the tocat conditionsol rainfall and iemperature oftFn
being
the deciding factor in determining the crops to be grown.
SOILS Of 'IHE SIERRA IPOTHILL REGION
Alolg the west flank of the Sierras lying at elevations be]o1r3000
feet is,thelong. narrcy'foorhill ,bell mtde up ol a seriesof iiregutai
uprands. rtdg.es anct_ht y areas cut by narrow valieys. The soils are
amosi vhotty resrdua,. being produced by thp wpalhering ol ihe
nar-'ve.rocks and tor llle mosl part fall inlo ihree series, {he Holland
anc blerra, Iormpd Irom granite rocks, and lbe Aiken fr,om th€
baaall,6and lavas. The soils are reasonably fefljle and give sooil
resulls wirh deciduousfruits, particularly wiih pears, plumJ, pea?fres
ano.appres. I he_sotls vary greall} in deplh, thprp being numerous
anarrow spol,sand rock oulcrops in almosl e\ erfr ficld and {he value ol
the orchards is trequenlly modified considerably by the amounl oI
waste land o(casioned by thesa shallow ptaces. irrilation ls aitnnutl
oecauseor the lopography. but lvater is generally abundcnt and bv
contour farming and .areful planning of tiie irrigition systems satisl_
ractory-results can be readily obtained. This region contains large
areas or undevetopecttand, mosl, ot it lying in places relatively remote
rrom goodshrpplngpoints. WitI thc developmenbolbetler roads and
rrngalron. these araas can be broughl under produ.tion.
SOILSOF TI'E INTER-MOUNTAINVALLEYS
Under this heading are jncludcd the agTicultural areas in the
northea€tern parl of the state. usually lying in small,.irreaular vallevs
enctospclby the -rAngesof the Sierra. Siskiyou or Klamarh mountains.
rne agrcutturat soils are practically all iransporled and vary widelv
rn tnelr character, depending on local condiljons atrecting thct form;_
tion. Most of the valleys lie at elevations over :O0Ofeei and are jub_
Ject to severc I rosts during the late months oI sp ng and the early
monlhsof fall. Theyarc tell suited,OottUv ."r!on o-f cii"iili
"oiJ
The Rea,ttuBIueBook oLqolito, ni;