SOIL SURVEY OP THE RED BLUFF AREA, CALIFORNIA. 



49 



soil or a free gravelly subsoil occur. Berries, melons, peaches, and 

 grapes will thrive and give returns commensurate ^Yith "a mod- 

 erate land value. The establishment of citrus fruit industries is 

 impracticable. 



Vina loam, deep silty phase, — The deep silty phase of the Vina 

 loam is of brownish or grayish-brown color and usually extends to 

 a depth of 6 feet. It is of friable character and yields readily to 

 tillage. 



This phase occurs as two or three somewhat extensive bodies below 

 the large terrace line separating the upland Tuscan series from the 

 alluvial plain of the Sacramento River and at a higher elevation than 

 the Sacramento series. In the Antelope Creek section it borders the 

 various channels of that creek where this stream turns at an angle 

 toward the river. As the river is approached the type gradually 

 gives way to the types of the Sacramento series. 



The surface of the areas is level, but well drained, and sufficiently 

 elevated to escape flooding by the Sacramento River overflow. Chan- 

 nels of abandoned waterwaj^s mark its surface. 



In origin this is an alluvial type, formed from material laid down 

 by the east side streams in their shifting courses after leaving the con- 

 fined channels which they have cut through the elevated plain. The 

 soil is of great depth, but in nearly all cases the volcanic gravel beds 

 underlie it, probably within 20 or 30 feet. 



Valley oak, cottonwood, willow, and sycamore along the water 

 courses constitute the natural tree growth. Wild oats and wild 

 grasses grow luxuriantly. 



Practically all of this phase is utilized, the greater part for grain 

 growing, but with some attention to irrigated alfalfa, maximum 

 yields of both crops being secured. 



The deep silty phase of the Vina loam is much superior to the 

 more elevated and shallower phases and is one of the very best soils 

 of the area. It possesses a wide range in adaptation to crops and is 

 capable of being brought to a high state of cultivation under irriga- 

 tion. It is well adapted to all the crops climatically possible and will 

 not fail to give maximum yields of peaches, prunes, grapes, sugar 

 beets, alfalfa, and various truck crops. 



The following table gives the results of a mechanical analysis of 

 the soil of this type : 



Mechanical analysis of Tina loam. 



