SOIL SURVEY OF THE REDDING AREA, CALIFORNIA. 



19 



ing, treeless sections of the upland plain. The surface is frequently 

 marked by the presence of hog wallows and small drainage depres- 

 sions occupied by pools of water or by areas of checked and puddled 

 soils. 



Redding loam is a sedimentary soil derived from ancient alluvium, 

 once filling the greater part of theSacramento Valley to a great depth. 



Owing to the occurrence of hardpan, the shallow nature of the soil, 

 and to its position in unirrigated sections of the area, this soil type 

 is of secondary agricultural importance, being usually devoted to 

 grazing or to dry farming to wheat. In a few favorably located 

 districts, where the deeper soil is found, small fruits and tree fruits 

 could be profitably grown under irrigation, while table and wine 

 grapes could probably be grown in limited areas by thorough cultiva- 

 tion. 



Numerous attempts at fruit culture upon the shallow phase of the 

 Redding loam without irrigation have resulted in failure, led to dis- 

 couragement, and given an erroneous impression of the Redding 

 area for fruit production. 



The average results of mechanical analyses of the fine earth of the 

 soil and subsoil of the Redding loam are given in the following table: 



Mechanical arialyses of Reddiyig loam. 



ROUGH STONY L.\ND. 



Rough stony land of the Redding area in the character of the soil 

 material is similar to the bodies of the Redding gravelly loam and 

 the Redding loam into which it merges. 



It consists of a few inches to 18 inches or more of a light-red, 

 gray, or yellowish-red to deep-red loam or clay loam carrying a rela- 

 tively large quantity of waterworn cobbles, small bowlders, and 

 gravel. It is underlain by yellow or red to gray clays, indurated 

 clay hardpan frequently carrying an excessive quantity of gravel 

 and cobbles or by beds of volcanic ash and breccias. 



It occurs in the northern and northeastern parts of the area as 

 irregular or narrow elongated bodies bordering stream valleys. It 

 is usually separated from the soils of the valley slopes and the stream 

 bottoms by high bluffs and rough, stony slopes. It occupies the 

 higher, hilly, and more deeply dissected sections of the uplands and 

 is generally wooded or covered with more or less brush, although 

 barren in some places. 



