Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Major Land Resource Area 120C
Major Land Resource Area
Accessed: 04/24/2026
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1
Select an ecological site
Select an ecological site using the list, keys, photos, briefcase, or quick search option located on this page. -
2
Explore the ecological site description
Next, learn more about the selected ecological site and its characteristic dynamics by browsing the ecological site description and exploring alternative state and transition model formats.
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precipitation
frost free days
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Viewing 9 of 9
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i
Key Characteristics
- Not as above,
- Geology older (generally Mesozoic Era) or mixed ages associated with Sierra Nevada (beginning around Lake Oroville)
- Geology highly complex, interfingering of volcanic, sedimentary (metamorphozed), and some granitics. The break between MLRA 17 and MLRA 18 is more gradual than in the southern LRU's, lower foothill slopes gently to strongly sloping. (LRU I)
- Site not as above
- Site occurs on a hill or hillslope (various geologies)
- MAP is at least 18 inches
- MAP > 25 inches
- Not as above
- Site in a mesic STR
- Site on sideslopes and often steeper and/or north-facing (California black oak dominant tree and high density of shrubs and a few conifers)
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Not as above,
- Geology older (generally Mesozoic Era) or mixed ages associated with Sierra Nevada (beginning around Lake Oroville)
- Geology highly complex, interfingering of volcanic, sedimentary (metamorphozed), and some granitics. The break between MLRA 17 and MLRA 18 is more gradual than in the southern LRU's, lower foothill slopes gently to strongly sloping. (LRU I)
- Site not as above
- Site occurs on a hill or hillslope (various geologies)
- MAP is at least 18 inches
- MAP > 25 inches
- Not as above
- Site in a mesic STR
- Site on sideslopes and often steeper and/or north-facing (California black oak dominant tree and high density of shrubs and a few conifers)
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Not as above,
- Geology older (generally Mesozoic Era) or mixed ages associated with Sierra Nevada (beginning around Lake Oroville)
- Geology highly complex, interfingering of volcanic, sedimentary (metamorphozed), and some granitics. The break between MLRA 17 and MLRA 18 is more gradual than in the southern LRU's, lower foothill slopes gently to strongly sloping. (LRU I)
- Site not as above
- Site occurs on a hill or hillslope (various geologies)
- MAP is at least 18 inches
- MAP > 25 inches
- Not as above
- Site in a mesic STR
- Site on sideslopes and often steeper and/or north-facing (California black oak dominant tree and high density of shrubs and a few conifers)
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Not as above,
- Geology older (generally Mesozoic Era) or mixed ages associated with Sierra Nevada (beginning around Lake Oroville)
- Geology highly complex, interfingering of volcanic, sedimentary (metamorphozed), and some granitics. The break between MLRA 17 and MLRA 18 is more gradual than in the southern LRU's, lower foothill slopes gently to strongly sloping. (LRU I)
- Site not as above
- Site occurs on a hill or hillslope (various geologies)
- MAP is at least 18 inches
- MAP > 25 inches
- Not as above
- Site in a mesic STR
- Site on sideslopes and often steeper and/or north-facing (California black oak dominant tree and high density of shrubs and a few conifers)
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Not as above,
- Geology older (generally Mesozoic Era) or mixed ages associated with Sierra Nevada (beginning around Lake Oroville)
- Geology highly complex, interfingering of volcanic, sedimentary (metamorphozed), and some granitics. The break between MLRA 17 and MLRA 18 is more gradual than in the southern LRU's, lower foothill slopes gently to strongly sloping. (LRU I)
- Site not as above
- Site occurs on a hill or hillslope (various geologies)
- MAP is at least 18 inches
- MAP > 25 inches
- Not as above
- Site in a mesic STR
- Site on sideslopes and often steeper and/or north-facing (California black oak dominant tree and high density of shrubs and a few conifers)
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Not as above,
- Geology older (generally Mesozoic Era) or mixed ages associated with Sierra Nevada (beginning around Lake Oroville)
- Geology highly complex, interfingering of volcanic, sedimentary (metamorphozed), and some granitics. The break between MLRA 17 and MLRA 18 is more gradual than in the southern LRU's, lower foothill slopes gently to strongly sloping. (LRU I)
- Site not as above
- Site occurs on a hill or hillslope (various geologies)
- MAP is at least 18 inches
- MAP > 25 inches
- Not as above
- Site in a mesic STR
- Site on sideslopes and often steeper and/or north-facing (California black oak dominant tree and high density of shrubs and a few conifers)
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Not as above,
- Geology older (generally Mesozoic Era) or mixed ages associated with Sierra Nevada (beginning around Lake Oroville)
- Geology highly complex, interfingering of volcanic, sedimentary (metamorphozed), and some granitics. The break between MLRA 17 and MLRA 18 is more gradual than in the southern LRU's, lower foothill slopes gently to strongly sloping. (LRU I)
- Site not as above
- Site occurs on a hill or hillslope (various geologies)
- MAP is at least 18 inches
- MAP > 25 inches
- Not as above
- Site in a mesic STR
- Site on sideslopes and often steeper and/or north-facing (California black oak dominant tree and high density of shrubs and a few conifers)
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Not as above,
- Geology older (generally Mesozoic Era) or mixed ages associated with Sierra Nevada (beginning around Lake Oroville)
- Geology highly complex, interfingering of volcanic, sedimentary (metamorphozed), and some granitics. The break between MLRA 17 and MLRA 18 is more gradual than in the southern LRU's, lower foothill slopes gently to strongly sloping. (LRU I)
- Site not as above
- Site occurs on a hill or hillslope (various geologies)
- MAP is at least 18 inches
- MAP > 25 inches
- Not as above
- Site in a mesic STR
- Site on sideslopes and often steeper and/or north-facing (California black oak dominant tree and high density of shrubs and a few conifers)
-
i
Key Characteristics
- Not as above,
- Geology older (generally Mesozoic Era) or mixed ages associated with Sierra Nevada (beginning around Lake Oroville)
- Geology highly complex, interfingering of volcanic, sedimentary (metamorphozed), and some granitics. The break between MLRA 17 and MLRA 18 is more gradual than in the southern LRU's, lower foothill slopes gently to strongly sloping. (LRU I)
- Site not as above
- Site occurs on a hill or hillslope (various geologies)
- MAP is at least 18 inches
- MAP > 25 inches
- Not as above
- Site in a mesic STR
- Site on sideslopes and often steeper and/or north-facing (California black oak dominant tree and high density of shrubs and a few conifers)
Ecological site map
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Zoom in to display soil survey map units for an area of interest, and zoom out to display MLRAs. Select a map unit polygon to view ecological sites correlated to that map unit. View a brief description of an ecological site by clicking on its name in the map popup. Soil survey correlations may not be accurate, and ecological site classification of a location should always be verified in the field. Each selection may require the transfer of several hundred KB of data.
Briefcase
Add ecological sites and Major Land Resource Areas to your briefcase by clicking on the briefcase (
) icon wherever it occurs. Drag and drop items to reorder. Cookies are used to store briefcase items between browsing sessions. Because of this, the number of items that can be added to your briefcase is limited, and briefcase items added on one device and browser cannot be accessed from another device or browser. Users who do not wish to place cookies on their devices should not use the briefcase tool. Briefcase cookies serve no other purpose than described here and are deleted whenever browsing history is cleared.
Ecological sites
Major Land Resource Areas
Ecological site photos
Tools
Filter by
interactive key
precipitation
frost free days
more..
clear all
Type
Image size
Done
Filters
Interactive key
Precipitation
Frost free days
Elevation
Slope
Landform
Parent material origin
Parent material kind
Soil texture
Dichotomous Key
Outline (multiple leads)
Uplands (not Floodplains)
Actively flooded - Floodplains and Drainageways
Not Footslopes
Footslopes (moderately deep, moderately well-drained)
F120CY010IN – Low Mesic Slopes
F120CY010IN – Low Mesic Slopes
Fragipan present - Fragipan Uplands
F120CY002IN – Fragipan Uplands
F120CY002IN – Fragipan Uplands
No Fragipan present
Not Loamy-skeletal
Loamy-skeletal
Soil Depth: Not very deep to deep– Moderately Deep Siltstone-Shale Uplands
F120CY005IN – Moderately Deep Siltstone-Shale Uplands
F120CY005IN – Moderately Deep Siltstone-Shale Uplands
Soil Depth: Very Deep to Deep
Moderately well-drained - Deep Moderately Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
F120CY006IN – Deep Moderately Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
F120CY006IN – Deep Moderately Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
Well-drained– Deep Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
F120CY007IN – Deep Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
F120CY007IN – Deep Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
Soil depth: Shallow – Shallow Loamy Skeletal Uplands
F120CY009IN – Shallow Loamy Skeletal Uplands
F120CY009IN – Shallow Loamy Skeletal Uplands
Soil depth: not shallow - Loamy Skeletal Uplands
F120CY008IN – Loamy Skeletal Uplands
F120CY008IN – Loamy Skeletal Uplands
Well-drained Headwater reaches with narrow floodplains Loamy Alluvial Headwaters
F120CY015IN – Loamy Alluvial Headwaters
F120CY015IN – Loamy Alluvial Headwaters
Moderately well-drained to somewhat poorly-drained - Moist Silty Alluvium
F120CY019IN – Moist Silty Alluvium
F120CY019IN – Moist Silty Alluvium
Uplands
Footslopes
F120CY010IN – Low Mesic Slopes
F120CY010IN – Low Mesic Slopes
Floodplains
Fragipan
F120CY002IN – Fragipan Uplands
F120CY002IN – Fragipan Uplands
No Fragipan
Depth: Shallow
F120CY009IN – Shallow Loamy Skeletal Uplands
F120CY009IN – Shallow Loamy Skeletal Uplands
Depth: Deep
Depth: Moderately Deep
F120CY005IN – Moderately Deep Siltstone-Shale Uplands
F120CY005IN – Moderately Deep Siltstone-Shale Uplands
Depth: Deep to Moderately Deep, Loamy Skeletal
F120CY008IN – Loamy Skeletal Uplands
F120CY008IN – Loamy Skeletal Uplands
Deep, Well Drained Siltstone-shale Uplands
F120CY007IN – Deep Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
F120CY007IN – Deep Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
Deep, Moderately Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
F120CY006IN – Deep Moderately Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
F120CY006IN – Deep Moderately Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
Well Drained
F120CY015IN – Loamy Alluvial Headwaters
F120CY015IN – Loamy Alluvial Headwaters
Moderately Well Drained to Somewhat Poorly Drained
F120CY019IN – Moist Silty Alluvium
F120CY019IN – Moist Silty Alluvium
Long term average mean annual precipitation
- No filter
—
cm
Long term average frost free days
- No filter
- 150 – 170days
- 170 – 190days
—
days
- No filter
- 0 – 200m (0 – 700ft)
- 200 – 400m (700 – 1300ft)
—
m
- No filter
- 0 – 3%
- 3 – 5%
- 5 – 10%
- 10 – 15%
- 15 – 20%
- 20 – 25%
- 25 – 30%
- 30 – 35%
- 35 – 40%
- 40 – 45%
- 45 – 50%
- 50 – 60%
- 60 – 70%
- 70 – 80%
—
%
- No filter
- Flood plain
- Flood-plain step
- Hill
- Knob
- Ridge
- Structural bench
- No filter
- Sandstone and shale
- Sandstone and siltstone
- Shale and siltstone
- Shale, acid
- Shale, unspecified
- Siltstone, unspecified
- No filter
- Alluvium
- Colluvium
- Loess
- Residuum
Soil surface texture
- No filter
- Loam
- Silty clay loam
- Silt loam
- Very fine sandy loam
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Ecological site keys
120C PES Key dichotomous
1a.
Uplands (not Floodplains)
2a.
Not Footslopes
3a.
No Fragipan present
4b.
Not Loamy-skeletal
5a.
Soil Depth: Not very deep to deep– Moderately Deep Siltstone-Shale Uplands
... F120CY005IN – Moderately Deep Siltstone-Shale Uplands
5b.
Soil Depth: Very Deep to Deep
6a.
Moderately well-drained - Deep Moderately Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
... F120CY006IN – Deep Moderately Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
6b.
Well-drained– Deep Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
... F120CY007IN – Deep Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
4a.
Loamy-skeletal
7a.
Soil depth: Shallow – Shallow Loamy Skeletal Uplands
... F120CY009IN – Shallow Loamy Skeletal Uplands
1b.
Actively flooded - Floodplains and Drainageways
8a.
Well-drained Headwater reaches with narrow floodplains Loamy Alluvial Headwaters
... F120CY015IN – Loamy Alluvial Headwaters
8b.
Moderately well-drained to somewhat poorly-drained - Moist Silty Alluvium
... F120CY019IN – Moist Silty Alluvium
MLRA 120C Outline
I.
Uplands
B.
No Fragipan
2
Depth: Deep
i.
Deep, Well Drained Siltstone-shale Uplands
... F120CY007IN – Deep Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
ii.
Deep, Moderately Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
... F120CY006IN – Deep Moderately Well Drained Siltstone-Shale Uplands
III.
Floodplains
The Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool is an information system framework developed by the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and New Mexico State University.
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