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State Symbols

The official state symbols represent the cultural heritage and natural treasures of each state or the entire United States

California Symbols

California State Soil

San Joaquin Soil

Adopted in 1997

The San Joaquin Soil was designated as the official state soil in 1997. The designation commemorates the completion of the state's most comprehensive soil inventory and acknowledges the importance of soil.

California's Great Central Valley has more than 500,000 acres of San Joaquin soils, named for the south end of that valley. This series is the oldest continuously recognized soil series within the State. It is one of California's Benchmark Soils, and a profile of it is displayed in the Netherlands World Soil Museum.

The San Joaquin series became the Official State Soil in 1997, the result of efforts by students and teachers from Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Madera, natural resource professionals, the Professional Soil Scientists Association of California, legislators, and various state universities.

These soils are used for irrigated crops, such as wheat, rice, figs, almonds, oranges, and grapes, and for pasture and urban development. San Joaquin soils formed in old alluvium on hummocky topography. A cemented hardpan a few feet beneath the surface restricts roots and water percolation.

Profile

Surface layer: brown loam
Subsoil - upper: brown loam
Subsoil - lower: brown clay
Substratum: light brown and brown, indurated duripan with 70 to 90 percent silica-sesquioxide cementation

State Symbols

State symbols represent things that are special to a particular state.

symbol \ˈsim-bəl\
noun

Etymology:
in sense 1, from Late Latin symbolum, from Late Greek symbolon, from Greek, token, sign; in other senses from Latin symbolum token, sign, symbol, from Greek symbolon, literally, token of identity verified by comparing its other half, from symballein to throw together, compare, from syn- + ballein to throw — more at devil
Date: 15th century

1: Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.