SOIL SCIENCE 100

Salt Affected Profile
Salt Affected Profile	In the dry interior valleys of California are some soils with large accumulations of soluble salts. This is one of the soils found in the Cuyama Valley. It does not look especially salty in this slide, but upon close examination at the site, you would see salt crystals in many of the pores. The salt accumulates in the soil profile because there is a water table at a shallow depth. As the water evaporates, salt is left behind. There is insufficient precipitation to remove the salts from the profile. Even in those years when there is sufficient rain, the water table remains close to the surface and as water rises through the profile by capillarity, the salt is carried upward again.

Salt Affected Profile

In the dry interior valleys of California are some soils with large accumulations of soluble salts. This is one of the soils found in the Cuyama Valley. It does not look especially salty in this slide, but upon close examination at the site, you would see salt crystals in many of the pores. The salt accumulates in the soil profile because there is a water table at a shallow depth. As the water evaporates, salt is left behind. There is insufficient precipitation to remove the salts from the profile. Even in those years when there is sufficient rain, the water table remains close to the surface and as water rises through the profile by capillarity, the salt is carried upward again.

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