LOCATION BILLINGS UT+CO NMEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, calcareous, mesic Typic Torrifluvents
TYPICAL PEDON: Billings silty clay loam - cultivated. (Colors are for air-dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
Ap1--0 to 3 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak medium granular structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; many medium roots; common medium pores; strongly calcareous, moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); clear smooth boundary. (1 to 6 inches thick)
Ap2--3 to 11 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak fine blocky and subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; many medium roots; common fine pores; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
C1--11 to 18 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak fine blocky and subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; strongly calcareous; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 15 inches thick)
C2--18 to 42 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; strongly calcareous; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); diffuse boundary. (10 to 24 inches thick)
Cy--42 to 60 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; massive; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; few fine light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) soft gypsum nodules; strongly calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Emery County, Utah; 1.5 miles east of Huntington, 2,000 feet west and 600 feet north of the southeast corner of sec. 20, T. 17 S., R. 9 E.; Huntington USGS quad; lat. 39 degrees 19 minutes 30 seconds N. and long. 110 degrees 56 minutes 9 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: The soil moisture control section is usually dry, but intermittently moist during late summer and early fall. Aridic moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 47 to 56 degrees F
Salinity and sodicity: slight to very strong
Clay minerals: mixed, but dominantly illite and kaolinite
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 5 to 25 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline
Particle-size control section:
Clay content: 27 to 35 percent
Sand content: Less than 15 percent sand coarser than very fine sand
Rock fragments: none
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
C horizons:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: silty clay loam, silt loam, clay loam, and very fine sandy loam
Gypsum: crystals and nodules, 0.5 to 10 percent of the horizon by volume
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Ravola series. Ravola soils contain 18 to 27 percent clay in the particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: These soils are on valley floors, flood plains, and a few narrow alluvial fans. Parent material is alluvium from alkaline marine shale and mixed sedimentary rocks containing gypsum. Slopes range from 0 to 10 percent. The climate is semiarid. Elevation ranges from 4,000 to 6,500 feet. Mean annual air temperature is 45 to 54 degrees F. and the freeze-free period ranges from 110 to 160 days. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 5 to 11 inches .
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Ferron, Green River, Greybull, Penner, Persayo, Rafael, and Utaline series. Greybull, Persayo and Utaline soils are not flooded and occur on shale hills above the floodplain. Ferron, Green River and Rafael soils have water tables and occur in stream channels downslope from Billings soils. Penner soils are coarse-silty and occur on stream terraces adjacent to Billings soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well and moderately well drained; Runoff is medium to high; permeability is moderately slow to slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: Where irrigated and not too saline, alfalfa, small grains, sugar beets, and beans are grown. Potential native vegetation is mainly shadscale, Indian ricegrass, galleta, and greasewood.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The semiarid and arid parts of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. MLRA 34B, 35, 28A. The series is extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Billings Area, Montana, 1902.
REMARKS: The pH values given are of soil paste.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to 11 inches (Ap1, Ap2 horizons)
Gypsum feature - the zone of gypsum accumulation from 42 to 60 inches (Cy horizon)
Particle-size control section - the zone from 10 to 40 inches.
In the future the Billings series will be restricted to a MAAT that is 45 to 53 degrees F..
Taxonomic Version: Eleventh Edition, 2010