LOCATION ALPINE                  ID+WY

Established Series
Rev. CBR/FCF/TDT
04/2011

ALPINE SERIES

The Alpine series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in mixed alluvium. Alpine soils are on fan remnants and stream terraces and have slopes of 0 to 20 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 406 mm and the mean annual air temperature is about 5 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, frigid Calcic Haploxerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Alpine gravelly loam on a fan remnant with 2 percent slope at an elevation of 1887 meters. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A1--0 to 6 cm; brown (10YR 4/3) gravelly loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine roots; many very fine irregular pores; 15 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary.

A2--6 to 28 cm; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) very gravelly loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium granular; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and few fine and medium roots; common very fine irregular and few very fine tubular pores; 55 percent gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizons is 18 to 30 cm)

ABk--28 to 43 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) extremely gravelly loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine and medium granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine irregular pores; 43 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; 75 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 27 cm thick)

Bk--43 to 63 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely gravelly sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; single grain; loose; few very fine roots; many interstitial pores; continuous calcium carbonate coats on bottoms of of all rock fragments; 55 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; 70 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); gradual wavy boundary.

Bkq--63 to 80 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely gravelly loamy sand, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; single grain; loose; very few very fine roots; many interstitial pores; few discontinuous pockets of weakly cemented sands and gravel; continuous calcium carbonate coats around 80 percent of rock fragments; 65 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; silica around rock fragments; 70 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); gradual wavy boundary.

Bk'--80 to 90 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely gravelly sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; single grain; loose; few very fine roots; many interstitial pores; continuous calcium carbonate coats on bottoms of all rock fragments; 55 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; 70 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); gradual wavy boundary.

Bkq'--90 to 111 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely gravelly loamy sand, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; single grain; loose; very few very fine roots; many interstitial pores; few discontinuous pockets of weakly cemented sands and gravel; continuous calcium carbonate coats around 80 percent of rock fragments; 65 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; silica around rock fragments; 70 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bkq and Bkq' horizons is 0 to 40 cm)

Bk"1--111 to 130 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely gravelly sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; single grain; loose; few very fine roots; many interstitial pores; continuous calcium carbonate coats on bottoms of all rock fragments; 55 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; 70 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bk, Bk' and Bk" horizons is 28 to greater than 128 cm)

Bk"2--130 to 152 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) extremely gravelly loamy sand, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; single grain; loose; many interstitial pores; discontinuous calcium carbonate coats on bottoms of 50 percent of rock fragments; 62 percent calcium carbonate equivalent; 80 percent fine to coarse gravel, 10 percent cobbles, 5 percent stones; violently effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8).

TYPE LOCATION: Teton County, Idaho; about 1.3 kilometers southeast of Driggs; 520 meters east and 408 meters south of the southwest corner of section 12, T. 4 N., R. 45 E.; Driggs USGS topographic quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees, 40 minutes, 59.7 seconds N. and long. 111 degrees, 5 minutes, 39.9 seconds W., NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mollic epipedon thickness and depth to the calcic horizon: 30 to 45 cm Control section total clay range: 2 to 18 percent
Control section carbonate clay: 0 to 5 percent
Control section rock fragments: 60 to 95 total; 30 to 95 percent gravel, 0 to 40 percent cobbles, 0 to 15 percent stones
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 40 to 75 percent in the calcic horizon
Mean annual soil temperature: 6 to 8 degrees C.
Mean summer soil temperature: 15 to 18.9 degrees C. (frigid soil temperature regime)

A1 or Ap horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR dry or moist
Value: 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3 moist
Texture: GR-L or GR-SIL

A2 horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR dry or moist
Value: 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Texture: GR-L and GRV-L with 15 to 55 percent gravel
Reaction: neutral to slightly alkaline

ABk horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR moist
Chroma: 2 or 3 moist
Texture: GRX-L or GRX-SIL with 60 to 80 percent total fragments; 60 to 75 percent gravel, 0 to 20 percent cobbles
Effervesence: slight or strong

Bk, Bk' and Bk" horizons and Bkq and Bkq' horizons
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR moist
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 or 4 moist
Texture: GRX-SL, GRX-LS, GRX-COS, or GRX-LCOS with 70 to 95 percent total fragments; 30 to 95 percent gravel, 0 to 40 percent cobbles, 0 to 15 percent stones
Reaction: slightly or moderately alkaline
Effervescence: strong or violent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 40 to 75 percent

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ridgecrest and Urtah series. These soils have a lithic contact at depths of 50 to 100 cm.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: dominantly alluvial and outwash plains, less frequently mountains
Landform: fan remnants and stream terraces
Elevation: 1795 to 2012 meters
Slope: 0 to 20 percent
Parent material: mixed alluvium
Mean annual air temperature: 2.5 to 6.7 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation: 305 to 787 mm
Frost free period: 40 to 70 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Badgerton, Driggs, Grantsdale, and St. Anthony series. Badgerton soils are on adjacent floodplains, do not have a calcic horizon, and have a cryic soil temperature regime. Driggs soils are on slightly lower positions of fan remnants and have an argillic horizon. Grantsdale soils are on convex higher areas of fan remnants and have a coarse-silty over sandy or sandy-skeletal particle size class. St. Anthony soils are in concave swales on stream terraces and do not have a calcic horizon.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class: well drained
Runoff: low
Saturated hydraulic conductivity: low in the upper part and high in the lower part

USE AND VEGETATION: Major uses: irrigated areas are used primarily for small grains, potatoes, hay and pasture; nonirrigated areas are used for pasture and range. Range/ecological site: R013XY002ID. Dominant native vegetation: mountain big sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, antelope bitterbrush, western wheatgrass, eriogonum

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Southeastern Idaho, MLRA 13
Extent: the series is moderately extensive

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Teton County, Idaho, 2011; Teton Area, Idaho and Wyoming Soil Survey.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: from a depth of 0 to 43 cm
Calcic horizon: from a depth of 43 to greater than 152 cm
Particle size control section: from a depth of 25 to 100 cm
Calcium carbonate equivalent, weighted average in particle size control section: about 54 percent
Soil temperature regime: frigid
Soil moisture regime: xeric

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.