LOCATION BROWTINE WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, frigid Ustic Haplocalcids
TYPICAL PEDON: Browtine very gravelly fine sandy loam on a planar east-facing slope of two percent with native vegetation; used as rangeland. (Colors are for dry soils unless otherwise stated.) The surface has about 20 percent fine pebbles and a few cobbles.
A--0 to 3 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) very gravelly fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; irregular interstitial pores; strongly effervescent, disseminated lime, calcium carbonate equivalent of 7 percent; 45 percent pebbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 14 inches thick)
ABk--3 to 9 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; common fine pores; violently effervescent, common thin pendants of lime and fine pendant fragments, calcium carbonate equivalent of 18 percent; 55 percent pebbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Bk1--9 to 14 inches; white (10YR 8/2) very gravelly sandy loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few very fine pores; violently effervescent, carbonates disseminated and as pendants on coarse fragments, lime matrix, calcium carbonate equivalent of 37 percent; 45 percent pebbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual wavy boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
Bk2--14 to 31 inches; white (10YR 8/2) extremely gravelly loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine pores; violently effervescent, carbonates disseminated, lime matrix; calcium carbonate equivalent of 36 percent; 75 percent pebbles; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 30 inches thick)
C--31 to 60 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) extremely gravelly coarse sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; strongly effervescent, carbonates disseminated, few fine pendants of lime and fine pendant fragments, calcium carbonate equivalent of 7 percent; 80 percent pebbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Albany County, Wyoming, 800 feet south and 2,600 feet east of the northwest corner, Section 34, T18N, R77W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to continuous carbonate accumulation ranges from 0 to 10 inches. The control section averages 15 to 75 percent pebbles and 0 to 40 percent cobbles, 35 to 75 percent total. Control section (noncarbonate) clay ranges from 8 to 15 percent, and fine sand and coarser from 40 to 70 percent. The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 40 to 45 degrees F., and the mean summer soil temperature is 59 to 65 degrees F.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist and chroma of 2 or 3. Reaction is mildly or moderately alkaline.
The Bk horizon has hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, value of 6 through 8 dry, 5 through 7 moist, and chroma of 1 through 6. Matrix texture is coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, or loam with very or extremely cobbly or very or extremely gravelly modifiers. Subhorizons with non-skeletal modifiers or textures of loamy sand, sandy clay loam, and clay loam are allowed, the finer textures are thought to be the result of carbonate clay. Calcium carbonate equivalent, when averaged, ranges from 15 to 40 percent. Reaction is moderately or strongly alkaline.
The C horizon, if present, has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 6 or 7 moist, 5 or 6 dry and chroma of 2 through 6. Textures are the same as the Bk horizons. Reaction is moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Barkelew, Bronell, Brownsto, Bruja, and Bruman series in the same family and the similar Twocabin series. Barkelew, Bronell, and Brownsto soils have more than 15 percent clay in the control section. Bruja soils have bedrock and paralithic contact between 20 and 40 inches. Bruman soils have sandy-skeletal substrata within 40 inches. Twocabin soils have argillic horizons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Browtine soils are on nearly level to steep fan terraces. They formed in mixed alluvium. Slopes are 0 to 45 percent. Elevation is 6,000 to 8,000 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 10 to 17 inches of which about half falls as snow or rain in April, May and early June. The mean annual temperature is 40 to 45 degrees F. The frost-free season is 85 to 110 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Blackhall, Dahlquist, Hilltoppe, and Rawlins series. Blackhall soils are shallow to paralithic contacts and do not have diagnostic calcic horizons. Dahlquist and Rawlins soils have diagnostic argillic horizons. Hilltoppe soils have diagnostic petrocalcic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; runoff is slow or medium; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are utilized as rangeland and, less commonly, for irrigated hay and pasture. The native vegetation is bluebunch wheatgrass, blue grama, hood phlox, and threetip sagebrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The basins of southeast Wyoming. The series is not extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Albany County Area, Wyoming, 1991.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: Ochric epipedon - 0 to 3 inches (A); Calcic horizon - 3 to 31 inches (ABk, Bk1, Bk2); Borollic feature - organic carbon content and temperature regime meets the requirement for Borollic.