LOCATION CESTNIK WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey over sandy or sandy-skeletal, smectitic, calcareous, mesic Typic Torriorthents
TYPIFYING PEDON: Cestnik silty clay, grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 3 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) silty clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium platy parting to moderate very fine angular blocky structure; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many vesicular pores; calcareous; moderately alkaline (pH 8.3); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
C1--3 to 13 inches; pink (7.5YR 7/3) silty clay, brown (7.5YR 5/3) moist; moderate medium prismatic parting to moderate medium angular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky, plastic; continuous shiny surfaces on faces of peds; common streaks and seams of secondary lime; strongly calcareous; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 11 inches thick)
C2--13 to 24 inches; pink (7.5YR 7/3) silty clay, brown (7.5YR 5/3) moist; moderate medium prismatic parting to moderate medium angular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky, plastic; continuous shiny surfaces on faces of peds; common streaks and seams of secondary lime; strongly calcareous; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); gradual wavy boundary. (12 to 22 inches thick)
IIC3--24 to 60 inches; eighty-five percent gravel (basaltic) and cobbles in a matrix of sand; most pebbles and cobbles have pendants on the underside.
TYPE LOCATION: Big Horn County, Wyoming; south side of trail just west of fork in trail NE1/4 SW1/4 sec. 6, T.52N., R.96W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to sand, gravel, and cobbles ranges from 20 to 40 inches. The mean annual soil temperature at a depth of 20 inches ranges from 48 degrees to 50 degrees F. The mean summer soil temperature ranges from 62 degrees to 68 degrees F. Depth to uniformly calcareous material ranges from 0 to 10 inches. Some pedons have some visible secondary carbonate and/or calcium sulfate accumulation. Calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 0 to 15 percent. Exchangeable sodium ranges from 0 to 15 percent. Rock fragments of gravel and cobble size range from 0 to 35 percent above the IIC horizon. The upper part of the control section has 35 to 60 percent clay, 10 to 50 percent silt, and 10 to 45 percent sand. The A and C horizons have hue of 5Y through 7.5YR, value of 5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4.
COMPETING SERIES AND THEIR DIFFERENTIAE: These are the Deaver, Greybull, Stutzman, and Teapo series. Deaver soils have a paralithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Greybull soils have a fine-loamy control section and have a paralithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Stutzman soils have a fine control section. Teapo soils have a fine-loamy control section.
SETTING: Cestnik soils are on gently to moderately sloping alluvial fans and terraces at elevations of 3,800 to 5,200 feet. Slopes typically range from 0 to 6 percent. These soils formed in moderately thin, calcareous, silty alluvial materials mainly from sedimentary rocks that mantle sand, gravel, and cobble alluvium. At the type location the average annual precipitation is 7 inches with peak periods of precipitation in the spring and early summer months. Mean annual temperature is 45 degrees F., mean summer temperature is 69 degrees F. Frost-free season is 110 to 140 days.
PRINCIPAL ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Deaver and Stutzman soils and the Emblem, Garland, Lostwells, and Youngston soils. Emblem soils have calcic horizons. Garland soils have argillic horizons. Lostwells and Youngston soils lack sand, gravel, and cobble beds at depths of less than 40 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; slow to rapid runoff; slow permeability in upper part and rapid in lower part.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used as rangeland or for irrigated cropland. Native vegetation is big sage, Gardners saltbush, Indian ricegrass, and western wheatgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central Wyoming. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Big Horn County (Big Horn River Irrigated Are), Wyoming, 1972.