LOCATION LONEPINE MTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, active, frigid Calcic Haploxerepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Lonepine silt loam, cultivated. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
Ap--0 to 6 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots; few very fine pores; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 10 inches thick)
Bw--6 to 14 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak coarse blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 14 inches thick)
Bk--14 to 19 inches; very pale browne (10YR 8/2) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; moderate medium platy structure of varve remnants; hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few roots and pores; disseminated lime and common medium soft masses of lime; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual irregular boundary. (4 to 17 inches thick)
C--19 to 60 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; massive, consisting of 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick varves; very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Lake County, Montana; 2,600 feet west and 100 feet south of the NE corner of sec. 25, T. 21 N., R. 21 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil temperature - 42 to 47 degrees F.
Moisture control section - approximately between the depths of 4 and 12 inches.
Control section - 18 to 35 percent clay.
Depth to k horizon - 11 to 20 inches.
Depth to varves - 18 to 40 inches.
Ap horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 or 6 dry; 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Clay content: 12 to 25 percent
Reaction: pH 6.6 to 7.8
Bw horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5, 6 or 7 dry; 4, 5 or 6 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Reaction: pH 6.6 to 8.4
Bk horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 6, 7, or 8 dry; 5 or 6 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 15 percent
Reaction: pH 7.9 to 8.4
C horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 6, 7, or 8 dry; 5 or 6 moist
Chroma:2 or 3
Texture, less than 2 mm: silt loam and silty clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 35 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 50 to 10 percent
Reaction: pH 7.9 to 9.0
COMPETING SERIES:
There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform - lake plains and terraces.
Elevation - 2,000 to 3,000 feet.
Slope - 0 to 20 percent.
Parent material - alluvium, glaciofluvial or lacustrine deposits.
Climate - long, cold winters; moist falls; moist springs; warm, dry summers.
Mean annual precipitation - 10 to 14 inches.
Mean annual temperature - 40 to 45 degrees F.
Frost-free period - 105 to 130 days.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Lonepine soils are mainly used as rangeland and irrigated and dry cropland. Potential native vegetation is bluebunch wheatgrass, prairie junegrass, Sandberg bluegrass, and native forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Lonepine soils are moderately extensive in intermountain valleys in western Montana.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lake County (Lower Flathead Valley Area), Montana, 1929.
REMARKS: Soil Interpretation Record: MT0662. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: an ochric epipedon from the soil surface to 6 inches (Ap horizon); a cambic horizon from 6 to 14 inches (Bw horizon); a horizon of lime accumulation from 14 to 19 inches (Bk horizon); varved lacustrine material from 19 to 60 inches (C horizon); and a particle-size control section from 10 to 40 inches (Bw, Bk, and C horizons). Lonepine soils have a frigid temperature regime and a xeric moisture regime that borders on aridic.