LOCATION NESTLEY MTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, frigid Oxyaquic Haplustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Nestley silt loam, irrigated pasture (colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted).
A1--0 to 1 inch; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate medium granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; many very fine and fine and few medium roots; many very fine and fine pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear wavy boundary.
A2--1 to 11 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and moderately plastic; many very fine and few fine roots; many very fine and few fine pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear wavy boundary. (combined thickness of A horizons is 7 to 15 inches)
Bw--11 to 16 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; common very fine pores; 5 percent pebbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 10 inches thick)
2C--16 to 60 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very gravelly sand, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots in the top 12 inches; 50 percent pebbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Jefferson County, Montana; 700 feet south and 2,100 feet east of the NW corner of sec. 2, T. 1 N., R. 3 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature - 42 to 46 degrees F.
Moisture control section - between 12 and 35 inches.
Mollic epipedon thickness - 7 to 15 inches.
Depth to 2C horizon - 9 to 25 inches.
Depth to seasonal high water table - 24 to 42 inches.
A horizons - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 3 or 4 dry; 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: loam, silt loam, or clay loam
Clay content: 14 to 32 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 15 percent--0 to 5 percent stones and cobbles, 0 to 10 percent pebbles
Reaction: pH 6.6 to 7.8
Bw horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 or 6 dry; 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2, 3 or 4
Texture: fine sandy loam or sandy loam with greater than 50 percent fine sand or coarser
Clay content: 10 to 18 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 35 percent--0 to 10 percent stones and cobbles, 0 to 25 percent pebbles
Reaction: pH 6.6 to 7.8
2C horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5, 6, or 7 dry; 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: sand, loamy sand, loamy coarse sand or coarse sand
Clay content: 2 to 10 percent
Rock fragments: 35 to 80 percent--0 to 20 percent stones and cobbles, 35 to 70 percent pebbles
Reaction: pH 6.6 to 8.4
Stratified coarse grained alluvial deposits; may contain thin buried A horizons in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES:
Nirling (MT) - contains more than 35 percent rock fragments in the Bw horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform - flood plains, flood plain steps and drainageways.
Elevation - 3,800 to 5,000 feet.
Slope- 0 to 2 percent.
Parent material - recent alluvium.
Climate - long, cold winters; moist springs; warm summers.
Mean annual precipitation - 10 to 14 inches.
Mean annual air temperature - 40 to 44 degrees F.
Frost-free period - 90 to 115 days.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained; moderately rapid permeability above the 2C horizon and rapid permeability in the 2C horizon.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used primarily for pasture, rangeland and wildlife habitat. The potential native vegetation is mainly bluebunch wheatgrass, basin wildrye, prairie sandreed, Sandberg bluegrass, snowberry and woods rose. Groves of cottonwood trees and willows occur in some areas.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Nestley series is of moderate extent in the intermountain valleys of central and southwestern Montana.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Jefferson County, Montana, 1998.
REMARKS: Soil interpretations records: MT1553. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: a mollic epipedon from the soil surface to 11 inches (A1 and A2 horizons); a cambic horizon from 11 to 16 inches (Bw horizon); a particle-size control section from 10 to 40 inches (A2, Bw and 2C horizons). Nestley soils have a frigid temperature regime and an ustic moisture regime bordering on aridic.