LOCATION SABATKA WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Aridic Haplustepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Sabatka clay loam - utilized as rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated)
A--0 to 3 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; strong fine and medium angular blocky structure; very hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
Bw--3 to 19 inches; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) clay, very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) moist; strong medium prismatic structure parting to strong fine and medium angular blocky; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 20 inches thick)
C--19 to 30 inches; dark olive gray (5Y 3/2) clay, black (5Y 2/2) moist; moderate fine and medium angular blocky structure inherent to the parent material; very hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary. (12 to 26 inches thick)
Cr--30 to 80 inches; dark olive gray (5Y 3/2) noncalcareous clayey shale.
TYPE LOCATION: Campbell County, Wyoming; about 1750 feet east and 200 feet south of the northwest corner of Sec. 33, T 57 N, R 69 W.; USGS Mittenbutte, WY topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 52 minutes 20 seconds N. and long. 105 degrees 8 minutes 39 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to bedrock ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Depth to the base of the cambic horizon ranges from 10 to 25 inches. The particle-size control section averages 40 to 60 percent clay and less than 15 percent fine and coarser sand. Dark soil colors are inherent from the parent material. The mean annual soil temperature is 47 to 51 degrees F., and the soil temperature at a depth of 20 inches is 41 degrees F. or more for 175 to 192 days.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, value of 5 to 7 and 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 1 to 3. Texture is clay loam, clay, silty clay loam, silty clay and silt loam. Reaction is slightly acid to slightly alkaline. It is noncalcareous. Some pedons have up to 25 percent channers on the surface.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, value of 4 to 6 and 3 to 5 moist, and chroma of 1 to 3. Texture is clay, clay loam, silty clay or silty clay loam. Rock fragments range from 0 to 14 percent. Reaction is moderately acid to slightly alkaline. The horizon is noncalcareous except for thin layers in some pedons.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 3 to 6 and 2 to 5 moist, and chroma of 1 to 4. Texture is clay, silty clay, clay loam or silty clay loam. Reaction is moderately acid to slightly alkaline. It is noncalcareous except for thin layers in some pedons. The horizon has 0 to 60 percent soft shale channers which break down on pretreatment with sodium hexametaphosphate, and 0 to 15 percent hard shale channers. Angular blocky structure inherent to the parent material. One to two percent gypsum inherent to the parent material occurs in some pedons.
The Cr horizon is nonacid shale, or interbedded shale and very fine grained sandstone. It is noncalcareous except for thin strata in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Cromack and Sili series. Cromack soils developed in calcareous parent material and are continuously calcareous within depths of 10 inches. Sili soils are deep.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sabatka soils are on uplands, ridges and hills. The soils formed in residuum or alluvium over residuum derived from nonacid shale. Slopes are 0 to 30 percent. Elevations are 3,500 to 5,800 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 15 to 17 inches, half of which falls as rain and snow from late March through June. The mean annual air temperature ranges from 44 to 50 degrees F. The frost-free season is about 105 to 130 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Gateson, Lismas, Samsil, Mittenbutte and Xema soils. These soils all occur on similar landscapes as Sabatka. Gateson soils are fine-loamy and have argillic horizons. Lismas, Samsil and Mittenbutte soils are shallow. Mittenbutte soils have less than 18 percent clay throughout. Xema soils are coarse-loamy and have argillic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; low to very high runoff depending on slope; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are utilized for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. The native vegetation is mainly green needlegrass, western wheatgrass, blue grama, and big sagebrush. Ponderosa pine occurs erratically on this soil in some areas.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Sabatka soils occur in northeast Wyoming, and possibly southeast Montana and western South Dakota. The series is of limited extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Campbell County, Wyoming, Southern Part; 2001.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - 0 to 3 inch (A horizon)
Cambic horizon - 3 to 19 inches (Bw horizon)
Paralithic contact - 30 inches (top of the Cr horizon.
This dark colors in this soil are inherited from the parent material. When at the surface the organic carbon content is too low to qualify as a mollic epipedon.