LOCATION SHURLEY MTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, frigid Aridic Haplustepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Shurley very flaggy coarse sandy loam, native grassland (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted).
A--0 to 4 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very flaggy coarse sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak very fine granular structure; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine and very fine roots; 20 percent flagstones, 20 percent channers; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
Bw--4 to 10 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very flaggy coarse sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium angular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; many fine and very fine roots; 20 percent channers, 20 percent flagstones; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear irregular boundary. (6 to 16 inches thick)
Bk--10 to 29 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) very flaggy loamy coarse sand, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; 20 percent flagstones, 20 percent channers; common faint lime coatings on fragments; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 20 inches thick)
BC--29 to 60 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) very flaggy loamy sand, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) moist; single grain; loose, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and very fine roots; 20 percent flagstones, 40 percent channers; disseminated lime; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8).
TYPE LOCATION: Madison County, Montana; 2,500 feet east and 300 feet south of the NW corner of sec. 8, T. 3 S., R. 1 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil temperature - 40 to 47 degrees F.
Moisture control section - between 12 and 35 inches; dry in all parts between four-tenths and five-tenths of the cumulative days per year when the soil temperature at a depth of 20 inches is higher than 41 degrees F.
Depth to Bk horizon - 10 to 24 inches.
A horizon - Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y
Value: 4, 5, or 6 dry; 3, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Clay content: 5 to 15 percent
Rock fragments: 40 to 60 percent--20 to 30 percent flagstones; 20 to 30 percent channers
Reaction: pH 6.6 to 8.4
Bw horizon - Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y
Value: 5 or 6 dry; 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2, 3, or 4
Clay content: 5 to 15 percent
Rock fragments: 40 to 60 percent--20 to 30 percent flagstones; 20 to 30 percent channers
Reaction: pH 6.6 to 8.4
Bk horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 6 or 7 dry; 5 or 6
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: loamy coarse sand or loamy sand
Clay content: 0 to 10 percent
Rock fragments: 40 to 85 percent--20 to 40 percent flagstones; 20 to 45 percent channers
Calcium Carbonate Equivalent: 5 to 15 percent
Reaction: pH 7.4 to 8.4
BC horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5, 6, or 7 dry; 4, 5, or 6 moist
Chroma: 2, 3, or 4
Texture: loamy coarse sand or loamy sand
Clay content: 0 to 10 percent
Rock fragments: 40 to 85 percent--20 to 40 percent flagstones; 20 to 45 percent channers
Calcium Carbonate Equivalent: 3 to 12 percent
Reaction: pH 7.4 to 8.4
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform - hills, mountains, and alluvial fans.
Elevation - 4,500 to 6,500 feet.
Slope - 8 to 60 percent.
Parent material - material derived from gneiss, schist, and granite.
Climate - long, cold winters; moist springs; warm summers.
Mean annual precipitation - 10 to 14 inches.
Mean annual temperature - 38 to 45 degrees F.
Frost-free period - 90 to 115 days.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Shurley soils are used mainly for rangeland. Potential native vegetation is mainly bluebunch wheatgrass, prairie sandreed, Indian ricegrass, basin wildrye, mountainmahogany, skunkbush sumac, and Rocky Mountain juniper.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Shurley soils are moderately extensive in southwestern Montana.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Madison County, Montana, 1983.
REMARKS: Soil Interpretations Record: MT0325. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: an ochric epipedon from the surface to 4 inches (A horizon); a cambic horizon from 4 to 10 inches (Bw horizon); an accumulation of secondary carbonates from 10 to 29 inches (Bk horizon); a particle-size control section from 10 to 40 inches (Bk, BC horizons). Shurley soils have a frigid temperature regime and an ustic moisture regime bordering on aridic.