LOCATION SOMERS MTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Haplustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Somers silty clay loam.
Ap--0 to 8 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) dry; silty clay loam; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; moderate very fine granular structure; soft, very friable; slightly sticky and slightly plastic; neutral; abrupt lower boundary. (5 to 8 inches thick)
Bw--8 to 12 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; silty clay loam; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak coarse prismatic and weak to moderate medium blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; neutral to alkaline reaction; clear lower boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)
Bk--12 to 22 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) dry; silty clay loam; pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; massive in place but breaks out to weak subangular blocks; slightly hard, slightly firm; calcareous; including moderate amount of segregated lime; gradual lower boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)
BC--22 to 30 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) dry; stratified or varied silt loam and silty clay loam; pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; breaks out into weak fine blocks; slightly hard, slightly firm; calcareous; abrupt lower boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
2C--30 + inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) to light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; loamy fine sand; single grain; loose; calcareous.
TYPE LOCATION: Flathead County, Montana, SW1/4 of SW1/4 Sec 17, T27N, R20W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Surface textures include silt loam and silty clay loam. There are, however, small inclusions of light silty clay in the silty clay loam type. Textures of the Bw and Bk horizons include both silt loam and silty clay loam but the former is near the silty clay loam boundary. The depth to the Bk ranges from 10 to 15 inches and the Bw may be slightly calcareous in its lower part. Deep plowing in naturally thin sola or wind eroded spots may reach into the upper part of the Bk and result in light colored limy spots in some fields. Some areas have moderate, beneficially subirrigation.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Nearly level to gently undulation. Irregularities are due to uneven deposition of the alluvium and incompletely filled old channels.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Surface runoff is slow or lacking; permeability is moderately slow. Adjacent to streams and lakes the water table will fluctuate between 3 or 4 and 5 feet depending on the height of water in the streams and lakes.
USE AND VEGETATION: Nearly all under cultivation; small grains, chiefly wheat, are the principal crops. Grasses common to the region and scattering to thin stands of Ponderosa pine in places.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Montana.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Upper Flathead Valley Area, Montana, 1957.