LOCATION TINSLEY MTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, frigid Aridic Ustorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Tinsley very gravelly sandy loam, in grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted)
A--0 to 3 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) very gravelly sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; many very fine roots; 10 percent cobbles, 45 percent gravel; neutral; clear boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
C1--3 to 11 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) extremely gravelly loamy sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; single grain; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine roots; 10 percent cobbles, 55 percent gravel; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
C2--11 to 60 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) extremely gravelly loamy sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine roots in the upper 13 inches and few very fine roots below that depth; 10 percent cobbles, 50 percent gravel; very slight effervescence; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Prairie County, Montana; 2,500 feet south and 2,000 feet east of the NW corner of sec. 26, T. 12 N., R. 51 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil temperature - 42 to 47 degrees F.
Moisture control section - between 12 and 35 inches, are frozen November through March.
A thin (4 inches or less) dark colored surface is allowed and does not meet the requirements for a mollic epipedon when mixed to 7 inches.
A horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 or 5 dry; 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Textures: sandy loam, loamy sand or loam
Clay content: 5 to 15 percent
Rock fragments: 15 to 60 percent--0 to 10 percent stones and cobbles; 15 to 50 percent gravel
Reaction: pH 6.6 to 7.8
C horizon - Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 to 7 dry; 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: sand or loamy sand
Clay content: 0 to 10 percent
Rock fragments: 35 to 80 percent--5 to 25 percent stones and cobbles; 30 to 60 percent gravel
Reaction: pH 6.6 to 8.4.
COMPETING SERIES:
There are no competing series in the same family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform - outwash plains, stream terraces, eskers, kames, escarpments.
Elevation - 1,900 to 4,000 feet.
Slope- 0 to 70 percent.
Parent material - alluvium or glacial outwash consisting of sand and gravel deposits associated with lakes and glacial river channels.
Climate - long, cold winters; moist springs; and warm summers.
Mean annual precipitation - 10 to 14 inches, most of which falls in spring and the early part of summer.
Mean annual air temperature - 39 to 45 degrees F.
Frost-free period - 90 to 135 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Attewan,
Beaverell,
Cabbart,
Chanta,
Delpoint,
Kremlin and
Yamacall soils. Attewan, Beaverell and Chanta soils are on nearby terraces. Attewan and Chanta soils are moderately deep to sand and gravel. Beaverell soils are loamy-skeletal in the upper part of the profile. Cabbart and Delpoint soils are on shoulders of terrace risers. Cabbart soils have bedrock at less than 20 inches. Delpoint soils have
bedrock at between 20 and 40 inches. Kremlin and Yamacall soils do not have sand and gravel within a depth of 40 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained; rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Tinsley soils are used mainly for range. The potential plant community is plains muhly, needleandthread, bluebunch wheatgrass, sand dropseed, western wheatgrass, little bluestem, forbs, and shrubs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Tinsley soils are of moderate extent in Montana and North Dakota.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dawson County, Montana, 1971.
REMARKS: Soil interpretation records: MT0020, MT1165. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: an ochric epipedon from the soil surface to 7 inches, mixed (A and C1 horizons); a particle-size control section from 10 to 40 inches (C1 and C2 horizons). The Tinsley soils have been correlated with a typic-ustic moisture regime in some areas.