LOCATION WAYBE                   MT+CO WY

Established Series
Rev. RER-EMM
01/2014

WAYBE SERIES


The Waybe series consists of shallow, well drained soils that formed in material weathered from clayey shale. These soils are on foothills and mountain slopes. Slopes are 5 to 65 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 19 inches, and mean annual air temperature is about 39 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, mixed, superactive, shallow Ustic Haplocryepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Waybe clay loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 5 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak thin plates parting to moderate fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine roots; many very fine pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)

Bw--5 to 12 inches; light gray (5Y 7/2) silty clay loam, olive gray (5Y 5/2) moist; strong very fine blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common very fine roots; many very fine pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 13 inches thick)

BC--12 to 18 inches; light gray (5Y 7/1) silty clay loam, gray (5Y 5/1) moist; weak medium to very thick platy structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; 40 percent soft shale fragments; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)

Cr--18 to 60 inches, white (5Y 8/2) shale, that crushes to silty clay loam.

TYPE LOCATION: Cascade County, Montana; 225 feet south and 50 feet east of the N 1/4 corner of sec. 15, T. 16 N., R. 7 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil temperature - 38 to 44 degrees F.
Moisture control section - approximately between the depths of 4 and 12 inches.
Depth to bedrock - 10 to 20 inches.
Soil phases - stony, channery

A horizon
Hue - 5Y to 10YR
Value - 5, 6, or 7 dry; 4 or 5 moist
Chroma - 2 or 3, dry or moist
Clay content - 27 to 55 percent
Rock fragments - 0 to 50 percent--0 to 25 percent stones and cobbles; 0 to 25 percent gravel and channers

Bw horizon
Hue - 5Y to 10YR
Value - 6, 7, or 8 dry; 4, 5, or 6 moist
Chroma - 1, 2, 3, or 4
Texture - clay loam, clay, or silty clay loam
Clay content - 35 to 50 percent

BC horizon
Hue - 5Y to 10YR
Value - 6, 7, or 8 dry; 4, 5, or 6 moist
Chroma - 1, 2, 3, or 4
Texture - clay loam, clay, or silty clay loam
Clay content - 35 to 50 percent
Rock fragments - 30 to 70 percent

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Waybe soils are on foothills and mountain slopes. Elevations are 4,500 to 6,700 feet. Slopes are 5 to 65 percent. These soils formed in material weathered from clayey shale. Mean annual precipitation is 15 to 24 inches. Mean annual temperature is 36 to 42 degrees F. The frost-free period is 50 to 70 days. In Colorado the elevations are 7,200 to 8,600 feet.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: None listed.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; rapid runoff; slow permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Waybe soils are used mainly for rangeland. Potential native vegetation is western wheatgrass, blue grama, and prairie junegrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Waybe soils are of moderate extent in central Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. MLRAs 43B, 46 and 48A.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Cascade County, Montana, 1975.

REMARKS: Soil interpretations record: MT0032, MT0763, and MT0214.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 5 inches (A horizon)
Particle-size control section - the zone from 10 to 18 inches (part of Bw1 and BC horizons)
Paralithic contact - the zone starting at a depth of 18 inches.

Waybe soils have a cryic temperature regime and an ustic moisture regime.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.