Back to photostream

Whitetop soil and landscape

Soil profile: A representative soil profile of the Whitetop series. (Soil Survey of Bear Lake County Area, Idaho; by Francis R. Kukachka, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

 

Landscape: Weakly cemented volcanic ash in detailed map unit 40, Burchert-Whitetop complex, 10 to 45 percent slopes

 

The Whitetop series consists of shallow, well drained soils formed in residuum from weakly consolidated ash. These soils are on shoulders, summits, and upper backslopes of hills. Permeability is moderately rapid. Slopes range from 8 to 45 percent. Average annual precipitation is about 16 inches and the average annual air temperature is about 41 degrees F.

 

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Ashy, glassy, frigid, shallow Vitrandic Haploxerolls

 

Soil moisture control section usually moist, dry in all parts for 45 consecutive days or more in the four months following the summer solstice. Xeric moisture regime.

Thickness of mollic epipedon 14 to 20 inches

Depth to paralithic contact 10 to 20 inches

Average annual soil temperature 41 to 44 degrees F. Frigid soil temperature regime.

Particle-size control section

Clay content 8 to 12 percent

Pararock fragments 0 to 20 percent

 

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mainly for wildlife habitat and rangeland. The dominant native vegetation is mountain big sagebrush, serviceberry, mountain snowberry, buckwheat, bluebunch wheatgrass, Sanberg bluegrass, and prairie junegrass.

 

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeastern Idaho. The series is not extensive. MLRA 43B.

 

For additional information about the survey area, visit:

www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/idaho/bearlake...

 

For a detailed soil description, visit:

soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/W/WHITETOP.html

 

For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:

casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/see/#whitetop

 

700 views
3 faves
1 comment
Uploaded on June 15, 2021