Soil Survey of Big Hole Area--Part of Beaverhead County, Montana
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Big Hole Area—Part of Beaverhead County, Montana How to Use This Soil Survey The detailed soil maps can be useful in planning the use and management of small areas. You can access the detailed soil maps at the Web Soil Survey (http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/). Go to the web site and follow the instructions to access the maps. Once the area of interest (AOI) has been selected, the “Soil Map” tab will provide a view of the detailed soil map and a legend that is hyperlinked to map unit descriptions. Click on the “Soil Data Explorer” tab to access the interpretations and reports. Report categories and subcategories include Suitabilities and Limitations for Use, Soil Properties and Qualities, and Soil Reports. Intrepretive data can also be accessed at the Soil Data Mart (http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/). See the Contents for sections of this publication that may address your specific needs. i Big Hole Area—Part of Beaverhead County, Montana National Cooperative Soil Survey This soil survey is a publication of the National Cooperative Soil Survey, a joint effort of the United States Department of Agriculture and other Federal agencies, State agencies including the Agricultural Experiment Stations, and local agencies. The Natural Resources Conservation Service has leadership for the Federal part of the National Cooperative Soil Survey. This survey was made cooperatively by the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. It is part of the technical assistance furnished to the Beaverhead County Conservation District. Major fieldwork for this soil survey was completed in 2004. Soil names and descriptions were approved in 2005. Unless otherwise indicated, statements in this publication refer to conditions in the survey area in 2004. The most current official data are available at http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/. Soil maps in this survey may be copied without permission. Enlargement of these maps, however, could cause misunderstanding of the detail of mapping. If enlarged, maps do not show the small areas of contrasting soils that could have been shown at a larger scale. Nondiscrimination Statement The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Cover: Soils in the foreground are a complex of Foxgulch, Mooseflat, and Copperbasin. Soils in the middle ground are Beaverslide, Wisdom, and Shewag. This area is known as the Big Hole Valley. The Beaverhead Mountains are in the background. The old-time “beaverslides,” traditionally used to stack hay, are in the foreground. Additional information about the Nation’s natural resources is available online from the Natural Resources Conservation Service at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov. ii Big Hole Area—Part of Beaverhead County, Montana Contents How to Use This Soil Survey .......................................................................................i Alphabetical Index to Map Units ............................................................................... ix Foreword ................................................................................................................... xiii General Nature of the Survey Area .............................................................................. 1 History and Development ......................................................................................... 1 Geology.................................................................................................................... 4 Stream Morphology.................................................................................................. 5 Ground-water Resources ......................................................................................... 6 Mining ...................................................................................................................... 6 Metallic Minerals .................................................................................................. 6 Nonmetallic Minerals ........................................................................................... 6 Oil and Gas .............................................................................................................. 7 Seisicity .................................................................................................................... 7 Climate ..................................................................................................................... 7 How This Survey Was Made ........................................................................................ 8 Detailed Soil Map Units ........................................................................................... 11 3D—Libeg, stony-Monad complex, 4 to 15 percent slopes .................................... 12 4E—Butchhill gravelly loam, stony, 15 to 45 percent slopes .................................. 13 5C—Hairpin silt loam, 2 to 8 percent slopes .......................................................... 14 6D—Hairpin-Libeg, stony-Monad, stony complex, 4 to 15 percent slopes ............. 15 7E—Hairpin-Butchhill complex, 15 to 35 percent slopes ....................................... 16 8E—Libeg-Tiban, stony complex, 8 to 35 percent slopes ...................................... 17 9B—Bearmouth-Mooseflat-Finn complex, 0 to 4 percent slopes ........................... 18 10B—Bearmouth very gravelly loam, 0 to 4 percent slopes .................................. 20 12E—Hairpin-Libeg, very stony complex, 4 to 45 percent slopes, slumped .......... 22 13B—Foxgulch-Mooseflat-Copperbasin complex, 0 to 4 percent slopes ............... 23 15A—Foxgulch-Copperbasin-Wisdom complex, 0 to 2 percent slopes ................. 24 16A—Tepete-Dunkleber-Mooseflat complex, 0 to 2 percent slopes ...................... 26 19E—Hooligan-Inabnit complex, 8 to 35 percent slopes ....................................... 27 21E—Nieman, extremely stony-Sebud, very stony complex, 15 to 45 percent slopes .............................................................................................................. 29 22B—Bighole silt loam, 0 to 4 percent slopes ........................................................ 30 23B—Wisdom-Shewag-Mooseflat complex, 0 to 4 percent slopes ........................ 31 24B—Beaverslide silt loam, 0 to 4 percent slopes ................................................. 32 27C—Bearmouth, stony-Bearmouth complex, 2 to 8 percent slopes .................... 33 29A—Donald silt loam, 0 to 2 percent slopes ........................................................ 34 29C—Donald loam, 2 to 8 percent slopes ............................................................. 35 30D—Donald loam, 8 to 15 percent slopes ........................................................... 35 31F—Sebud very cobbly loam, very stony, 15 to 60 percent slopes ...................... 36 32C—Philipsburg silt loam, 2 to 8 percent slopes .................................................. 37 33A—Proposal silt loam, 0 to 2 percent slopes ..................................................... 38 34A—Cowcamp-Proposal complex, 0 to 2 percent slopes .................................... 38 35A—Philipsburg-Mussigbrod complex, 0 to 2 percent slopes .............................. 39 35D—Philipsburg-Mussigbrod complex, 4 to 15 percent slopes ............................ 41 36C—Monaberg loam, 2 to 8 percent slopes ......................................................... 42 iii Big Hole Area—Part of Beaverhead County, Montana 37B—Wisdom-Bighole complex, 0 to 4 percent slopes ......................................... 42 38B—Englejard-Mussigbrod-Monaberg complex, 0 to 4 percent slopes ............... 44 39B—Shewag very gravelly loam, 0 to 4 percent slopes ....................................... 45 40B—Mooseflat loam, 0 to 4 percent slopes ......................................................... 46 41A—Proposal-Lehunt complex, 0 to 2 percent slopes ......................................... 47 42A—Lehunt-Lehunt, saline, complex, 0 to 2 percent slopes ................................ 48 43B—Redfish-Slagamelt-Shewag complex, 0 to 4 percent slopes ........................ 49 44C—Beaverslide-Cowcamp complex, 2 to 8 percent slopes................................ 51 45D—Hooligan-Monaberg complex, 2 to 15 percent slopes .................................. 52 46E—Barbarela-Rogert complex, 8 to 35 percent slopes ...................................... 53 47C—Libeg-Adel complex, 2 to 8 percent slopes .................................................. 54 47D—Libeg-Adel complex, 8 to 15 percent slopes ................................................ 55 48E—Libeg-Sebud, very stony complex, 15 to 35 percent slopes ......................... 56 49A—Wisdom-Proposal complex, 0 to 2 percent slopes ....................................... 57 50E—Libeg-Monad complex, 8 to