M332Ea Continental Divide Uplands

Landscape Characteristics:

Block faulted mountains that formed in a variety of igneous, sedimentary, and metasedimentary rocks. Elevations range from 5300 to 10200 feet. Drainage density is moderate to high.

Climate:

Mean annual precipitation ranges from 10 to 30 inches, about 15 percent falling as snow. The soil temperature and moisture regimes are cryic and typic ustic.

Potential Vegetation:

Douglas-fir forest/Foothills prairie/Alpine meadows and barren

Relationships of Dominant Map Unit Components:

Landform Geology Soil Taxa
Mountain slopes/foothills Gneiss/limestone/granite Cryoboralfs/Cryoborolls/Cryochrepts
Alpine ridges/plateaus/cirquelands Gneiss/schist/granite Cryorthents/Cryochrepts

Disturbance and Land Use:

The primary natural disturbances are fire and mass wasting. Land use is predominantly livestock grazing, mining, timber harvest, and recreational use and development.