M332En Gravelly/Snowcrest Mountains

Landscape Characteristics:

Block faulted mountains that formed in shale, siltstone, sandstone, and a variety of deposited materials. The landscape has been modified by glaciation and mass wasting. Elevations range from 5800 to 10,600 feet. Drainage density is moderate to high.

Climate:

Mean annual precipitation ranges from 14 to 30 inches, about 60 percent falling as snow. The soil temperature and moisture regimes are cryic and typic ustic.

Potential Vegetation:

Western spruce-fir forest/Alpine meadows and barren

Relationships of Dominant Map Unit Components:

Landform Geology Soil Taxa
Valley floors/terraces Alluvium/colluvium/limestone/shale Cryoborolls/Cryaquolls/Cryochrepts
Mountainsides Till/colluvium/shale/limestone Cryoborolls/Cryoboralfs/Paleboralfs
Alpine ridges/plateaus Till/colluvium/shale/limestone Cryochrepts/Cryoborolls

Disturbance and Land Use:

The primary natural disturbances are fire and mass wasting. Land use is predominantly livestock grazing and mining.