M332Bb Bitterroot/Frenchtown Valleys

Landscape Characteristics:

Intermontane valleys that formed in alluvium, outwash, and lacustrine sediments. Elevations range from 3000 to 4400 feet. Drainage density is slight. Wetlands occur along both the Clark Fork and Bitterroot rivers.

Climate:

Mean annual precipitation ranges from 11 to 25 inches, about 40 to 60 percent falling as snow. The soil temperature and moisture regimes are frigid and typic ustic.

Potential Vegetation:

Foothills prairie/Western ponderosa forest

Relationships of Dominant Map Unit Components:

Landform Geology Soil Taxa
Foothills Valley fill Eutroboralfs
Terraces/fans Alluvium/outwash Argiborolls/Haploborolls
Floodplains Alluvium Udifluvents/Endoaquents/Haplaquolls/Endoaquolls

Disturbance and Land Use:

The primary natural disturbances are flooding and fire. Land use is predominantly extensive urban/suburban development and agricultural activities.