331Fg Little Missouri Badlands

Landscape Characteristics:

Badlands and river breaks that formed in shale. Erosion is the major geomorphic process. Elevations range from 1950 to 3300 feet. Drainage density is high.

Climate:

Mean annual precipitation ranges from 14 to 16 inches, about 40 percent falling as snow. The soil temperature and moisture regimes are frigid and aridic ustic. The Killdeer Mountains also occur here.

Potential Vegetation:

Wheatgrass-needlegrass with Northern floodplain forest and some Eastern ponderosa forest along drainageways.

Relationships of Dominant Map Unit Components:

Landform Geology Soil Taxa
Badlands/breaks Shale Torriorthents/rock outcrop

Disturbance and Land Use:

The primary natural disturbance is erosion. Land use is predominantly livestock grazing.