LOCATION ATCHUELINGUK AK
Established Series
MPS/SAS/TJR
02/2022
ATCHUELINGUK SERIES
Landscape--hills
Landform--hillslopes, ridges
Slope--3 to 25 percent
Parent material--mossy organic material over loess over colluvium and residuum
Mean annual precipitation--about 325 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about -3 degrees C
Depth class--deep
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--udic
Soil temperature regime--gelic
Soil moisture subclass--typic
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, isotic, acid, subgelic Turbic Dystrogelepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Atchuelinguk silt loam on a southwest facing linear, convex shoulder, on a slope of 55 percent at an elevation of 110 m (The soil was moist to 20 cm and wet, non-satiated from 20 to 30cm when described on August 25, 2019.)
Oi--0 to 9 cm; slightly decomposed plant material, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; many very fine and fine and common medium roots; extremely acid (pH 3.9); clear wavy boundary
Oe--9 to 20 cm; moderately decomposed plant material, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; many very fine and fine roots; extremely acid (pH 4.1); clear wavy boundary
Bw/Cjj--20 to 50 cm; very gravelly silt loam, 65 percent brown (10YR 5/3) and 25 percent dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry, 65 percent dark brown (10YR 3/3) and 25 percent black (10YR 2/1) moist; weak fine granular structure; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; many very fine and common fine roots; common very fine and few fine irregular pores; 10 percent dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) coarse irregular mottles; 5 percent gravel; very strongly acid (pH 4.8); clear smooth boundary
2C1--50 to 85 cm; extremely gravelly loam; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) dry, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; massive, friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; many very fine roots; 60 percent gravel; strongly acid (pH 5.2); gradual smooth boundary
2C2--85 to 125 cm; extremely gravelly sandy loam, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) dry, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; massive; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; 85 percent gravel; strongly acid (pH 5.5)
3Cr--125 to 150 cm; bedrock
TYPE LOCATION: Nome Census Area County, Alaska, latitude 63.9214340 longitude -160.6707360 degrees, datum WGS84 (Coordinates determined with a GPS unit)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature-- -1 to 0 degrees C
Soil moisture control section--dry less than 45 consecutive days in June through October
Thickness of folistic epipedon--15 to 45 cm
Thickness of cambic horizon--15 to 75 cm
Thickness gelic materials--15 to 50 cm
Depth to paralithic contact--100 to 150 cm
Particle Size Control Section:
*Clay--16 to 22 percent
*Total fragments--35 to 70 percent gravels
*Sodium fluoride pH--8.4 to 11.6
*Ratio of 1500 kPa water to measured clay--0.6 to 6.0
Oi horizon
Thickness--5 to 45 cm
Oe horizon
Thickness--2 to 15 cm
Bw/Cjj horizon
Hue--10YR or 2.5YR
Value--2 to 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry
Chroma--1 to 3
Clay--5 to 12 percent
Sand--20 to 35 percent
Organic carbon--3 to 5 percent
Total rock fragment content--0 to 35 percent
Total gravel content--0 to 35 percent
Total channer content--0 to 35 percent
Reaction--4.1 to 5.1
Thickness--15 to 75 cm
2C1 horizon
Hue--10YR or 2.5YR
Value--4 or 5 moist, 6 or 7 dry
Chroma--4 or 5
Fine-earth texture--silt loam, loam
Clay--14 to 24 percent
Sand--20 to 45 percent
Organic carbon--1 to 2 percent
Total rock fragment content--20 to 60 percent
Total gravel content--20 to 60 percent
Total channer content--0 to 40 percent
Reaction--4.4 to 5.4
Thickness--15 to 50 cm
2C2 horizon
Hue--10YR or 2.5YR
Value--4 or 5 moist, 6 or 7 dry
Chroma--4 or 5
Fine-earth texture--sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam
Clay--14 to 24 percent
Sand--40 to 70 percent
Organic carbon--.5 to 1.5 percent
Total rock fragment content--35 to 85 percent
Total gravel content--35 to 85 percent
Total channer content--0 to 50 percent
Reaction--4.5 to 5.5
Thickness--15 to 50 cm
3Cr horizon
COMPETING SERIES: none
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
*Elevation--50 to 225 m
*Climate--warm, moist summers; cold, dry winters
*Mean annual precipitation--300 to 350 mm
*Mean annual air temperature-- -5 to -1 degrees C
*Frost-free period--55 to 90 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Teacreek--cryic temperature regime, very deep; backslopes of hills
Kanguq--cryic temperature regime, ochric epipedon, moderately deep to paralithic bedrock; shoulders and upper backslopes of mountains
MountMcDonand--shallow to lithic bedrock, shoulders and summits of mountains
Pointcreek--cryic temperature regime, very deep; backslopes of hills
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
*Drainage class--well drained
*Saturation during normal years--none
*Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--very high in the surface organic layer, high to moderately high throughout the rest of the profile
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--wildlife habitat, recreation, subsistence
Potential native vegetation--Bigelow's sedge, smallawned sedge, dwarf birch, lingonberry, black crowberry, marsh Labrador tea, bog blueberry, cloudberry, willow, star reindeer lichen, reindeer lichen, greygreen reindeer lichen, Schreber's big red stem moss, sphagnum moss
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Nulato Hills-Southern Seward Peninsula Highlands, Alaska; MLRA 240; small extent
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: WASILLA, ALASKA
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Nulato Hills BLM area, Nome Census Area, Alaska; 2021
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon
*Particle-size control section--zone from 45 to 120 cm
*Folistic epipedon--zone from 0 to 20 cm
*Cambic horizon-zone from 20 to 50 cm
*Cryoturbation--zone from 20 to 50 cm
*Lithologic discontinuity--zone from 50 to 125 cm and zone from 125 to 150 cm
*Paralithic contact--at 125 cm
________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.