LOCATION BERNARDPEAK             AK

Established Series
SDB/MJS
08/2025

BERNARDPEAK SERIES

Depth class: very deep
Drainage class: somewhat poorly
Parent material: organic over till
Landscape: mountains
Landform: mountain valleys and stream terraces
Slopes: 1 to 10 percent
Mean annual precipitation: about 600 mm (24 in)
Mean annual air temperature: about -3 degrees C. (27 degrees F)
Frost free period: 40 to 103 days

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, euic Terric Cryosaprists

TYPICAL PEDON: Bernardpeak muck in a willow and shrub birch dominated stream terrace, on a south facing 10percent slope at 912 m elevation (2990 ft).

Oi--0 to 10 cm (0 to 4 in); peat, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) broken face moist; many very fine, and common fine and medium roots throughout; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt wavy boundary (6 to 12 cm, 2 to 5 in)

Oa--10 to 42 cm (4 to 17 in); muck, black (10YR 2/1) broken face moist; common very fine and medium roots throughout; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (26 to 40 cm, 10 to 16 in)

C--42 to 150 cm (17 to 59 in); very gravelly fine sand, brown (10YR 5/3) broken face moist; single grain; loose; nonsmeary; common very fine roots throughout; few very fine tubular pores; 45 percent subrounded gravel by volume; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5). (109 to 119 cm, 43 to 47 in)

TYPE LOCATION: North Copper River Soil Survey Area, Alaska; latitude 61.54389, longitude -145.07264, UTM 6824885.83 north and UTM 602445.08 east, zone 6, Datum WGS84.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture regime: aquic
Soil temperature regime: cryic
Mean annual soil temperature: -5 to -1 degrees C. (23 to 30 degrees F)
Thickness of organic material: 31 to 41 cm (12 to 16 in)

Oi and Oa horizons:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 2 to 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: Peat, muck
Organic matter: 60 to 90 percent
Reaction class: moderately acid to slightly alkaline (pH 5.6 to 7.8)

C horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 2 to 3
Texture: very gravelly fine sand, very gravelly loamy sand
Sand: 75 to 95 percent
Silt: 0 to 20 percent
Clay: 1 to 5 percent
Rock fragments: 38 to 50 percent
Gravels: 38 to 50 percent
Organic matter: 0.1 to 5 percent
Reaction class: slightly alkaline (pH 7.4 to 7.8)

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Grandjean (ID) soils.
Grandjean soils have mean annual soil temperatures above 0 degrees C (32 F) and form in alluvium.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation: 600 to 1400 meters (1970 to 4595 ft)
Parent material: organic over till
Landform: stream terraces, mountain valleys
Slopes: 1 to 10 percent
Mean annual precipitation: 300 to 1400 mm (12 to 55 in)
Mean annual air temperature: -5 to -1 degrees C. (23 to 30 degrees F)
Frost free period: 40 to 103 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Chelina, Cirquecreek, Drashner, Forthofjuly, and Greylingcreek soils.
Chelina soils are well drained, have a loess mantle, have a cambic horizon, and occur on lacustrine terraces.
Cirquecreek soils are well drained, have a cambic horizon, have more than 35 percent coarse fragments in its particle size control section, and occurs on saddles and mountain slopes.
Drashner soils are somewhat poorly drained, have histic epipedons, and occur on mountains and hillslopes.
Fourthofjuly soils are well drained, has a folistic epipedon, and occurs on mountain valleys and stream terraces.
Greylingcreek soils are excessively drained, have more than 35 percent coarse fragments in the particle size control section, and occur in mountain valleys and moraines.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class: somewhat poorly
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: high in the O horizons and very high in the C horizon
Permeability: moderately rapid in the O horizons and very rapid in the C horizon
Runoff: very high

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use: wildlife habitat, recreation, and subsistence
Native vegetation: Barclay's willow, tealeaf willow, resin birch, black crowberry

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 228, Interior Alaska mountains.
Extent: moderate

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Wasilla, Alaska

SERIES ESTABLISHED: North Copper River Soil Survey, Alaska, 2024.

REMARKS: Diagnostic features and horizons recognized in this profile include:

Particle-size control section: 42 to 72 cm (17 to 28 in)

Sapric soil materials: 10 to 41 cm (4 to 16 in)

Fibric soil materials: 0 to 10 cm (0 to 4 in)

ADDITIONAL DATA:

User pedon Id: 2022AK261325

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.