LOCATION CASSITERITE             AK

Established Series
Rev. MHC/DLM
02/2022

CASSITERITE SERIES

Depth class: very deep
Drainage class: somewhat poorly drained
Landforms: flood plains; flood plains on mountains
Parent material: sandy and silty alluvium over sandy and gravelly alluvium
Elevation: 426 to 512 feet
Slope: 0 to 12 percent
Annual precipitation: 23.5 to 24.1 inches
Annual temperature: 24.8 degrees F
Frost-free period: 60 to 90 days

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, nonacid, subgelic Aquic Haplogelepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Cassiterite silt loam - on a slope of 1 percent under willow/sedge scrub. (All colors are for moist soil)

Oi--0 to 1 inch; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) slightly decomposed organic material; many very fine and fine and few medium roots; strongly acid (pH 5.5); abrupt smooth boundary.

A--1 to 4 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) silt loam; very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine and few medium roots; very strongly acid (pH 5.0); clear wavy boundary.

Bw--4 to 9 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) and dark gray (10YR 4/1) stratified fine sand to sand; very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; moderately acid (pH 5.6); clear smooth boundary.

Cg--9 to 24 inches; dark gray (5Y 4/1) stratified fine sand to silt; very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; 20 mm strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) high chroma redox concentrations (approximately 30 percent of horizon); 5 percent gravel; moderately acid (pH 5.8); gradual smooth boundary.

C1--24 to 35 inches; olive gray (5Y 4/2) stratified sand to silt; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; 5 mm strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) high chroma redox concentrations (approximately 10 percent of horizon); moderately acid (pH 5.8); clear wavy boundary.

2C2--35 to 60 inches; olive (5Y 4/3) extremely gravelly coarse sand; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; 45 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles; moderately acid (pH 6.0); clear smooth boundary.

TYPE LOCATION: Steward River Training Site, Alaska; UTM coordinates: Zone 3, Easting 473720, Northing 7185167

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture class: udic
Mean annual soil temperature: about 31 degrees F.
Mean summer soil temperature: about 35 degrees F.
Depth to strongly contrasting textural stratification: 9 to 33 inches

Oi horizon:
Hue: 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR
Value: 2.5 or 3
Chroma: 1 to 4
Organic matter content: 65 to 90 percent
Reaction: very strongly acid to moderately acid

A horizon:
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Clay content: 0 to 10 percent
Silt content: 55 to 75 percent
Sand content: 15 to 35 percent
Organic matter content: 2 to 4 percent
Reaction: very strongly acid to slightly acid

Bw horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 3 or 4
Chroma: 4 to 6
Clay content: 0 to 10 percent
Silt content: 55 to 75 percent
Sand content: 15 to 35 percent
Organic matter content: 2 to 4 percent
Reaction: very strongly acid to slightly acid

C1, Cg horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y or 5Y
Value: 3 or 4
Chroma: 1 or 2
Clay content: 0 to 10 percent
Silt content: 15 to 35 percent
Sand content: 60 to 85 percent
Organic matter content: 1 to 3 percent
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent rounded indurated cobbles
Reaction: strongly acid to moderately acid

2C2 horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y or 5Y
Value: 3 or 4
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: very cobbly loamy sand, very gravelly coarse sand, extremely gravelly coarse sand
Clay content: 0 to 5 percent
Silt content: 0 to 15 percent
Sand content: 80 to 95 percent
Rock fragments: 30 to 60 percent rounded indurated gravel, 0 to 40 percent rounded indurated cobbles
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly acid

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series in this classification.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landforms: flood plains; flood plains on mountains
Parent material: sandy and silty alluvium over sandy and gravelly alluvium
Elevation: 426 to 512 feet
Slope: 0 to 12 percent
Annual precipitation: 23.5 to 24.1 inches
Annual temperature: 24.8 degrees F
Frost-free period: 60 to 90 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include Boldrin, Distin, and Peluk soils. Boldrin soils are very poorly drained, shallow to moderately deep to permafrost, and occur on mountain toeslopes and footslopes. Distin soils are poorly drained, moderately deep to very deep to permafrost, and occur on stream terraces. Peluk soils are well drained, shallow to permafrost, and occur on peat plateaus on mountains.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained, low to medium runoff. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high in the loamy material and high to very high in the sandy-skeletal material.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for military use and wildlife habitat. Native vegetation is willow/sedge scrub.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 240, Nulato Hills-Southern Seward Peninsula Highlands, Alaska. The series is of small extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: WASILLA, ALASKA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Steward River Training Site, Alaska, 2005

REMARKS: Diagnostic features and horizons recognized in this profile include:
Cambic horizon: 4 to 9 inches. (Bw horizon)
Coarse-loamy part of the particle size control section: 10 to 35 inches
Sandy or sandy-skeletal part of the particle size control section: 35 to 40 inches
Lithologic discontinuity: At the upper boundary of 2C horizon
Temperature regime: gelic

ADDITIONAL DATA:

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.