LOCATION GOODNEWS                AK

Established Series
SAS/ABD/TJR
05/2022

GOODNEWS SERIES

Landscape--mountains, hills, valleys
Landform--mountain slopes, hillslopes, drift plains
Slope--0 to 40 percent
Parent material--colluvium over drift or residuum
Mean annual precipitation--about 1100 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 0 degrees C
Depth class--shallow
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--udic
Soil temperature regime--cryic
Soil moisture subclass--typic

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, isotic Lithic Humicryepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Goodnews gravelly sandy loam on an east-facing, convex, upper mountain backslope, on a slope of 34 percent at an elevation of 671 m (The soil was moist throughout when described on August 10, 2011.)

Oi--0 to 4 cm; slightly decomposed plant material; many very fine and common fine roots; extremely acid (pH 4.1); clear smooth boundary

A1--4 to 9 cm; gravelly sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and medium and many fine roots; 15 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.1); clear smooth boundary

A2--9 to 28 cm; very gravelly sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and medium and many fine roots; 40 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.3); clear smooth boundary

2Bw--28 to 40 cm; very gravelly silt loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) dry, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine to medium roots; 45 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.4); abrupt wavy boundary

2R--40 cm; bedrock

TYPE LOCATION: Bethel Census Area, Alaska, about 65 km north of the village of Togiak; latitude 59.6533333 degrees north, longitude 160.3980556 degrees west, datum WGS 84 (coordinates determined with a GPS)

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--0 to 2 degrees C
Soil moisture control section--dry less than 45 consecutive days in June through October
Depth to lithic contact--25 to 50 cm
Lithology of rock fragments--sedimentary, volcanic
Other features--lithologic discontinuity; umbric epipedon

Particle-size control section
*Clay content--4 to 10 percent
*Sand content--30 to 75 percent
*Total rock fragment content--35 to 80 percent
*Sodium fluoride pH--8.4 to 11.6
*Ratio of 1500 kPa water to measured clay--0.6 to 6.0

Oi horizon
Thickness--2 to 9 cm

A1 or A horizon
Hue--7.5YR, 10YR
Value--2 to 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry
Chroma--1 to 3 moist
Fine-earth texture--sandy loam
Clay content--4 to 8 percent
Reaction--4.6 to 6.1
Total rock fragment content--15 to 30 percent
Gravel content--0 to 25 percent
Cobble content--0 to 5 percent
Channer content--0 to 15 percent
Thickness--5 to 10 cm
Organic carbon content--5 to 15 percent
Base saturation--0 to 20 percent

A2 or AB horizon
Value--2.5 or 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry
Chroma--2 to 4 moist
Fine-earth texture--sandy loam, silt loam
Clay content--4 to 8 percent
Reaction--5.0 to 6.5
Total rock fragment content--35 to 80
Gravel content--10 to 45 percent
Cobble content--0 to 20 percent
Channer content--0 to 45 percent
Flagstone content--0 to 10 percent
Thickness--8 to 28 cm
Base saturation--0 to 20 percent

2Bw horizon
Hue--10YR, 2.5Y
Value--3 or 4 moist, 5 or 6 dry
Chroma--2 to 4 moist
Fine-earth texture--silt loam, coarse sandy loam
Clay content--5 to 6 percent
Reaction--5.5 to 6.6
Total rock fragment content--35 to 85 percent
Gravel content--35 to 89 percent
Cobble content--0 to 20 percent
Thickness--11 to 15 cm

COMPETING SERIES:
Burgerbutte--cambic horizon; mean annual soil temperature higher than 2 degrees C; Vitrandic subgroup properties
Crawfish, Eastlakesbasin--xeric soil moisture regime; Vitrandic subgroup properties
Snowtell--xeric soil moisture regime; mean annual soil temperature higher than 4 degrees C; averages 10 to 18 percent clay
Telluride--15 to 27 percent clay in the particle-size control section

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--10 to 1250 m
Climate--warm, moist summers; cold, moist winters
Mean annual precipitation--620 to 2100 mm
Mean annual air temperature-- -3.6 to 1.8 degrees C
Frost-free period--70 to 140 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Mitlak--aquic conditions below a depth of 50 cm; andic soil properties; plains and lower mountain slopes
Klak--150 to 200 cm (very deep) to lithic bedrock; andic soil properties; lower mountain slopes
Buchia--very deep; similar landscape positions
Ahklun--moderately deep; andic soil properties; concave to linear mountain slopes

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--well drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--moderately high or high throughout

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--wildlife habitat, recreation, subsistence
Potential natural vegetation--cup lichen, greygreen reindeer lichen, star reindeer lichen, pincushion plant, eightpetal mountain-avens, black crowberry, marsh Labrador tea, arctic willow, snow lichen

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Ahklun Mountains, Alaska; MLRA 237; large extent

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, Bethel Census Area, Alaska; 2019

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features in this pedon
*Particle-size control section--zone from 25 to 40 cm
*Umbric epipedon--A1 and A2 horizons
*Depth to lithic contact--40 cm

See laboratory pedon number 13N44527 for loamy skeletal material that has isotic mineralogy.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.