LOCATION KALUK                   AK

Established Series
MJS/MPS
11/2024

KALUK SERIES

Depth class: very deep
Drainage class: moderately well drained
Parent material: sandy and gravelly alluvium derived from metamorphic and sedimentary rock
Landscape: river valleys
Landform: flood plains
Microfeature: point bars
Slopes: 0 to 5 percent
Mean annual precipitation: about 400 mm (15.7 in)
Mean annual air temperature: about -4 degrees C. (25 degrees F.)
Frost-free period: 65 to 90 days

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed Oxyaquic Cryorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Kaluk extremely gravelly sand in a willow community on a linear, linear talf on a slope of 0 percent at an elevation of 133m (436 ft)

C1--0 to 78 cm (0 to 31 in); extremely gravelly sand; dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) moist, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) dry; single grain; loose, nonsticky, nonplastic; nonsmeary; few very fine roots and common fine roots throughout; few very fine, fine, and medium irregular pores; 1 percent cobbles, 70 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.6); clear smooth boundary. (60 to 100cm, 24 to 40 in thick)

C2--78 to 200 cm (31 to 79 in); extremely gravelly coarse sand; dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) moist, gray (2.5Y 6/1) dry; single grain; loose, nonsticky, nonplastic; nonsmeary; common medium and fine interstitial pores; 84 percent gravel and 1 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.2)

TYPE LOCATION: Nulato Hills - Continental Divide and Blackburn Hills Soil Survey Area, Alaska; latitude 64.2682043, longitude -160.1110179, datum WGS84, UTM north 7127371.50 and UTM east 446181.28, zone 4, datum WGS84.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture regime: udic
Soil temperature regime: cryic
Mean annual soil temperature: 0 to 3 degrees C. (32 to 37 degrees F.)

C1 horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y or 5Y
Value: 2.5 to 4 moist, 4 to 6 dry
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: sand or their gravelly or cobbly analogues
Sand: 85 to 100 percent
Silt: 0 to 15 percent
Clay: 0 to 6 percent
Rock fragments: 60 to 85 percent
Gravels: 5 to 75 percent
Cobbles: 0 to 50 percent
Organic matter: 0.1 to 2 percent
Reaction class: moderately acid to slightly alkaline (pH 5.6 to 7.8)

C2 horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y or 5Y
Value: 2.5 to 4 moist, 4 to 6 dry
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: loamy coarse sand, coarse sand or their gravelly analogues
Sand: 80 to 100 percent
Silt: 0 to 20 percent
Clay: 0 to 5 percent
Rock fragments: 70 to 89 percent
Gravels: 35 to 89 percent
Cobbles: 0 to 20 percent
Organic matter: 0.1 to 1 percent
Reaction class: slightly acid to slightly alkaline (pH 6.1 to 7.8)

Some pedons have a thin A horizon of 5 cm or less thick.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Brasspancreek, Chiniak, Fingers, Koacho, Pasaghsak, Puffin and Tangoe (AK) series.
Brasspancreek soils have an ochric epipedon, have an organic surface, and occur on flood plains of drainageways
Chiniak soils have an ochric epipedon, have volcanic ash in the surface, have a mean annual air temperature of 2 to 6 degrees C. (34 to 43 degrees F.), and occur on beaches, beach plains, and berms
Fingers soils have an ochric epipedon, have an organic surface, lack flooding, have a mean annual air temperature of 1 to 9 degrees C. (34 to 48 degrees F.), and occur on drainageways of glaciated plains
Kocacho soils have an ochric epipedon, have an organic surface, lack flooding, have a mean annual air temperature of- 12 to 0 degrees C. (10 to 32 degrees F.), and occur on depressions on stream terraces
Pasagshak soils have andic soil properties, have an organic surface, have a mean annual air temperature of 0 to 6 degrees C. (32 to 43 degrees F.), and occur on similar landforms on flood plains and drainageways
Puffin soils have an ochric epipedon, have free carbonates below 50cm (20 in), have a mean annual air temperature of 3 to 9 degrees C. (37 to 48 degrees F.), and occur on similar landforms on low flood plains
Tangoe soils have an organic surface, have a mean annual air temperature of -5 to -3 degrees C. (23 to 26 degrees F.), and occur on similar landforms on flood plains

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation: 0 to 300 meters (0 to 985 feet)
Parent material: sandy and gravelly alluvium derived from metamorphic and sedimentary rock
Landform: flood plains
Slopes: 0 to 5 percent
Mean annual precipitation: 300 to 500 mm (12 to 20 in)
Mean annual air temperature: -7 to -1 degrees C. (19 to 30 degrees F.)
Frost free period: 65 to 90 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Igniq, Jacksoncreek, Shovelcreek, Uliktuk, and Willowriver soils.
Igniq soils have aquic conditions starting between 25 to 50 cm (10 to 20 in), have a folistic epipedon, have cryoturbation, have a reduced matrix starting within 50cm (20in), have a coarse-loamy particle size class, have a gelic soil temperature regime, lack flooding, and occur on footslopes and backslopes
Jacksoncreek soils have aquic conditions starting between 0 to 25 cm (0 to 10 in), have a histic epipedon, have cryoturbation, have a reduced matrix starting within 50cm (20 in), have a cambic horizon, have a coarse-loamy particle size class, have a gelic soil temperature regime, have an isotic mineralogy class, lack flooding, and occur on terraces and earth hummocks on terraces
Shovelcreek soils have an ochric epipedon, lack a zone of saturation during normal years, have rare flooding, and occur on similar landforms on flood plains
Uliktuk soils have aquic conditions starting between 0 to 25 cm (0 to 10 in), have a reduced matrix starting within 25 cm (10 in), have an ochric epipedon, have frequent, long flooding, and occur on similar landforms on flood plains
Willowriver soils have an ochric epipedon, lack a zone of saturation during normal years, have occasional, brief flooding, and occur on similar landforms on flood plains

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class: moderately well drained
Saturation during normal years-- saturated at a depth of between 50 and 100 cm for either 20 or more consecutive days or 30 or more cumulative days during the growing season (oxyaquic soil moisture subclass)
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: very high in the C1 and C2 horizons
Permeability: very rapid in the C1 and C2 horizons
Runoff: negligible
Flooding: frequent, brief

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use: wildlife habitat, recreation, and subsistence
Native vegetation: feltleaf willow, dwarf fireweed, meadow horsetail

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

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Nulato Hills - Continental Divide and Blackburn Hills Soil Survey, Alaska, 2024.

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

No diagnostic horizons

Particle-size control section: 25 to 100 cm (10 to 40 in)

ADDITIONAL DATA:

User pedon ID: 2021AK180797

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.