LOCATION LITTLETOK               AK

Established Series
SDB
08/2025

LITTLETOK SERIES

Depth class: shallow to permafrost
Drainage class: poorly drained
Parent material: herbaceous organic material over mossy organic material over sandy complex landslide deposits
Landscape: mountains
Landform: mountain slopes
Slope: 3 to 7 percent
Aspect: north to east
Mean annual precipitation: about 600 mm (24 in)
Mean annual air temperature: about -3 degrees C (27 degrees F)
Frost-free period: 36 to 71 days

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, subgelic Typic Historthels

TYPICAL PEDON: Littletok moderately decomposed plant material in a black spruce on a linear, linear mountain slope on a slope of 35 percent at an elevation of 759m (2490 ft).

Oi--0 to 13 cm (0 to 5 in); peat, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) rubbed moist; nonsticky, nonplastic; common very fine, fine, medium, and coarse roots throughout; neutral (pH 6.6); clear smooth boundary (8 to 14 cm, 3 to 6 in)

Oe--13 to 30 cm (5 to 112 in); moderately decomposed plant material, dark reddish brown (5YR 2.5/2) rubbed moist; nonsticky, nonplastic; common very fine, fine, medium, and coarse roots throughout; slightly acid (pH 6.5); clear smooth boundary (15 to 20 cm, 6 to 8 in)

Cf--30 to 65 cm (12 to 26 in); extremely gravelly sand, variegated very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) crushed moist; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; 10 percent subangular by channers by volume, 60 percent subangular gravels by volume; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); abrupt smooth boundary (30 to 40 cm, 12 to 16)

Oabf--65 to 72 cm (26 to 28 in); highly decomposed plant material, black (7.5YR 2.5/1) rubbed moist; nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine roots throughout; neutral (pH 6.6); abrupt smooth boundary (5 to 9 cm, 2 to 4 in)

Cbf--72 to 150 cm (28 to 59 in); extremely gravelly sand, variegated very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) crushed moist; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; 10 percent subangular channers by volume, 60 percent subangular gravels by volume; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5). (67 to 92 cm, 26 to 37 in)

TYPE LOCATION: North Copper River Soil Survey Area, Alaska; latitude 62.93906, longitude -143.57550, UTM 6981415.54 north and UTM 369298.20 east, zone 7, Datum WGS84.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture regime: aquic
Soil temperature regime: gelic
Mean annual soil temperature: -4 to 1 degrees C ( 25 to 34 degrees F)
Thickness of histic epipedon: 23 to 34 cm (9 to 13 in)
Depth to aquic conditions: 8 to 14 cm (3 to 6 in)
Depth to permafrost: 23 to 34 cm (9 to 13 in)

Oi, Oe, Oa, Oafb horizons:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 2.5 to 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: peat, mucky peat, muck
Organic matter: 60 to 90 percent
Reaction class: moderately acid to neutral (pH 6.0 to 7.0)

Cf, Cfb horizons:
Hue: 2.5Y or 5Y
Value: 3 to 4
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: extremely gravelly sand, very gravelly sand, extremely gravelly coarse sand
Sand: 86 to 98 percent
Silt: 0 to 11 percent
Clay: 1 to 5 percent
Rock fragments: 34 to 85 percent
Gravels: 30 to 70 percent
Channers: 4 to 15 percent
Organic matter: 3 to 5 percent
Reaction class: Slightly acid to slightly alkaline (pH 6.5 to 7.8)

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Dadina soils which have silt caps and lack buried organic horizons.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation: 400 to1200 meters (1310 to 3935 ft)
Parent material: herbaceous organic material over mossy organic material over sandy complex landslide deposits
Landform: mountain slopes
Slopes: 3 to 7 percent
Mean annual precipitation: 400 to 800 mm (15 to 31 in)
Mean annual air temperature: -4 to -2 degrees C. (25 to 28 degrees F)
Frost-free period: 36 to 71 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Alterationcreek, Haggardcreek, Haleycreek, and Hundell soils
Alterationcreek soils are well drained, have bedrock at a depth between 101 and 154 cm (40 and 61 in), and occur on hillslopes and mountain valleys.
Haggardcreek soils are well drained, has a folistic epipedon, there soils are bedrock within 2 meters of the soil surface, and occur on hillslopes and mountain slopes.
Haleycreek soils are well drained, have a mollic epipedon, lacks a lithic contact, and occur on hillslopes of mountains and river valleys.
Hundell soils are moderately well drained, lack a histic epipedon, and occur on flats and bluffs in till plains and outwash plains.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class: poorly
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: high in the Oi and Oe horizons and low in the Cf, Oafb, Cfb.
Permeability: moderately rapid in the Oi and Oe horizons and very slow in the Cf, Oafb, Cfb.
Runoff: very high

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use: wildlife habitat, recreation, and subsistence
Native vegetation: Black spruce, mosses

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 228 Interior Alaska mountains
Extent: limited

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: 55 to 130 cm (22 to 51 in)

Histic epipedon: 0 to 30 cm (0 to 12 in) (Oi and Oe horizons)

Aquic conditions: 13 to 150 cm (5 to 59 in) (Oe, Cf, Oafb and Cfb horizons)

Permafrost: 30 to 150 cm (12 to 59 in) (Cf, Oafb, Cfb horizons)

ADDITIONAL DATA:

User pedon Id: 2023AK261812

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.