LOCATION MINERALCREEK            AK

Tentative Series
SDB
08/2025

MINERALCREEK SERIES

Depth class: very deep
Drainage class: somewhat poorly drained
Parent material: grassy organic material over coarse-loamy alluvium
Landscape: foohills
Landform: flood plains and depressions
Slope: 0 to 7 percent
Mean annual precipitation: about 600 mm (24 in)
Mean annual air temperature: about -3 degrees C (27 degrees F)
Frost-free period: 32 to 71 days

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, euic Terric Cryohemists

TYPICAL PEDON: Mineralcreek mucky peat in a willow and moss dominated linear, linear floodplain on a 5 percent slope at an elevation of 866m (2840 ft).

Oi--0 to 19 cm (0 to 7 in); peat, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; many very fine, fine, and medium roots throughout; nonsticky, nonplastic; strongly acid (pH 5.2); clear smooth boundary (12 to 20 cm, 5 to 8 in)

Oe--19 to 45 cm (7 to 18 in); mucky peat, black (10YR 2/1) moist; many very fine, fine, and medium, and common coarse roots throughout; nonsticky, nonplastic; moderately acid (pH 5.7); clear smooth boundary (20 to 30 cm, 8 to 12 in)

Oa--45 to 63 cm (18 to 25 in); muck, black (10YR 2/1) moist; common very fine and few fine roots throughout; nonsticky, nonplastic; moderately acid (pH 5.9); clear smooth boundary (12 to 20 cm, 5 to 8 in)

A--63 to 150 cm (25 to 59 in); silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable; nonsmeary; slightly acid (pH 6.2). (80 to 106 cm, 31 to 42 in)

TYPE LOCATION: Valdez-Cordova Census Area County, Alaska; latitude 62.91865, longitude -145.48650, UTM 6977428.99 north and UTM 576870.83 east, zone 6, Datum WGS84.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture regime: aquic
Soil temperature regime: cryic
Mean annual soil temperature: 0 to 4 degrees C. (0 to 39 degrees F)
Thickness of organic material: 44 to 70 cm (17 to 28 in)
Thickness of hemic soil materials: 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in)
Aquic conditions:

Oi, Oe, Oa horizons:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 2 to 3
Chroma: 1 to 2
Texture: peat, mucky peat, muck
Organic matter: 60 to 90 percent
Reaction class: very strongly acid to slightly acid (pH 4.5 to 6.4)

A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 2 to 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: silt loam
Sand: 20 to 35 percent
Silt: 50 to 70 percent
Clay: 10 to 17 percent
Rock fragments: 0 percent
Organic matter: 1 to 3 percent
Reaction class: moderately acid to neutral (pH 5.6 to 7.3)

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Aginaktuk (AK), Doroshin (AK), Hewitt (AK), Runkelscreek (AK), Stanbro (OR), Tacaes (AK), and Tepete (ID, WY, and MT) soils.
Aginaktuk soils have dark grey (10YR 4/1) matrix with mottles in the uppermost mineral horizon and lack a fibric horizon.
Doroshin soils lack sapric soil material and have a clay content range of less than 3 percent
Hewitt soils have 18 to 35 percent clay in the mineral substratum and have a mean annual air temperature of -1 to 4 degrees C (30 to 40 degrees F)
Runkelscreek soils are very poorly drained, have ponding, and occur at elevations below 550 m (1805 ft).
Tacaes soils have dark grey (N 4/) matrix in mineral substratum and occur on glaciolacustrine deposits.
Tepete soils have 18 to 35 percent clay in the mineral substratum and have a mean annual air temperature of 1 to 6 degrees C (33.8 to 42.8 degrees F)

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation: 600 to 1200 meters (1970 to 3935 ft)
Parent material: grassy organic material over coarse-loamy alluvium
Landform: flood plains and depressions
Slopes: 0 to 7 percent
Mean annual precipitation: 400 to 800 mm (16 to 31 in)
Mean annual air temperature: -4 to -2 degrees C. (25 to 28 degrees F)
Frost-free period: 32 to 71 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Ahtell, Haggardcreek, Haleycreek, and Swampylakes soils.
Ahtell soils are well drained, are mineral soils, lack permafrost, have folistic and umbric epipedons, and occur on hill tops, and hillside positions.
Haggardcreek soils are well drained, are mineral soils, have folistic epipedons, have bedrock within 2 meters of the soil surface, and occur on hillslopes and mountain slopes.
Haleycreek soils are well drained, are mineral soils, have a mollic epipedon, and occur on hillslopes of mountains and river valleys.
Swampylakes soils are mineral soils, have a mollic epipedon, aquic conditions starting between 34 and 40 cm (13 and 16in), and occur on mountain slopes and hillslopes.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class: somewhat poorly
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: high in the Oi, Oe, and Oa horizons, moderately high in the A horizon
Permeability: moderately rapid in the Oi, Oe, and Oa horizons, moderate in the A horizon
Runoff: very high

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use: wildlife habitat, recreation, and subsistence
Native vegetation: tealeaf willow, moss, Richardson's willow, bog blueberry

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: 63 to 93 cm (25 to 37 in)

Hemic soil material: 19 to 45 cm (7 to 18 in) (Oe horizon)

Sapric soil material: 45 to 63 cm (18 to 25 in) (Oa horizon)

Fibric soil material: 0 to 19 cm (0 to 7 in) (Oi horizon)

Aquic conditions: 0 to 150 cm (0 to 25 in) (Oi, Oe, Oa, and A horizons)

Mineral soil contact: 63 to 150 cm (25 to 59 in) (A horizon)

ADDITIONAL DATA:

User pedon Id: 2023AK261275

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.