LOCATION OCTOPUSLAKE             AK

Established Series
SDB
08/2025

OCTOPUSLAKE SERIES

Depth class: very deep
Drainage class: very poorly drained
Parent material: mossy organic material
Landscape: mountains and foothills
Landform: depressions on hills
Slope: 0 to 2 percent
Mean annual precipitation: about 350 mm (14 in)
Mean annual air temperature: about -3 degrees C (27 degrees F)
Frost-free period: 20 to 75 days

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Euic Typic Cryohemists

TYPICAL PEDON: Octopuslake mucky peat in a sphagnum community in a depression on a slope of 0 percent and an elevation of 954m (3130 ft).

Oe1--0 to 15 cm (0 to 6 in); mucky peat, very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) moist; many very fine and common fine roots throughout; moderately acid (pH 5.7); gradual wavy boundary 8 to 30 cm, 3 to 12 in)

Oe2--15 to 80 cm (6 to 31 in); mucky peat, black (5Y 2.5/2) moist; many very fine and common fine roots throughout; strongly acid (pH 5.3); gradual wavy boundary

Oe3--80 to 150 cm (31 to 59 in); mucky peat, very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) moist; strongly acid (pH 5.2) (120 to 142 cm, 47 to 56 cm)

TYPE LOCATION: North Copper River Soil Survey Area, Alaska; latitude 63.05605, longitude -145.49277, UTM 6992727.29 north and UTM 576193.27 east, zone 6, Datum WGS84.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture regime: aquic
Soil temperature regime: cryic
Mean annual soil temperature: -1 to 5 degrees C. (30 to 41 degrees F)
Thickness of organic material: 150 (59 in)
Depth of Hemic soil materials: 0 to 150 cm (0 to 59 in)

Oe horizons:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 2 to 4
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: mucky peat or peat
Organic matter: 60 to 90 percent
Reaction class: strongly acid to slightly acid (pH 5.1 to 6.5)

Some soils have a Cg horizon starting between 150 and 200 cm (59 to 79 in) with a sandy loam or loam, texture, hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value from 2 to 4, and a chroma of 1.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ekiligamut (AK), Grayslake (ID), Koyuktolik (AK), Mariel (OR), Snakeriver (AK), and Wocus (OR) soils.
Greyslake, Mariel, and Wocus do not occur in Alaska
Ekiligamut soils have a mineral contact within 150 cm of the surface and occur and elevations from 0 to 15m (0 to 50 ft)
Grayslake soils have pH values 6.5 or greater in all horizons and occur at elevations above above 1900 m (6235 ft).
Koyuktolik soils have loam or sandy loam mineral soil layer that is 20 to 45 percent coarse fragments; strata of volcanic ash in Oe horizon, and an elevation of 3 to 300m (10 to 985 ft)
Mariel soils have sapric material starting at 86 cm (34 in), mean annual precipitation of 1270 to 2900 mm (50 to 114 in).
Snakeriver soils have fibric material on the surface of the pedon, a mean annual soil temperature of 1 to 3 degrees C (34 to 37 degrees F), and occur at elevations between 0 and 560m (0 to 835 ft).
Wocus soils have a limnic horizon containing diatomaceous silt loam.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation: 300 to 1200 meters (985 to 3935 ft)
Parent material: mossy organic material
Landform: depressions on hills
Slopes: 0 to 2 percent
Mean annual precipitation: 300 to 800 mm (12 to 31 in)
Mean annual air temperature: -4 to -2 degrees C. (25 to 28 degrees F)
Frost-free period: 20 to 75 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Ahtell, Dodger, Klawasi, Squirrelcreek, Stibnite, and Summitlake soils.
Ahtell soils are well drained, lack permafrost, have folistic and umbric epipedons, and occur on hill tops, and hillside positions.
Dodger soils are an organic permafrost soil, there is a silty clay loam texture in the upper mineral horizons, and occur on outwash terraces on mountains.
Klawasi soils are a very poorly drained, they are mineral soils, have permafrost, a histic epipedon, a loess cap over clayey lacustrine sediments, and occur on lacustrine terraces.
Squirrelcreek soils are somewhat excessively drained,they are mineral soils, form on alluvium parent material, and occur on bluffs, floodplains, and river valleys in outwash plains.
Stibnite soils are well drained, has a silt loam surface texture, 15 to 35 cm (6 to 14 in) cambic horizon, and occur in till plains, mountains, kames and kettles.
Summitlake soils are poorly drained, they are mineral soils, and occur on lake plains and depressions in foothills.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class: very poorly
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: high in the Oe horizon.
Permeability: moderately rapid in the Oe horizon.
Runoff: negligible

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use: wildlife habitat, recreation, and subsistence
Native vegetation: sphagnum moss, felwort, bush cinquefoil, and water sedge.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 228 Interior Alaska mountains.
Extent: extensive.

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:

Control section: 0 to 130 cm

Hemic soil materials: 0 to 150 cm (0 to 59 in) (Oe1, Oe2, Oe3 horizons)

ADDITIONAL DATA:

User pedon Id: 2023AK261612

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.