LOCATION PASSAGE                 AK

Established Series
Rev. JPM/NDP/SCD
11/2022

PASSAGE SERIES

Landscape--mountains
Landform--hills, mountain slopes
Slope--5 to 120 percent
Parent material--residuum and colluvium
Mean annual precipitation--about 3556 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 5 degrees C
Depth class--moderately deep
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--udic
Soil temperature regime--cryic
Soil moisture subclass--typic

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive Typic Humicryods

TYPICAL PEDON: Passage silt loam, forested, on a south-facing mountain slope of 8 percent at an elevation of 91 m (When described in 1983, the soil was moist to a depth of 64 cm.)

Oe--0 to 5 cm; moderately decomposed plant material; clear smooth boundary

E--5 to 10 cm; silt loam, gray (10YR 6/1) dry, dark gray (10YR 4/1) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine, medium, and coarse roots; common very fine and fine irregular pores; strongly acid (pH 5.4); clear smooth boundary

Bhs1--10 to 15 cm; fine sandy loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine, medium, and coarse roots; common very fine and fine irregular pores; strongly acid (pH 5.4); clear smooth boundary

Bhs2--15 to 25 cm; gravelly fine sandy loam, light brown (7.5YR 6/4) dry, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine, medium, and coarse roots; common very fine and fine irregular pores; 15 percent gravel; moderately acid (pH 5.6); clear smooth boundary

C--25 to 63 cm; very gravelly fine sandy loam, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) dry, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine, medium, and coarse roots decreasing to few fine roots as depth increases; common very fine and fine irregular pores; 30 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; moderately acid (pH 6.0); clear smooth boundary

R--63 cm; fractured schist over consolidated schist

TYPE LOCATION: Haines Borough Census Area, Alaska; in the SE1/4SW1/4 of section 3, T. 29 S., R. 56 E., Copper River Meridian (coordinates estimated from PLSS details)

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--2 to 8 degrees C
Soil moisture control section--dry less than 45 consecutive days in June through October (udic)
Depth to lithic contact--50 to 100 cm (moderately deep)
Organic carbon content--6 to 15 percent in upper 10 cm of spodic horizon

Particle-size control section
*Clay content--0 to 10 percent
*Total rock fragment content--35 to 70 percent
*Gravel content--25 to 70 percent
*Cobble content--5 to 65 percent

Oi, Oe, or Oa horizon
Thickness--0 to 13 cm

A horizon (where present)
Hue--5YR to 2.5Y moist or dry
Value--2 to 5 moist, 4 to 7 dry
Chroma--1 or 2 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--silt loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam
Clay content--0 to 5 percent
Reaction (pH)--5.1 to 6.0
Thickness--0 to 8 cm

E or EA horizon
Hue--7.5YR to 5Y moist or dry
Value--3 to 5 moist, 5 to 7 dry
Chroma--1 to 3 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--silt loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam
Clay content--0 to 10 percent
Total rock fragment content--0 to 45 percent
Gravel content--0 to 30 percent
Cobble content--0 to 40 percent
Reaction (pH)--3.6 to 5.9
Thickness--1 to 10 cm

Bhs and Bs horizons
Hue--2.5YR to 10YR moist or dry
Value--2 to 5 moist, 4 to 7 dry
Chroma--1 to 4 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--silt loam, fine sandy loam
Clay content--0 to 10 percent
Total rock fragment content--0 to 65 percent
Gravel content--0 to 55 percent
Cobble content--0 to 40 percent
Reaction (pH)--4.9 to 6.0
Thickness--15 to 70 cm

C horizon
Hue--7.5YR to 2.5Y moist or dry
Value--2 to 5 moist, 4 to 7 dry
Chroma--1 to 4 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--silt loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam
Clay content--0 to 5 percent
Total rock fragment content--35 to 60 percent
Gravel content--0 to 55 percent
Cobble content--0 to 40 percent
Reaction (pH)--5.1 to 6.0
Thickness--20 to 45 cm

COMPETING SERIES:
Deming, Hinker--volcanic ash in control section
Karta--50 to 100 cm (moderately deep) to a paralithic contact (compact till)
Kupreanof, Mitkof--no lithic contact within a depth of more than 150 cm (very deep)
Saar, Shuksan--volcanic ash in control section
Thader--basalt and andesite coarse fragments in control section

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--0 to 915 m
Climate--cool, moist summers; mild, wet winters
Mean annual precipitation--530 to 9140 mm
Mean annual air temperature--2 to 8 degrees C
Frost-free period--45 to 154 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Kupreanof--no lithic contact within a depth of more than 150 cm (very deep); on similar landforms
Ferebee--18 to 36 cm (very shallow, shallow) to a lithic contact (metamorphic rock); on similar landforms
Krubate, Lutak--sand and gravel in lower part; on adjacent landforms
Nataga--no lithic contact within a depth of more than 150 cm (very deep); on adjacent landforms
Tolstoi--36 to 50 cm (shallow) to a lithic contact (sandstone); on similar landforms

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--well drained
Depth to saturation in normal years--more than 63 cm year round
Flooding--none
Ponding--none
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--moderately high or high in E, Bhs, and Bs horizons, high in C horizon, very low in R horizon

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--wildlife habitat, recreation, subsistence
Potential native vegetation--Sitka spruce, western hemlock, devilsclub, Sitka alder, rusty menziesia, mosses

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Alexander Archipelago-Gulf of Alaska Coast, Alaska; MLRA 220; moderate extent

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Haines Area, Alaska; 1985

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon
*Ochric epipedon
*Albic horizon--zone from 5 to 10 cm
*Spodic horizon--zone from 10 to 25 cm
*Depth to lithic contact--63 cm
*Particle-size control section--zone from 30 to 63 cm

05/2020--This official series description was updated according to SSR13 Technical Note--Content and Format of Official Series Descriptions (revised 03/2019). Most of the changes were in formatting and recognizing the series as mapped in the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

The name was changed because the previous name may have been offensive to some groups.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.