LOCATION TIEKEL AK
Established Series
SDB/MJS
08/2025
TIEKEL SERIES
Depth class: very deep
Drainage class: very poorly drained
Parent material: organic material over gravelly glaciofluvial deposits
Landscape: outwash plains
Landform: glacial lakes (relict), outwash plains and depressions
Slope: 0 to 5 percent
Mean annual precipitation: about 600 mm (24 in)
Mean annual air temperature: about -3 degrees C (27 F)
Frost-free period: 60 to 103 days
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, nonacid Histic Cryaquepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Tiekel peat in a white spruce and moss community on an outwash plain depression on a slope of 3 percent and an elevation of 652m (2140 ft).
Oi--0 to 22 cm (0 to 9 in); peat, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; many very fine, fine, and medium roots throughout; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear wavy boundary (12 to 23 cm, 5 to 9 in)
Oe--22 to 31 cm (9 to 12 in); mucky peat, black (10YR 2/1) moist; many very fine, many fine, and many medium roots throughout; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); clear wavy boundary (6 to 10 cm, 2 to 5 in)
Oa--31 to 35 cm (12 to 14 in); very cobbly muck, black (10YR 2/1) moist; many very fine, fine, and medium roots throughout; 10 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles by volume; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6). (3 to 8 cm, 1 to 3 in)
A--35 to 39 cm (14 to 15 in); medium gravelly loam, very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) moist; soft, very friable, nonsticky, slightly plastic; nonsmeary; many very fine and fine roots throughout; 20 percent gravel and 8 percent cobbles by volume; neutral (pH 7.3). (2 to 12 cm, 1 to 5 in)
Bg--39 to 65 cm (15 to 26 in); gravelly loam, dark gray (5Y 4/1) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; nonsmeary; 5 percent fine olive brown (2.5Y 4/4), moist, masses of oxidized iron infused into matrix adjacent to pores; 20 percent gravel by volume; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6). (15 to 33 cm, 6 to 13 in)
Cg--65 to 150 cm (26 to 59 in); very gravelly sandy loam, olive gray (5Y 4/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky, slightly plastic; nonsmeary; 10 percent medium olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) masses of oxidized iron infused into matrix adjacent to pores; 36 percent gravel by volume; noneffervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8) (64 to 112 cm, 25 to 44 in)
TYPE LOCATION: North Copper River Soil Survey Area, Alaska; latitude 61.70797, longitude -145.22349, UTM 6842930.58 north and UTM 593930.00 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. (34 to 41 degrees F)
Thickness of histic epipedon: 21 to 41 cm (8 to 16 in)
Depth to aquic conditions: 23 to 53 cm (9 to 21 in)
Depth to redoximorphic concentrations: 23 to 53 cm (9 to 21 in)
Depth to redoximorphic depletions: 23 to 53 cm (9 to 21 in)
Oi, Oe horizons:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 2 to 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: Peat, mucky-peat
Organic matter: 60 to 90 percent
Reaction class: neutral to moderately alkaline (pH 7.0 to 8.4)
Oa horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 2 to 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: muck, gravelly muck, stony muck
Rock fragments: 7 to 38 percent
Gravels: 7 to 24 percent
Cobbles: 0 to 14 percent
Organic matter: 60 to 90 percent
Reaction class: slightly alkaline (pH 7.4 to 7.8)
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 2 to 3
Chroma: 1 to 2
Texture: gravelly sandy loam, gravelly silt loam, gravelly loam
Sand: 26 to 61 percent
Silt: 27 to 62 percent
Clay: 3 to 12 percent
Rock fragments: 16 to 32 percent
Gravels: 16 to 24 percent
Cobbles: 0 to 8 percent
Organic matter: 1 to 5 percent
Reaction class: neutral to slightly alkaline (pH 6.6 to 7.8)
Bg and Cg horizons:
Hue: 2.5Y or 5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 to 2
Texture: silt loam, gravelly silt loam, gravelly loam, gravelly sandy loam, very gravelly sandy loam
Sand: 28 to 63 percent
Silt: 20 to 60 percent
Clay: 8 to 19 percent
Rock fragments: 12 to 38 percent
Gravels: 12 to 38 percent
Organic matter: 0.1 to 1.2 percent
Reaction class: slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline (pH 7.4 to 8.4)
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Drashner and
Nathlie series.
Drashner and
Nathlie soils do not have coarse fragments in their O horizons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation: 200 to 800 meters (655 to 2625 ft)
Parent material: organic material over gravelly glaciofluvial deposits
Landform: glacial lakes (relict), outwash plains and depressions
Slopes: 0 to 5 percent
Mean annual precipitation: 300 to 1400 mm (12 to 55 in)
Mean annual air temperature: -5 to -1 degrees C. (23 to 30 degrees F)
Frost-free period: 60 to 103 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Hundell,
Manker,
Thirdlake, Uranatina series.
Hundell soils are moderately well drained and occur on flats and bluffs in till plains and outwash plains.
Manker soils are a permafrost soil, have a cryoturbated horizon, lacks a lithic contact, and occur on north facing slopes
Thirdlake soils are poorly drained, lack a histic epipedon, have aquic conditions starting between 6 and 27 cm (2 and 11 in), and occur on glacial lakes and flats in outwash plains.
Uranatina soils are well drained, lack a histic epipedon, have mottles in Bw and C horizons, and occur on outwash plains and glacial lakes.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class: very poorly drained
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: high in the Oi, Oe, Oa, A and Cg horizons, moderately high in the Bg horizon
Permeability: moderately rapid in the Oi, Oe, Oa, A and Cg horizons, moderate in the Bg horizon
Runoff: negligible
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use: wildlife habitat, recreation, and subsistence
Native vegetation: white spruce, bog labrador tea, moss
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 228 Interior Alaska mountains
Extent: moderate
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: 60 to 135 cm (24 to 53 in)
Histic epipedon: 0 to 35 cm (0 to 14 in) (Oi, Oe, Oa horizon)
Redoximorphic concentrations: 39 to 150 cm (15 to 59 in) (Bg, Cg horizon)
Reduced matrix: 39 to 150 cm (15 to 59 in) (Bg, Cg horizon)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
User pedon Id: 2022AK261020
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.