256

Site number:

256

Authors:

IBC, GGC

Date recorded:

1969/12/19

Reason Sampled:

Soil weathering examination

Description:

On the north side of Mt Zanuck in a basin surface in a shallow saddle; a deposit of till lying in the saddle on one of the main north sloping ridges from Mt Zanuck

Altitude:

2050 m

Aspect:

SE

Slope:

3 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Central Mountain

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-40 °C

Frozen ground depth:

30 cm

Frozen type:

Dry frozen over hard ice-cemented

Frozen comment:

30cm

Geology

Geological setting:

The saddle is part of an old dissection system; the till is old and represents an old high ice level in the Scott Glacier; it has some dolerite erratics which must have been derived from a distant source as no dolerite outcrops were observed on Mt Zanuck; granite outcrops on local ridges

Patterned ground:

Nil

Surface weathering or surface features:

Physical disintegration and crumbling of surface boulders is well advanced; there is strong cavernous weathering and deflation in outcrops on an adjacent ridge; the till surface is probably not significantly deflated because of the existence of erratics; surface boulder are reduced to ground level; salts form a distinct crust beneath surface boulders

Soil

Soil parent material:

Granitic till with some dolerite

Previous disturbance:

Nil

Soil weathering stage:

6 4 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Patchy snow cover is present but no thawing observed

Biological activity:

Nil observed