305

Site number:

305

Authors:

IBC, GGC

Date recorded:

1972/11/15

Reason Sampled:

Soil Characterisation

Description:

On the south side of Taylor Valley, approximately 3km east of Lake Bonney opposite La Croix Glacier; on a broad but smooth sloping bouldery ridge surface, 20m higher and to the north of site 304 and 200m from basalt cones

Altitude:

370 m

Aspect:

W

Slope:

20 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Central Mountain

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-23 °C

Frozen ground depth:

90 > cm

Frozen type:

Dry frozen

Frozen comment:

>90cm

Geology

Geological setting:

Glacial deposits in the area are formed from a complex interaction of advances from the Taylor Glacier with nearby alpine glaciers; granitic rocks are common and intruded by dolerite and dyke rocks but there are also numerous small volcanic cones which post-date glacial episodes; volcanic debris appears to lie on the surface but may not be within the soil, which would make the soil older than the volcanics; the volcanic detritus may have been distributed glacially from adjacent alpine glaciers, judged by the particle size

Patterned ground:

Nil

Surface weathering or surface features:

Large surface granitic boulders with strong cavernous weathering; some coarse grained granites strongly crumbled; darker volcanic rocks have a fresher appearance and are subrounded to subangular

Soil

Soil parent material:

Granitic sandy bouldery moraine with surficial basaltic scoria

Previous disturbance:

Nil

Soil weathering stage:

3 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Soils are dry with little evidence of liquid water; no adjacent now patches

Biological activity:

Nil observed