118

Site number:

118

Authors:

IBC, GGC

Date recorded:

1965/01/04

Reason Sampled:

Soil characterisation

Description:

Eastern end of the Brown Hills, about 2km NE of the top of Diamond Hill, on an uneven, sloping, broad bouldery ridge surface near a dark coloured granodiorite outcrop

Altitude:

1000 m

Aspect:

NE

Slope:

8 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Coastal mountain

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-25 °C

Frozen ground depth:

30 cm

Frozen type:

Hard ice-cemented

Frozen comment:

30cm

Geology

Geological setting:

Granodiorite of the Granite Harbour Intrusives outcrops more extensively on the upper slopes of Diamond Hill with till being more abundant on the lower slopes; there is no obvious till mantle but some dolerite fragments in the soil are indicative of the presence of residual till

Patterned ground:

Active patterned ground movement with coarser textured more oxidised material in the cracks and finer less stained material near the centres

Surface weathering or surface features:

Surface boulders are disaggregating by exfoliation; also some cavernous weathering is present; accumulations of salts occur beneath some surface stones; surface rocks are subrounded and moderately stained

Soil

Soil parent material:

Largely locally derived disaggregated granodioritic bedrock with minor till drift

Previous disturbance:

Nil

Soil weathering stage:

3 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Oceanic subxerous; some snow patches on ridges and light a light recent snowfall which quickly ablated; the surface 1cm of the soil was slightly moist

Biological activity:

Patches of black and greenish lichen