135

Site number:

135

Authors:

IBC, GGC

Date recorded:

1965/01/17

Reason Sampled:

Soil characterisation

Description:

On the floor of McKelvey Valley, a little to the southwest of a low pass in the Insel Range; approximately 5.5km SSE from Lake Vashka; the surface is a broad till plain of very low relief with low scattered boulders and is at the western end of till mapped as Insel drift; the soil is very similar to that at site 133 but has some patches of brown soil a little below the surface, which were sampled

Altitude:

825 m

Aspect:

Nil

Slope:

0 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Central mountains

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-24 °C

Frozen ground depth:

0 cm

Frozen type:

Frozen comment:

Geology

Geological setting:

Tills in this part of McKelvey Valley were mapped by Calkin (1964) as Bull and Insel Drift; the site is on Insel Drift which is considered by Calkin to have originated from eastward flowing ice

Patterned ground:

A stable surface with old subdued inactive patterned ground

Surface weathering or surface features:

Marked fragmentation, abrasion and cavernous weathering of surface boulders; sandstones are strongly stained and dolerite rocks moderately stained; the surface is soft and has a well developed pebble pavement with many well formed ventifacts

Soil

Soil parent material:

Insel Drift till, containing much sandy/silty rock flour like material; the oxidised patches are indicative of increasing soil age

Previous disturbance:

Nil

Soil weathering stage:

4 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Xerous to subxerous; a dry site but with occasional small snow patches

Biological activity:

Nil observed