for - sis.agr.gc.ca€¦ · west of rocky mountain house, the till is of cordilleran origin, while...

" , 'l ,,~,' '-... ~ ...

...... -. ." ."

11th

CONGRESS

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF SOIL SCIENCE

EDMONTON, CANADA

JUNE, 1978

GUIDEBOOK

FOR

A SOILS AND LAND USE TOUR IN THE PLAINS, FOOTHILLS, AND MOUNTAIN

REGIONS OF ALBERTA FROM EDMONTON TO RED DEER AND JASPER

TOURS 6 AND 14

A.A. KJEARSGAARD

Agriculture Canada, Soil Survey, Edmonton. Alberta

T.M. MACYK

Soils Division, Alberta Research Council. Edmonton, Alberta

Guides and Contributors: G.L. Lesko, Syncrude Canada Ltd. and

O.K. McBeath, Agriculture Canada

Guidebook Editors

D.P. Acton and &.S. Crosson Saskatchewan Institute of Pedolo~y 8askatoon~ 8askatcheuJan

Contribution of:

!

-i-

PREFACE

This guide book will provide tour participants with rl varIety of

information so that following the tour they will have a better knowledge

of Canada and Alberta, in particular, the area covered by this tour. It

will soon become apparent to the reader that the soil and its environment

has received greater coverage than other aspects, which is in line with

the theme of the 11th Congress. In preparing the guide book, the authors

have included considerable general interest material, especially in the

road log. Broad general information is presented in the first part of

the guide book, followed by site specific material in the final section.

Selection of material partially reflects the interests of the tour leaders,

but is also determined in part by the availability of reliable information.

No profile pictures have been included in this guide book

because of the difficulty in obtaining proper reproductions. However,

35 mm color slides of all soil profiles included In this tour will be

available during the Congress.

-ii-

E OF CONTENTS

PREFACE . . . .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION . .

CANADA - AN OVERVIEW

The Canadian System of Soil Classification .

ALBERTA - AN OVERVIEW .......... .

Capability for Agriculture Land Capability for Forestry

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF E AREA

Physiography ... Bedrock Geology .. S cial Deposits So; 1 s . . . . . . Vegetation . . . . C1 imate. . . . . . . . . . .

1 Capability and Land Use The Rocky Mountains ..... Banff and Jasper National Parks

DAY 1: EDMONTON TO RED DEER

The Route

DAY 2: RED DEER LOCAL

The ute

DAY 3: RED DEER TO JASPER

The Route

DAY 4: JASPER LOCAL .

Route

DAY 5: JASPER TO HINTON

The Route .

DAY 6: HINTON TO EDMONTON

The Route ..

Page

. vi i i

1

8

9

13

18 19

23

23 26 28 30 33 35 41 43 45

54

54

61

61

69

69

86

86

89

89

96

96

-iii-

THE LACOMBE RESEARCH STATION . . . . . .

Contributions to Agriculture Current Soils Research Cl imate Land Use Setting Soil ..

CHEDDERVILLE SITE

Location ........ . Contributions to Agriculture Setting Cl imate .. . . . . . . . . Land Use . . . . . . . . . . Soi 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . Plant Community Description

JACKFISH ROAD SITE .

Location Setting Climate Land Use Soil . . . . Plant Community Description

COLU~1BIA ICEFIELD AND ATHABASCA GLACIER

PORTAL CREEK SITE

Field Description ..... Plant Community Description

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN SITE . . . . . . . . . .

Field Description ..... Plant Community Description

OVERLANDER SITE

Location Setting Land'Use Climate Soil .......... . Plant Community Description

in Central Alberta

Page

111

111 114 115 117 119

· 119

125

125 · 125

125 126 128 130 136

· 138 · 138 · 139 · 139 · 141 · 147

· 150

· 154

· 154 161

163

163 170

172

172 172 172

· 175 175 186

PEERS SITE

Location Setting Climate Land Use

-iv-

Soi 1 . . . . . . . . . . . Plant Community Description

ANALYTICAL METHODS . . . . . . . . . . .

FORMAT FOR MICROMORPHOLOGICAL DESCRIPTIONS

REFERENCES

Magnifications Used . . . . . . . . .... Guide to Relative Frequencies of Pedological Description of Overall Porosity Types of Banded Fabrics

Page

188

188 188 188

. 188 190 196

. 198

200

. . 200 Features 200

201 201

202

-v-

LIST OF FIGURES

Fig.

1. Location of Tours 6 and 14

2. Major physiographic regions of Canada

3. Vegetation regions of Canada

4. Major soils regions of Canada

5. Physiographic regions of Alberta

6. Agro-climatic areas of Alberta

7. Soil capability for agriculture in Alberta

8. Generalized soils map of Alberta

Page

2

3

4

5

15

16

20

21

9. Physiographic divisions within the tour area 24

10. Some physiographic features in Alberta 25

11. Topographic cross section, Edmonton to Columbia Icefields . 27

12. Surficial deposits within the tour area 31

13. Generalized soils map of the tour area 36

14. Agro-climate of the tour area ...

15. Forest regions within the tour area

16. Some non-agricultural resources within the tour area

17. Regional structure of the Rocky Mountains.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

Route

Route

Route

Route

Route

Route

Route

location

location

location

location

location

location

location

Edmonton to Highway 13

Highway 13 to Red Deer

Red Deer 1 oca 1

Seconda ry Road 922 to Shunda Creek

Shunda Creek to park boundary

park boundary to Columbia Icefield

Columbia Icefield to Jasper

37

38

44

46

55

58

62

70

73

78

83

Fig.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

-vi-

Map of Jasper and vicinity

Route location Jasper to Hinton

Route location Hinton to McLeod River

Route location McLeod River to Pembina River

Route location Pembina River to Edmonton

Page

8]

90

97

102

105

30. Aerial view of the Lacombe Research Station 112

31. Photomicrographs of selected horizons from the Lacombe site 124

32. Vegetative cover at the Chedderville site. . . . . . . .. 127

33. Photomicrographs of selected horizons from the Chedderville site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

34. Vegetative cover at the Jackfish Road site 140

35. Photomicrographs of selected horizons from the Jackfish Road site . . . . . . 146

36. Columbia Icefield . 151

37. Sketch of Athabasca Glacier. . 153

38. Lodgepole pine cover at Portal Creek site 155

39. Stereogram of Portal Creek site . . . 156

40. Photomicrographs of selected horizons from the Portal Creek site .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

41. Vegetative cover at Signal Mountain site 164

42. Stereogram of Signal Mountain site 165

43. Photomicrographs of selected horizons from the Signal Mountain site .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

44. Stereogram of the Overlander site. . 173

45. Setting and vegetative cover at the Overlander site 174

46. Photomicrographs of selected horizons from the Overlander si te .. . . . . . 185

47. Vegetative cover at the Peers site 189

Table

l.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

-vii-

LIST OF TABLES

Percentage of improved lands in various crops in Alberta

Extent of each soil order in Alberta ..... .

Meteorological data for selected points within the tour area

Jasper National Park annual precipitation ..

Meteorological data, Lacombe Research Station

Analytical data, Lacombe site ..

Meteorological data, Chedderville Project Farm

Analytical data, Chedderville site

9. Analytical data, Jackfish Road site

10. Analytical data, Portal Creek site

11. Analytical data, Signal Mountain site

12. Meteorological data, Entrance ...

13. Analytical data. Overlander site

14. Meteorlogical data, Edson.

15. Analytical data, Peers site.

Page

14

19

34-

53

116

123

128

134

. 145

159

168

. 176

184

190

195

-viii-

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors also gratefully acknowledge the many individuals and

organizations who contributed in various ways in the preparation of this

guide book. In particular we want to make mention of the following:

G.M. Coen and L.J. Knapik, co-leaders of Congress tour 8

and 16, who prepared most of the material for Banff and Jasper National

parks.

R.A. MacMillan, Alberta Research Council, who prepared some

of the material describing the tour area.

Charlene Epp, Alberta Soil Survey, who prepared the

preliminary illustrative material.

Cartography Section, Soil Research Institute, who prepared

the illustrative material for publication.

W.C. McKean and A. Schwarzer, Alberta Soil Survey Laboratory,

who per)formed most of the soil analyses.

Soil and Feed Testing Laboratory, Alberta Department of

Agriculture, who determined the available nutrients.

Alberta Environment Laboratory, Lethbridge, who determined

the soluble salts and available moisture.

The Lethbridge Research Station, AgriCUlture Canada, who

determined the organic matter.

The Soil Research Institute, Ottawa, who did the clay

mineralogy and the micromorphological analyses.

Mrs. Cecile Lirette of the Alberta Soil Survey, staff of

the Farm Credit Corporation. and Mrs. Nancy Wasyk of the Saskatchewan

Institute of Pedology for typing the manuscript.

-ix-

W.E. Souster, Saskatchewan Institute of Pedology, for

reviewing the manuscript.

And finally, we are grateful to those of our colleagues,

and the many others, who so generously gave of their time, without whose

help the completion of this guide book would have been more difficult.

INTRODUCTION

Tours 6 and 14 feature the west central part of Alberta (Fig. 1), and

cover three distinctly different physiographic and land use regions,

each with its soils, climate, geology, and vegetative characteristics

(Fig. 2, 3, 4). The eastern portion of the tour area is located in the

Interior Plains physiographic region, the central portion in the Foothills

regions, and the western portion in the Rocky Mountains.

Starting at Edmonton, the tour travels southward through some

of Alberta's best farmland where mixed farming is practiced. In this

area, which lies in the western portion of the Interior Plains Region,

soils are primarily Black Chernozemic, developed on a variety of parent

materials. Annual precipitation is about 450 mm of which about 70% falls

during the growing season. This, coupled with frost-free periods of 90

to 100 days, encourages cereal and forage crop production. Such enter

prises have their limitations, particularly in the Red Deer region which

has the highest incidence of damaging hailstorms in western Canada. The

tour will visit a research facility in this area, established to conduct

hail suppression studies. Also to be toured is the Lacombe Research

Station where research is conducted to assist the agriculture industry

in the parkland and "wooded regions of central Alberta. Elevations

increase from Edmonton (700 m a.s.l. [above sea level]), southward to

Lacombe (850 m a.s.l.) to Red Deer and Penhold at about 900 m a.s.l.

The central portion of the tour is mainly a forested area

covering the Lower and Upper Foothills Forest sections of the Boreal

Forest Region. The incidence of coniferous species increases towards

the west and higher elevations. Although surficial deposits continue to

-2~

120° 1180 1140

60°;-______________ _

I

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

/ I I

I I I

I I I

~I ~I ..... , o U Ft McMurray

Peace River

560~----~--~~~ ______________ -+ ______ +-__________ ~560 I

:r/ ;gl -I

~f I I

Grande. Prairie

\ )

)

I I ~ Lac La Bicheq ~ Athabasca ~

w I::I:

15 IV)

« V)

Lioydrninster ,

I I

I

I I

'-----'MEDIC:INE HATI I I

'?) ~ 49° ---------- 110

0 U.S.A.

FIG. 1 LOCATION OF TOUR 6 AND 14

, h

h

7<;1'00

#

c

/, /,

/,

# /,

\ \

Vancouver \

...... ) .... I

---~-

---, -= I

4 cs , I~ I I

wihniPege --- I ---..... _---

FIG. 2 MAJOR PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS OF CANADA

a 400 BOO Km 1 1 1

.'0.-3

C - Cordilleran

113 -Interior Plains

I - Innuitian

H - Hudson Bay Lowlands

CS- Canadian Shield

S - St Lawrence Lowlands

A - Appalachian

1>.<)

<,;;,0

i W !

/,

# ,t,

'" /,

7s?'Oo /,'

/,

;/

FIG.:3 VEGETATION REGIONS OF CANADA

a 400 800 Km I I I

lIi(t:?l Boreal forest

~ Boreal-barrens (subarctic)

em Boreal grassland (parldo::md)

0

'OCl

n High arctic

12 low arctic

13 Alpine t"undro

W Western mountain forests

E Eastern forests

G Grassland

\><0

<00

~ !

3 \ I'-" \ I /11 - )A- \ r A. ~<; /'

5 Wi~niPeg. ---------.i ___ .

fIG . .4 MAJOR SOIL REGIONS Of CANADA

o , ,400 BOOK 1...--...1. jim

2

3

.4

5

6

7

8

9 0

(QC) 10

11 '\,

12

Podzols, ~rlJnisols

Luvisols, Brunisols, rock

Brunisols, rock

luvisols, Organics

Chernozemic soils

Luvisols

Brunisols, Gleysols

Organics, Cryosols

Podzols, Brunisols, Organics

Brunisols, Cryosols, rock

Cryosols, rock, ice

Mainly rock

!).cS

VjcS

! \Jl I

-·6-

be variable, till materials, which have been deposited as various

morainal landforms, predominate. Westward, from a point about 20 km

west of Rocky Mountain House, the till is of Cordilleran origin, while

that east of there is of Continental origin. The line separating these

two tills parallels the mountain ranges to the west, intersecting the

tour route again at a point a few kilometers west of Edson. Soils are

predominantly Luvisolic, with fairly extensive Organic deposits which

gradually decrease in number and size on the rougher terrain towards the

Foothills physiographic region. It is interesting to note that west of

Edmonton, Luvisolic soils generally occur at elevations greater than

730 m a.s.l., while west of Red Deer they start at approximately the

970 m a.s.l. elevation. In the more westerly physiographic regions,

particularly in the foothills, there is a significant increase in

Brunisolic soils. The two soil pits that will be visited west of Red

Deer arE:;) both located in an area of primarily Luvisolic soils, one near

the western limit of agriculture, the other further west in an area of

limited forest industry. In the northern portion of the tour, a Brunisolic

soil will be examined which displays several paleo hOI'izons in a loess

deposit. At Hinton, the tour will visit a pulp and paper plant which

acquires its raw material from the controlled cut operations in this foot

hills area. On the final day of the tour, an Organic soil will be examined

near the western fringe of cultivation west of Edmonton. This entire area

of Luvisolic soils has a relatively shOI't growing season and frost-free

period which places a limitation on the production of cultivated agri

cultural crops. Thus, settlement in the western regions is limited to

small towns and villages along main transportation routes, where residents

are dependent primarily on the timber and petroleum industries, and in

some locations on coal mining and the tourist industry.

-7-

The western portion of the tour lies within the Rocky

Mountains, which, during the time of the tour, may still be covered with

a significant depth of snow. Mountain peaks, along the tour route within

Banff and Jasper National Parks, rise to elevations of 3 000 to 3 600 m

a.s.l. Both the North Saskatchewan and Athabasca rivers have their origin

in glaciers within the park boundary. Coniferous forests predominate on

Brunisolic and Regosolic soil complexes. In the Jasper area, two soil

pits will be examined. one a Brunisol, the other a Luvisol.

-8-

lEW

Canada is a vast country. o 0 It lies roughly between 42 and 83 north

latitude, and between 530

and 1410 longitude. At its widest point, from

east to west, it stretches some 5 200 km from the Atlantic to the Pacific

oceans. Its most southerly point, near Windsor, Ontario, is about 4 600 km

distant from its most northerly point, the northern tip of Ellesmere

Island. In 1962 the Trans-Canada Highway was completed, thus linking east

and west with a ribbon of pavement 7 800 km long. To further meet Canadian

transportation needs, there is approximately 70 000 km of railway line.

Canada's total land area is about 906 million ha of which most is climati-

cally unsuitable for agriculture. Furthermore, physiographic and soil

characteristics of the Cordilleran Region, the Canadian Shield, and much

of the rocky glacier-scoured Appalachian Region, make these regions

unsuitable for agriculture.

Canada's agricultural land resource, which is less than 10%

of the total area, is confined primarily to the prairies in the southern

par't of the Interior Plains and the St. Lawrence - Great Lakes Lowlands.

Small but significant farming areas are also found in the Maritime

Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island), as well

as in British Columbia. There are about 63.2 million ha of farmland in

Canada (Shields and Nowland, 1975), of which about 43.8 million ha have

been improved for various agricultural uses.

The people of Canada, numbering about 22.9 million, live

primarily in southern Canada, where the greatest population density 1S

in the St. Lawrence - Great Lakes Region. Canada is divided into

10 provinces, each with its own ; plus the Yukon Territory and

the Northwest Territories, administered from Ottawa, the capital of Canada.

-9-

The following brief resume of the Canadian Soil Classification

system is provided.

The Canadian System of Soil Classification*

Soils are classified in Canada according to a hierarchical system

developed by the Canada Soil Survey Committee. Classes in all of the

five categories: order, great group, subgroup, family, and series, are

based upon observable or measurable soil properties. Diagnostic properties

at high categorical levels reflect soil genesis and hence the environmental

factors that influence soil genesis. The 9 soil orders, arranged alpha

betically, are defined in general terms and the great groups are listed.

Brunisolic Order.

Soils having sufficient horizon development to exclude them from the

'Regosolic Order but lacking the degrees or kinds of development specified

for other orders. They occur dominantly in subhumid to humid forested

regions and they usually have brown B horizons. Great groups are:

Melanic Brunisol - has a mineral-organic surface horizon (Ah) and is not

strongly acid; Eutric Brunisol - has an Ah and is strongly acid; Dystric

Brunisol - lacks a well-developed Ah and is strongly acid.

Chernozemic Order.

Soils of the grasslands. They have a well-developed base-rich, mineral

organic surface horizon (Ah). The four great groups, Brown, Dark Brown,

Black, and Dark Gray, are based upon color of the surface horizon which

reflects differences in the nature and amount of organic matter

*Prepared by J.A. McKeague, Soil Research Institute, Ottawa.

-10-

incorportated into the sUl"face mineral material due to differences in

climate and vegetation.

Cryosolic Order.

Soils of the permafrost zone occur in about 1/3 of Canada. They

may be composed of either mineral 01' organic material having permafrost

near the surface (1 to 2 m). There are three great groups: Turbic

Cryosol - strongly cryoturbated mineral soils as indicated by microrelief

or by mixed horizons; Static Cryosol - mineral soils that are not strongly

cryoturbated; Organic Cryosol - organic soil material having permafrost

within 1 m of the surface.

Gl eyso 1i cOrder.

Soils having drab colors, prominent mottling or other features resulting

from periodic or permanent high water table and reduction. They occur

commonly in depressions and level areas that either receive runoff water

or are groundwater discharge areas. There are three great groups: Humic

Gleysol - well-developed mineral-organic surface horizon (Ah); GleY801 -

lacks a well-developed Ah; Luvic Gleysol - has a B horizon (Btg) of

significant clay accumulation.

Luvisolic Order.

Soils, usually in forested regions, in which leaching has resulted in

significant translocation of clay from the A to the B horizon (Bt).

Usually they have a light gray eluvial horizon (Ae). The great groups

are: Gray Brown Luvisol - mild soil climate and forest mull Ah; Gray

Luvisol - cold to cool soil climate with usually less than 5 cm Ah.

-11-

Organic Order.

Soils composed dominantly of organic materials (more than 17% organic

carbon) of the required thickness (usually 60 em for fibric materials

and 40 cm for others). Great groups are: Fibrisol - mainly fibres that

are not decomposed; Mesisol - more decomposed than Fibrisol, Humisol -

highly decomposed, few fibres; Folisol - composed mainly of thick leaf

litter over rock.

POdzolic Order.

Acid soils developed under forest and heath vegetation. They have a B

horizon enriched in humified organic matter and Al and Fe weathering

products, usually underlying a light gray weathered Ae horizon. Great

groups are: Humic Podzol - B rich in organic matter (Bh) with very little

extractable Fe; FerrO-Humic Podzol - B rich in organic matter combined

with Al and Fe; Humo-Ferric Podzol - B contains less organic matter than

Ferro-Humic Podzol.

Regosolic Order.

Development of genetic horizons is absent or very weakly expressed.

Great groups are: Humic Regosol - has a dark, mineral-organic surface

horizon (Ah); Regosol - either lacks or has a thin Ah.

Solonetzic Order.

Soils associated with saline materials and having prismatic or columnar

structured, Na-rich B horizons that are hard when dry and nearly

impermeable when wet. They occur mainly in the grasslands associated

with Chernozemic soils. Great groups are: Solonetz - lacks a well-

-12-

developed eluvial Ae; Solodized-Solonetz - has a well-developed Ae and

an intact columnar Bnt or Bn; Solod - has an Ae and an AB in I-1hich the

structure of the former Bnt has disintegrated.

Subgroups are formed by subdivisions of great groups according

to kind and arrangement of horizons indicating conformity to the central

concept of the great gr'oup, intergrading to other orders, or additional

special horizons. Families are differentiated from subgroups on the basis

of parent material char'acteristics, soil climate factors, and soil reaction.

Series are differentiated from families on the basis of detailed soil

features.

Canadian

Brunisolic

Chernozemic

Cryosolic

Gleysolic

Luvisolic

Podzolic

Organic

Solonetzic

Classification Correlation

US

Inceptisol

Mollisol

Pergelic subgroups

Aquic suborders

Alfisol

Spodosol

Histosol

Natric great groups

FAO

Cambisol

Kastanozem, Chernozem, Rendzina

Gelic subgroups

Gleysol, Planosol

Luvisol

Podzol

Histosol

Solonetz

-13-

ALBERTA - AN OVERVIEW

Alberta, the fourth largest of Canada's 10 provinces has a total area of

about 66 million ha. The population of Alberta is about 1.8 million,

which is slightly less than 8% of the Canadian total. About 75% of

Alberta's people live in urban centres, the majority in Edmonton the

capital, and in Calgary. Albertans, indeed all Canadians, are mainly of

European origin. The Atlas of Alberta (1969) gives the following break

down of ethnic origin: (Canadian % in brackets); British 46% (44);

French 6% (30); German 14% (2); Ukrainian 8% (1); Scandinavian 7% (1);

Netherlands 4% (2); Polish 3% (1); other European 7% (6); Native 2% (1),

others 3% (11). To meet Alberta's t:ransportation needs, there is about

11 000 km of railway and about 140 000 km of roads, of which 10 500 km

are paved.

In their summary of Canada Land Inventory data, Shields and

Nowland (1975) state that 11.4 million ha of land have been improved for

agriculture in Alberta. They further state that an additional 9.6 million

ha are potentially arable, this being mainly Luvisolic soils in the Peace

River area of northwestern Alberta. About 387 000 ha are being irrigated

in southern Alberta where the main irrigated crops are sugar beets, field

corn, alfalfa, and various vegetable crops. Various agricultural statistic~:;

summarized by Shields and Nowland (1975) indicate that most of Alberta's

improved land produces grain, as shown in Table 1.

-14-

Table i. Percentage of improved lands In various crops in Alberta.

Wheat 23%

Barley 28%

Oats 10%

Forage Crops 22%

Oil Seeds 15%

Other Crops 2%

The varied physiography of Alberta is shown in Fig. 5. Most

of Alberta lies within the Interior Plains Region which is composed of

very gently tilted Mesozoic and Tertiary sediments covered with glacial

drift. Much of the plain is about 750 m a.s.1. with rivers entrenched

50 to 100 m a.s.l. and hills rising to 1 200 m a.s.l. Alberta has a

continental climate with long, cold winters and short, cool to warm

summers. Mean annaul precipitation ranges from a low of about 280 mm

in the treeless grasslands of southeastern Alberta, to greater than

1000 mm in the mountains. Northern Alberta, in the Boreal Forest Region,

has a mean annual precipitation of about 400 mm.

The map shown in Fig. 6 is adapted from the Agro-climatic

map compiled by Bowser (1967) and gives a general indication of the

climatic suitability of various areas to the production of the crops

normally grown in Alberta. These Agro-climatic areas are described as

follows:

1. Areas where the amount of precipitation has usually been

adequate and the frost-free period long enough to permit

the growing of all the dryland crops that are common to

WESTERN CORDILLERA

A 1 Rocky Mountains 2 Rocky Mountain Foothills

INTERIOR PLAINS

ALBERTA HIGH PLAINS

B 1 Porcupine Hills 2 CYpress Hills 3 Swan Hills Upland 4 Milk River Ridge 5 Hand Hills 6 Neutral Hills Upland 7 Clear Hills Upland 8 Ulikuma Upland 9 Pelican Mountain Upland

10 Stoney Mountain Upland 11 Mostoos Hills Upland 12 Buffalo Head Hills Upland 13 Birch Mountains Upland 14 Cameron Hills Upland 15 Caribou Mountams Upland 16 Western Alberta Plains 17 Eastern Alberta Plains 18 Wapiti Plain 19 Lesser Slave LOwland 20 Peace River LOwland 21 Loon River Lowland 22 Algar Plain 23 Far! Vermilion Lowland 24 Fort Nelson Lowland

1200

118 0 600;-____ -

I 814

I I

I

SASKATCHEWAN PLAIN

25 Muskeg Mountain Upland 26 Methy Portage Plain 27 Firebag Plain 28 Clearwater LOwland

GREAT SLAVE PLAIN

29 Athabasca Delta Plain 30 Wood BUffalo Plain 31 Hay River Plain

CANADIAN SHIELD

C 1 Kazan Upland 2 Athabasca Plain

-15-

U.S.A.

FIG,5 PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS OF ALBERTA

Lloydminster 1 I I

I

-16-

N.W.T. 1140

-.. -.-, ,~-:-,-. -.. -...

fITT1TTn RAINFALL ADEOUATE ulJlUJJ FROST-FREE PERIOD OVER 90 DAYS

RAINFALL LIMITING FACTOR 50% OF TIME FOR PLANT GROWTH FROST-FREE PERIOD OVER 90 DAYS

~ RAINFALL LIMITING FACTOR FOR PLANT GROWTH l1t;,j FROST-FREE PERIOD OVER 100 DAYS

~ RAINFALLADEOUATE ~ FROST-FREE PERIOD 75-90 DAYS

~ RAINFALLADEOUATE @j FROST-FREE PERIOD 60-75 DAYS

~ RAINFALLADEOUATE ~ F'iOST-FREE PERIOD LESS THAN 60 DAYS

U.S.A.

100 0 100 200 Km

~~~'~~~'=~~==~~i~====~' 60 0 60 120 Mi

FIG. 6 AGRO-CLIMATIC AREAS OF ALBERTA

-17-

the Prairie Region of western Canada. The frost-free

period in these areas has averaged over 90 days and the

annual precipitation has averaged 400 to 460 mm.

2A. Areas where the amount of precipitation, in approximately

50% of the years, has been a limiting factor to crop

growth. The frost-free period has usually been long

enough for wheat to mature without frost damage. In the

2A(H) area south of Lethbridge there is some frost hazard.

3A. Areas where the amount of precipitation has usually been

a severe limiting factor to crop growth; a wheat-fallow

rotation is practiced to the virtual exclusion of all

other rotations. The annual precipitation has averaged

300 mm. The frost-free period has averaged slightly over

100 days in the northern portion of the area and over

115 days in the south central portion. Wheat is rarely

damaged by frost and sweet corn can be grown, under

irrigation, in the southern portion.

2H. Areas where the amount of precipitation has usually been

adequate but where wheat has suffered some frost damage

in approximately 30% of the years. The frost-free period

has averaged between 75 and 90 days.

3H. Areas where the amount of precipitation has usually been

adequate but where it is not considered practical to grow

wheat because of the frequency of damaging frosts. In

the areas south of Latitude 5SoN, the average annual

precipitation has averaged 430 to 480 mm. Going north

from Latitude 55 0 N, there is a gradual drop in precipi-

-18-

tation, and at Fort Vermilion the annual average is

between 300 and 330 rr~.

SH. Areas where the amount of precipitation has usually been

adequate but where the average frost-free period has

been so short (generally less than 60 days) that it is

not practical to grow cereal crops. Only hay crops are

recommended in 5H areas.

Land 11; for Agriculture

In Canada, a classification system of soil capability for agriculture

was developed which evaluates the capability of a soil for crop production

based on characteristics of the soil. This system, described in Canada

Land Inventory Report No. 2 (1965) has seven interpretive groupings which

are defined as follows:

Class 1 - Soils in this class have no significant limitations for crop use.

Class 2 - Soils in this class have moderate limitations that restrict the range of crops or require moderate conservation practices.

Class 3 - Soils in this class have moderately severe limitations that restrict the range of crops or require special conservation practices.

Class 4 - Soils in this class have severe limitations that restrict the range of crops or require special practices or both.

Class 5 - Soils in this class have very severe limitations that their capability to producing perennial forage crops, and improvement practices are feas

Class 6 - Soils in this class are capable only of producing perennial forage crops, and improvement practices are not feasible.

Class 7 - Soils in class have no capability for arable culture or permanent pasture.

Fig. 7 shows the general distribution of the Agricultural

Capability Classes in Alberta.

Fig. 8 shows the areal distribution of soils in Alberta as

compiled from soil survey information. Translated into numbers, the

total of these various soil areas is shown in Table 2. These figures

are rudimentary totals derived from soil survey data.

Table 2. Extent of each soil order in Alberta.

Chernozemic 15 million ha

Solonetzic 5 million ha

Luvisolic 27.5 million ha

Brunisolic 4 million ha

Organic 12 million ha

Other (including rock & water) 2.5 million ha

Total 66 million ha

land Capability for Forestry

In this classification, all mineral and organic soils are grouped into

one of seven classes based upon their inherent ability to grow commercial

timber. The best lands for commercial tree growth are found in Class 1

and those in Class 7 cannot be expected to yield timber in commercial

quantities. The classes are based on the natural state of the land

without improvements such as fertilization or drainage. The classification

is based on all known or inferred information about the unit including

subsoil, soil profile, depth, moisture, fertility, landform, climate, and

-20-

1<':'1 Class 1

[:::J Classes 2 and 3

[[[]], . Class 4

Classes 5 and 6

110° ____ ,60°

I

\

I I

LIMIT OF ~\ 0;:'

.~ !\ ci: LAND INVENTORY Ii

::>\ 0, Ft McMurray

U-\

D

I \

G \

56°

100 0 100 200 Km

~~~~~~'=I~==~I~'~ 60 0 60 120 Mi

f1G.7 SOIL CAPABIlITY FOR AGRICULTURE IN ALBERTA

-21-

~ Organic

~ ~:.~:~~ luvisolic

~ r........x>v0"' Elrunisolic

[ill] Chernozemic (Brown)

B Chernozemic (Dark Brown)

~ Chernozemic (Black)

~ .0 Salonetzic (Brown)

~ Solanetzic (Dark Brown)

D . " Solonetzic (Black)

E;l Chernozemic - Solonetzic 100 a 100 200 Km

D /1..:" Mountoin Complex ~~~~~~i~~~I====~1

60 a 60 120Mi

FIG_ 8 GENERALIZED SOILS MAP OF ALBERTA

-22-

vegetation. Associated with each capability class is a productivity

range based on the mean annual increment of the best species or group

of species adapted to the site at or near rotation age. Factors not

considered are location, access, distance to market, size of units,

ownership, present state, or special crops.

Because of unsuitable climate, no Class 1 lands will be

found in several regions of Canada. The following is a summary of the

seven classes:

Class 1 - Lands having no important limitations to the growth of commercial forests.

Class 2 - Lands having slight limitations to the growth of commercial forests.

Class 3 - Lands having moderate limitations to the growth of commercial forests.

Class 4 - Lands having moderately severe limitations to the growth of commercial forests.

Class 5 - Lands having severe limitations to the growth of commercial forests.

Class 6 - Lands having severe limitations to the growth of commercial forests.

Class 7 - Lands having severe limitations which preclude the growth of commercial forests.

-23-

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA

Physiography

Two regions, comprising four physiographic divisions (Fig. 10) occur in

the area traversed by this tour (Government of Alberta, 1969). From

east to west they are: the Eastern and Western Plains divisions of the

Interior Plains Region, and the Rocky Mountain Foothills and Rocky

Mountains divisions of the Western Cordillera Region (Fig. 9).

The Interior Plains lie east and northeast of the tightly

folded belt of the Rocky Motmtain Foothills and occupy the region that is

underlain by very gently tilted Mesozoic and Tertiary strata (Douglas,

1970). The Eastern Alberta Plains Division consists of a general lowland

of relatively modest local relief. The landscape varies from level to

gently undulating lacustrine tracts, through gently undulating ground

moraine to moderately rolling areas of hummocky disintegration moraine.

The Western Alberta Plains Division is characterized by the presence of

smooth upland areas separated by wide dissected valleys. Portions of

this division are devoid of plateaux and consist of long sloping dissected

benchlands extending from the foothills to the plains.

The Western Cordillera Region occupies the western portion of

the tour area. It is distinguiShed by the intensely folded and faulted

underlying sedimentary strata, and by altitudes considerably higher than

those of the Interior Plains. The Rocky Mountain Foothills Division

consists of a series of distinct, predominantly 'razor back', subparallel

ridges aligned approximately northwest-southeast (Fig. 9). Highly faulted

Cretaceous and Tertiary bedrock is overlain by a thin till deposit as well

as locally significant amounts of colluvial material. Local relief is

".,' ..... .

-24-

! ii' 'Ii ,I ';' , i I

, i

, , w .... i I ;:)

'! 0 ©<

"" ;:)

0 I-

A Photograph by A. A. Kjearsgaard

C Photograph by T. Macyk

B

D

FIG. 10 SOME PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES IN ALBERTA

A-The Shortgrass Prairie 8-The Parkland. C-The foothills Region D-The Rocky Mountain Regians (Jasper Townsite)

Photograph by T. Macyk


-26-

commonly less than 30 m but may exceed 100 m (Dumanski et al., 1972).

Altitudes are in the range of 1 100 to 1 700 m a.s.l. The Rocky

Mountain Division is composed of intensively faulted sedimentary strata.

Sculpted glacial features such as cirques, aretes, horns, and U-shaped

valleys are prominent. Valley bottoms contain a variety of glaciofluvial

features. Altitudes range from about 1 500 to 2 600 m a.s.l.

Regionally, the terrain rises from northeast to southwest

from about 600 m a.s.l. in the Eastern Alberta Plains to above 2 500 m

a.s.l. in the Rocky Mountains. As illustrated in Fig. 11, the rise in

elevation is gradual across the plains and sharp in the foothills and the

Rocky Mountains. Travellers arriving from the east have the impression

of approaching an impenetrable wall of the Rocky Mountains.

The area is drained by the Athabasca, North Saskatchewan, and

Red Deer rivers, and their tributaries. The North Saskatchewan and Red

Deer rivers are tributary streams to the Saskatchewan River, and beyond

that, the Nelson River. These rivers flow eastward through the provinces

of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, eventually emptying into Hudson Bay, some

1 500 km to the northeast. The Athabasca River forms part of the

MacKenzie River system which empties into the Arctic Ocean about 2 000 km

to the north.

Bedrock Geology

There is a rough correlation between the above described physiographic

regions and bedrock geology in the tour area. The Tertiary and Mesozoic

strata underlying the Interior Plains Region dip gently to the southwest

so that successively younger units are encountered in traversing the

plains from east to west. The Eastern Alberta Plain is underlain

3000

,-.... 2400 E '-"

z o I- 1800

~ LU ...J W 1200

600

Columbia Ice / .. ~'

-27-

North Saskatchewan River

I

ROCKY ROCKY MOUNTAIN WESTERN

MOUNTAINS FOOTHILLS ALBERTA PLAINS

(Vertical Exaggeration 10x)

Cooking lake

Edmonton Moraine Laking Sosin '" ... ..

EASTERN ALBERTA PLAINS

o ~------.---------.--------.---------r-------'.--------'--------'---------'-20 40 60 so 100 120 140 160

DiSTANCE (km)

FIG. 11 TOPOGRAPHIC CROSS SECTION, EDMONTON TO COLUMBiA ICEFIELDS

-28

by the Cretaceous, Horseshoe Canyon, and Wapiti

formations (Green, 1972). They consist of weakly consolidated non-marine

clayey sandstone, bentonitic mudstone, and carbonaceous shale beds with

lesser amounts of bentonite and coaL Overlying these, and occupying

most of the Western Alber'ta Plains area, are the Tertiary non-marine

sediments of the Paskapoo Formation. These are composed mainly of

calcareous cherty sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, and minor amounts of

conglomerate, limestone, coal, and tuff.

Non-marine clastic sediments of late Cretaceous and early

Tertiary age belonging mainly to the Brazeau Formation are the dominant

bedrock

folding in

in the Foothills Division. The intense faulting and

region results in thin exposures of older' formations.

In the Rocky Mountain Division, paleozoic limestones and shales have been

deformed by decollment into subparallel westward dipping thrusts. These

thrusts produce a sel'ies of narrow linear mountain ranges due to the

resistant nature of the carbonates.

s cial Deposits

Two separate ice sheets to the glaciation which has affected

the entire area. The Continental. or Laurentide, ice sheet spread out

from the Canadian Shield and advanced over the area in a southerly

direction, laying dO~l a mantle of till of variable thickness. The till

is derived principally from the underlying, easily weathered sediments

and as such locally reflects the composition of the underlying bedrock.

Also present in this till are stones of Precambrian Shield origin

transpol'ted by the ice, and gravels of Rocky Mountain origin presumably

carried down in streams during preglacial and interglacial times. This

till is usually slowly to very slowly permeable and is quite sticky. A

-29-

high percentage of the clay size fraction is montmorillonite derived

from the local bedrock. Diffused calcium and magnesium carbonate, usually

from one to three percent, is present in the till.

The Cordilleran glaciers flowed down the eastern slopes of

the Rocky Mountains to form piedmonts which coalesced with the Continental

ice sheet. The Cordilleran till is of mixed origin and contains consider

able limestone and dolomite. The erratics are usually quartzitic. It is

distinguished from Continental till its lack of high grade crystalline

metamorphic and igneous pebbles. It has generally been described as being

more coarse, more stony, and more calcareous than the Continental till.

A stratigraphic sequence has been determined for the

Continental tills (Westgate, 1969), and for both the Continental and

Cordilleran tills (Roed, 1968) for portions of the tour area. However,

because of insufficient coverage this has not been correlated

over the entire area and for soil survey purposes the tills have generally

been distinguished on the basis of underlying bedrock type (and presumed

origin). The two landforms most often associated with the Continental

till are, a gently undulating ground moraine and a hummocky disintegration

moraine. The Cordilleran till occurs most often as a veneer or blanket

which covers, but does not mask~ the underlying irregular topography of

the foothills,

Dwcing and after the retreat of the glaciers, considerable

sorting and redeposition of the glacially derived material occurred.

Pro-glacial lakes, such as Lake Edmonton, formed behind the retreating

glaciers. Medium to fine textured silts and clays, which accumulated

under the quiet water conditions, now overlie the till mantle. They are

often varved and may contain ice rafted pebbles and till mud flowS.

Somewhat coarser textured fluvial-lacustrine sediments occur where

currents were present, either dur or subsequent to deposition. A

pitted delta formed to the west of Edmonton in medium to coarse

textured western shore of glacial Lake

Edmonton. The pitted results from the melting of buried ice

and involves essentially the same process as that responsible for the

formation of disintegration moraine (Bayrock and Hughes, 1962).

In some aT'eas, coarser textut'ed deltaic, outwash, OT' alluvial

floodplain deposits, have been ected to resorting by wind, giving

rise to several large areas of dunes and one area of loess. Parabolic

and longitudinal dunes are found in the dune areas while the loess plain

around Hinton occurs as a mantle which reflects the under'lying

topography.

Occasional alluv and coarse textured outwash deposits are

scattered the area as are ic deposit cUl'rently forming

On poorly dra The location and extent of the surficial

its within the tour area is shown in Fig. 12.

Soils

The soils occurring within the tour area reflect the environmental

conditions under which they developed. Climate and vegetation have

exerted control over soil formation at the broadest level. Traversing

the area from east to west the steady increase in elevation results in

cooler summer and rainfall, as well as lower

:trdl t rat a and soil zonation

reflects th 1 ic sequence.

-31-

to 0 Cl 0 "0'" <;I Q O~ Q <0 0 E i QoGo:.CCto Qa°fli'oOoo .... '" O@ 00

0 00°:°0. l- e.. g ~

~ 0 Q Ot)QO:QCoI

O ... "l

1<:l ~ o (} 0> Q g CiI OIJOoOOO o CiI

o 0._ 0 • Q .. ::::;) ::::;) o Q 0- I;) 0 0 0 .. .0 .. I) 0 ... ... :2 '" ••• ·····1 ... * 0 0 . .

o Q I) 0 . '"

" J

..! Q. E

S c

1 u

'" " ·i ~ c

! :2 c '2 "5 'il " ~ ~

c .... ::t C

~ ... " ii .:: :>

.s :3 c! 0 i:i: w .... 0 ~

~wD DrnD~ ..... ,,:, / .

-32-

Beginning in the east. Orthic Black Chernozemic soils have

in areas have been under continuous tall grass

whereas d Black and Dark Chernozems occur on

sites where the cover has been aspen and tall

grass elevations, cooler and more moist conditions

favour the of forest

ment of Luvisolic soils. Dark

forest- ive

ion, pro mot the develop-

Luvisolic soils develop under a mixed

with forest dominant over grassland.

Luvisolic reflect a relat predominantly aspen,

forest cover. Brunisolic

wher'e acid leaching is

abundant coniferous

soils where some

Slope

ill uvial horizons of

parent material may l'etard

Brunisols where Luvisols would

Luvisols and Podzolic Gray Luvisols form

due to more moist conditions and more

in

Brunisols

soils grade into Brunisolic

profile development.

destroying or masking the

(Dumanski et al. 1972). Highly calcareous

, resulting in Orthic and Eluviated

occur. At higher elevations,

cold climate and saturation without may also slow down development

resulting in Brunisolic rather than

are where cold

profiles. Regosolic soils

movement, or accretion maintain

the profile in a very juvenile state, This general cast to west sequence

of soil

for the

area,

within the tour area, is shown in Fig. 13. Information

soils map from il survey reports covering that

Bowser al. 1947, Bowser et al. (1951). Peters and

Bowser (1960), Bowser a1. 1962 et al. (1968), Pettapiece

et a1. (1972). (1971), and L (1 71) and

-33-

Clearwater Ranger Station). Edmonton, because of its greater distance

from the mountains, has the lowest mean January temperature of the

stations recorded in Table 3. The mean July temperatures are probably

more significant in terms of their influence on vegetative cover. It

will be noted that summer temperatures generally decrease with increased

elevation and precipitation generally increases with increased elevation

resulting in cooler and more humid climates towards the west. These

factors are largely responsible for the vegetative zonation that occurs

from east to west.

The eastern portion of the tour area is a relatively good

farming area mainly because of the warm summers, a relatively long frost

free period, and an adequate moisture supply. It will be noted from

Table 3 that about 70% of the annual precipitation falls during the

growing season, May to September, thus increasing the chance of success

in the production of cultivated crops. The tour area covers four

Agro-climatic areas (Bowser, 1967) as shown in Fig. 14.

Vegetation

Most of the area traversed by the tour lies within the Boreal Forest

Region, extending from the prairies to the Rocky Mountains. In the

Rocky Mountains, the Subalpine Forest Region extends to about the

2 000 m a.s.l. where it grades into a discontinuous Alpine Tundra. In

addition a fragment of the Montane Forest Region exists in the Athabasca

River Valley east of Jasper. Fig. 15 outlines the various forest regions

(Rowe, 1969) which are covered by this tour.

3. in the tour area

Table 3 data from some of the points

which this pas not on the tour route is the

Clear'water Station, is located about 50 km southwest of

House, at the Mountain Foothills.

Mean annual variability in the tour

area, with about and lowest temper-

atures. However, the of the chinook winds is reflected

in the higher mean at locations closer to, and

directly in the path of these inds ( Mountain House, Jasper, and

-35~

Locally, considerations such as the nature of the soil

parent material, or the topographic position of the site, may have a

greater influence on the type of soil formed than the zonal controls of

climate and vegetation. The Solonetzic soils in the Leduc area are such

a case. They have developed where the soil parent material has been

influenced by the accumulation of soluble salts. This salinization

resulted either from the discharge of groundwater high in soluble salts

(Pawluk et al.. 1969) or the presence near the surface of saline bedrock

(Bowser et al., 1962). Subsequent leaching and desalinization of variable

degree, resulted in the formation of the different Solonetzic soils

encountered in the area. Their degree of development is influenced by

numerous variables including topographic position and drainage, resulting

in a complex pattern of distribution at the great group level. Low lying

topographic sites, where groundwater discharge or slow recharge is

occurring, tend to produce Gleysolic or Organic soils.

Climate

The regional climate is humid, microthermal, Dfb and Dfc according to

Koppen's classification (Trewartha, 1954). Small areas in the Rocky

Mountains have alpine tundra climate (ET) at higher elevations.

Generally the temperature decreases and the precipitation increases from

east to west. The climate along the Rocky Mountain Foothills is modified

by frequent dry and warm chinooks (a Fohn type wind), which are most

frequent during the winter and spring, crossing the mountains on the

south side of east-west valleys. This wind often causes 20-30 0 C

temperature changes in less than one hours time.

-36-

E ~ w '" 0- Ilb. g ~ :::l 0 0 0-

'" til ~ ~

"" '" :::l :::l 0 0

~ .... .... <b

* 0 0

'"

l:( )I( )( ]I( )( . . . . • RAINFALL ADEQUATE' ••••

FROST .FREE PERIOD LESS THAN 60 DAYS \.

)( )( ;II( .. )( J( )( )( j'(.... )( ).{ )()( )I{

)( )( -.: J>( )(

)!( x )( J( . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

)J{ II!: )( ..

)( Ji( )( • )( )i( Jl;

Jl. )( :. )0: . . . . . . · . . J( '!II )I( -.: . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

)( JiI J( ;11\ )(

';::l

. . . . . .

UNCLASSIFIED

JASPfR NATIONAL PARI(

If" . 1'",,---) \

J I

0'", \

· . . .. .. )I: ,.

· .

J()I( )( ..)(

IJ '" .- • ;w: .: JI( )( )I II }Ii. )I( ;If Jl. l!I

• ..,~')( .. )( j( Jf. j( )( )( '" )I )I( lI!; •

,X)(x .... :'O:· •• JJl )(·

" .... ~ "" liI • .. )II ;r( .: .. TIll ,II /l£ . . .

T/~ -..:'1/8,

"'1- 1 ~1} ~ ij'~ C'~ ::f

0('<" ilANFF,. "tt~ NATIONAL 3 \" ..,~ PARI(

\. I~ ~ f ,

''\ . .J .....

. . .

:':';:~~~~~i~~~~~~~~;i~:~D~'YS':;: .: ", ".: •••• " •••• »

. . lit • )()( Ill.. X

)( .. ll\ x)(

FIG. 14 AGRO-CUMATE OF THE TOUR AREA

TOUR STOP

w ,j

I

Aspen Grolle Section

D Mixedwood Section

~ W U r:?l L::J

Lower Foothills Section

Upper Foothills Section

Montane Forest Region

Subalpine Forest Region

Alpine Tundra

o ao (} 00

fiG. 15 FOREST REGIONS WITHIN THE TOUR AREA

TOUR ROmE

TOUR STOP

I W Q:J I

-39-

The Boreal Forest Region.

Aspen grove section - is a transition between grassland and continuous

forest vegetation, coinciding with Chernozemic soils and Agro-climatic

area 1.

Native vegetation of the section is grassland alternating

with trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) forest stands. Balsam poplar

(Populus balsamifera) occurs mainly on moist lowlands. Hhite, or paper,

birch (Betula papyrifera) also occurs sporadically on rough terrain.

Mixedwood section - is represented in the tour ar'ea by an isolated area

east of Edmonton known as the Cooking Lake Moraine. On its final day,

the tour traverses another Mixedwood Section west of Edmonton in the

Entwistle area. The associated Agro-climatic area is 2H with dominantly

Luvisolic soils. Organic soils are also found in the area.

Dominant vegetation is a trembling aspen - white spruce

(Picea alauca) forest. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifoZia)

occurs on the well drained soils of this section, while black spruce

(Picea ma.nana) and tamarack (Larix laricina) occur on the poorly drained

Organic soils. Balsam poplar and white birch are also scattered throughout

this section.

Lower foothills section - occupies most of the tour area and lies between

the 900 and 1 200 m a. s.1. Soils are mainly Gray Luvisols with Gleysolic

and Organic inclusions on poorly drained locations. Brunisolic soils are

restricted to rapidly drained eolian sand deposits.

Forest stands in this section are distinguished from That of

the Mixedwood Section by the occurrence of alpine fir (Abies lasiocar[m).

Upper thills sect on - a narrO\~ the front range

~1oun tains ent thin the SH c imatic area extending

to the 1 500 m a.s.l. Luvisolic and Brunisolic soils dominate

lon with small inclusions of c and Gl soils.

The dominant trc'3S plne and white spruce with

the occurrer:ce of , balsam , black spruce,

whi te bil'ch, and t:amar'ack.

The Subalpine Forest Region.

East slope rockies section - covers the Mountains fl'om about 1 500 m

a.s.l. to the tl'ee line at about the 2 100 m a.s.l. climate of this

mountainous region has not been classified for pUl'poses.

at with this section are Brunisolic, Luvisolic, and

lC,.

The fore s are by spruce ( ) ,

and 1 ine fil' lE', abur:dant in older tanuc3 and limber pine

l ) , k a aIli; tIle larch (LaI'ix

occur close to the line In the southcl'n point of the

section.

The Alpine Tundra Region.

includes all areas between the timber 1 and permanent snow

cover. Due to the ss of the terrain and slow soil development most

soils hie some Brunisol at lower elevations.

Plant l tundra composed of dwarf

t d~~~ JIl .1 uen cecl by 11

In Y a.r"eas .1 communities the

-41-

only plant cover. Exposed ridges are dominated by communities of willow

(8aZ1:x m:ual ), while heath tundra covers ell'ier .i tt;S dt lower eleva tiun

with white mountain hedther (Ca8siope mei'ten87:ana, C. teir'afjona) dnd

purple heather (Phyllodoce empetriformis). Some grassland of wild rye

(Elymus innovatus) and sedge (Carex 8cirpoides) are also found on warmer

exposures. Depressional sites, with longer snow cover, are occupied by

sedge (Carex nifjricans) communities, while marshy areas are covered by

associations of globe-flower (TroUius albiflorus), marsh marigold

(Caltha palustris) , and cotton grass (Eriophroum angustifolium).

The Montane Forest Region.

Douglas fir and lodgepole pine section - is found only as an isolated al'ea

within the tour area in the Athabasca River Valley east of Jasper. Even

within this area diagnostic stands of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

occur only on the warm dry slopes. Cooler and moister locations are

occupied by the species of the Subalpine Forest Region. Dominant soils

are Gray Luvisols and Brunisols.

Soil Capability and Land Use

Using information from soil surveys and the Canada Land Inventory (1965)

system described earlier, the agricultural capability for most of the

tour area has been determined. The Chernozemic soils surrounding, and

immediately south of Edmonton, form the largest concentration of Clas 1

land in the tour area. Rough topography is the main limitation

encountered in areas of Chernozemic soils and may pose moderate to

severe limitations to their use, resulting in capability ratings of

Classes 2 to 5. The limitation is increasingly apparent in the south-

east of the tour area, 3round Red Deer. soils a

bas with "hieh, in scending order of

acreage allotted to grown,

is due both increased demand fOl"

ion within Edmonton- , and abandonment

of summer fallow practices.

Solonetzic ils rated from Class Class 5 depending

principally upon the kind and of solonetzie they

display. Their agricultural use is much the same as that for Chernozemic

soils except that yields are lower and more intcmsi ve management

is

Luvisolic soils are not l'ated hi than Class 3.

Several factors contribute to reduced agricultural

foremost among these c1 Luvlsol soils of marginal

agricultural use and become les lve increases in elevation

and relief. Going "estward, there is a continual decrease in total

amount of land improved for agriculture and a relative increase in land

allotted to forage production. Beyond climatic zone 3H (Fig. 14) climate

effect

use is not

wildl

is almost

precludes sustained agriculture.

West from Mountain House and Edson, agricultural land

and land

become more

forested.

ies for forestry, recreation,

considerations. This "estern region

1 for ranges from

Class 3 to Class 6. scale harvest of trees for both pulp and

lumber is concentrated In northwest around Hinton where a more

favorable c1 increases foY'est Rat for

1 3 to 4 and fall hunting of moose,

-43-

elk and deer is quite popular throughout the area. Recreation

capabilities are moderate to low (Classes 4 and 5) for the tour area

as a whole. However, the mountainous areas offer excellent opportunities

for scenic viewing and upland oriented activities. Although the few

lakes that occur in the area are small and relatively cold, they have a

good potential for camping, fishing, and boating. Excellent skiing

facilities have been developed near Jasper. Fig. 16 illustrates some

non-agricultural resources in the tour area.

The Rocky Mountains*

The Rocky Mountains comprise the southeastern part of the 1 500 000 sq km

Canadian Cordillera and are 100-150 km wide by 1 500 km long. They are

underlain essentially by Precambrian to Mesozoic sedimentary rocks that

were deformed and in places metamorphosed in late Mesozoic and early

Cenozoic time. They grade westwards into metamorphosed terrain and are

bounded to the east by flat lying sedimentary rocks of the Interior

Plains.

The succession of strata exposed in the Rocky Mountains

thickens and becomes more complete southwestward. It consists essentially

of a) Precambrian slates, metasandstones etc., b) Paleozoic carbonates

and shales, and c) Mesozoic sandstones, shales, coal etc. Sediments for

the clastic rocks of units a) and b) were derived from the craton to the

northeast while the source area for the younger rocks of unit c) lay to

the southwest.

The Rocky Mountains are divisible from northeast to southwest

across their trend into the Foothills, Front Ranges, and Main Ranges

*Adapted from material provided by H.A.K. Charlesworth, Dept. of Geology, University of Alberta.

A Photograph by T. Macyk

C Photograph by T. Macyk

B

D

AG. 16 SOME NON-AGRICULTURE RESOURCES WITHIN THE TOUR AREA. A-Development of Petroleum Resources

II-Mountain Sheep-a prized trophy animal

C-Harvesting wood fibre for the pulp and paper industry. D-Strip mining for coal

Photograph by L. Knapik


I .j::> ..(::> I

-45-

(Fig. 17). The low, rounded Foothills are generally composed of Mesozoic

sediments which are folded and cut numerous southwesterly dipping

thrust faults. In the more rugged Front Ranges, cliff forming Paleozoic

carbonates are exposed in a repeating sequence of southwesterly dipp

thrust faults. The slope morphology of these ranges generally reflect

the bedrock configuration, in that northeast slopes are sharp and steep,

while long gentle slopes develop along the southwesterly dipping bedding

planes. The Main Ranges aI'e formed of rocks of Paleozoic and Precambrian

age. The Paleozoic sediments are calcareous in the northeast and become

shaly to the southwest. Rugged castellated topography occurs where the

Paleozoic carbonates are gently dipping and form flat lying erosion

resistant mountain caps. The tightly folded Precambrian strata and

Paleozoic shales have generally given rise to rounded slopes.

The deformed sedimentary and metasedimentary strata which

form the Rocky Mountains rest on a cratonic basement of igneous and

metamorphic rocks which is continuous with the Canadian Shield to the

northeast. The mountains essentially resulted from a period of deforma

tion that saw the sedimentary cover separate from this basement and move

northeastward toward the central craton due to pressure from an expanding

or sliding crystalline mass to the southwest. During this movement the

thin crust of sedimentary rocks was folded and piled up into the varoious

thrust sheets that characterize its structure while the basement r'emained

essentially intact.

Banff and Jasper National Parks

Canada's National Parks system dates back to 1885. In 1887 the Rocky

Mountain National Park was established, which soon after was divided into

ROCKYMTN TRENCH

"" ROCKY MOUNTAIN PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGION )j

WESTERN RANGeS

MAIN RANGES fRONT RANGES FOOTHillS PLAINS

--~--_Sl

16,000'

'" 1801<... 3>

MESOZOIC

PAlEOlOIC I_!.:·~·" -~ .··.,-.-1

~~~ PROTEROZOiC

SHielD BASEMENT L~C'-'-"-..CJ

FIG. 17 REGIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS

I .<:--0\ I

-47-

the Banff, Yoho, and Glacier National Parks. Mainly because transportation

routes bypassed Jasper, during those earlier days, it was not established

as a national park until 1907. It was named after Jasper House the fur

trading post tlillt intermittently served the early traders from about 1813

to 1884. The present boundary of these two parks was established by the

National Parks Act passed by Parliament in 1930. This act also introduced

the concepts of park preservation under which present parks are managed,

whereby all animals, plants and fossils are protected by law for the

enjoyment of all who visit the parks. Jasper, the larger of the two

parks, covers an area of just over 1 million ha while Banff National

Park has an area in excess of 600 000 ha.

Soil s.

Soils in the Front and Main ranges of the Canadian Rockies,

within the two parks, are generally formed on calcareous glacial drift,

and frequently at higher elevations, on weathered colluvial debris. High

amounts of Ca and Mg carbonate in the parent materials results in a

shallow profile development «75-100 em). Much of the landscape, where

geologic erosion and deposition is not severe, is mantled with a shallow

(15 to 30 em) silty deposit, thought to be immediate post-pleistocene

loess. Volcanic ash is frequently identified as a component in this

silty surficial material. The above factors, plus rapidly changing

climate and slope, result in a very complex pattern of soil distribution

over the landscape.

On steep unstable slopes, Regosolic soils are dominant and,

in terms of areal extent, comprise a significant portion of the total.

Gleysolic soils are mainly situated along narrow flood plains and

-43-

oeeas occur along valley sides that are affected seepage. The

of these soils is not terms of areal extent but in terms

of use 1 ions.

In the such as the Bow and the Athabasea

l~ain shadow effects result in a relatively dry climate, with

concomitant xeric and sub-xeric vegetation. In these main valleys~

especially along the steep valley walls, Luvisolic soils are prevalent,

interspersed with Brunisolic soils in areas of coarser textured parent

materials. Where there is an appreciable thickness of the silty surficial

deposit, a Bm horizon frequently develops in the Ae portion of the

Luvisolic profile, resulting in a bisequa type profile classified as a

Brunisolic Gray Luvisol. Some of the Brunisolic soils on the very dry

south-facing slopes ar'e developed under a very open forest canopy, or

gr'assland, and are closely l'elated to soils of the Chernozemic Order.

With increasing elevation, either on the valley wallS or

along the valley, the climate becomes moister and the vegetation changes

to Spruce-Subalpine Fir-Vaccinium types. Associated with this vegetative

change is a gradual transition from dominantly Luvisolic soils below

1 700 m a. s.1. in Banff and about 1 500 m a. s.1. in cJasper to dominantly

Podzolic soils (interspersed with Brunisolic soils) above these elevations.

These Podzolic soils are frequently developed in calcareous parent materials,

and in many instances the strong expression of the Bf horizon is in the

ilty surficial mantle which covers much of the landscape.

While most of the parent materials in the Front ranges of the

Rock ~re calcareous, there are some till and colluvi 1 materials derived

from quart :i or schi thdt are nOll-('c1lcdn~ous. In tht::se non-calcareous

materials the solum extends to greater depths (often greater than 1 m)

and horizon development is more evident, both morphologically and chemically.

-49-

Soils in the alpine environments occur frequently in small

patches between the tree line and the barren rock. These soils are almost

always Podzolic, although Brunisolic, Regosolic, and Gleysolic soils are

also identified.

Vegetation.

Within Banff and Jasper National parks there are three or ecological

zones: montane, subalpine, and alpine, reflecting a macroclimate gradation

with increasing elevation. The vegetation of the montane zone is charac-

terized xeric grasslands and savannas in the valley bottoms and

sub-xeric to mesic Douglas fir and white spruce forests on the lower valley

sides. While there are substantial areas of Montane vegetation along the

valley bottoms, they do not constitute a large percentage of the total

parks area, since they are limited to the eastern portions of the major

valleys.

The subalpine forest zone occurs at elevations above the

montane zone (about 1 400 m a. s. L In Banff and 1 380 m a. s.1. In Jaspel'),

and below the treeless alpine zone (about 2 300 m a.s.l. in Banff and

2 200 m a.s.l. in Jasper).

The characteristic tree species of mature subalpine forests

are Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir with lesser amounts of white

spruce. Black spruce occurs as a minor species near the montane boundary

in Jasper Park and alpine larch occurs as a minor species in open forest

stands near the alpine boundary in the southern part of Banff Park. In

areal extent, the subalpine zone covers about 45% of the landscape.

Fire plays a very important role in the development of the

montane and subalpine forests. Lodgepole pine predominates in younger

-50-

forests, and is the most abundant forest acent to

und v all of the area surrounding Jasper'

townsite was burned at least once in the past 300 years ( Roi et al.,

1975) .

In Jasper National Park, at about 52.50 latitude, the lower

limit of the alpine zone occurs at about the 2 200 m a .. 1. on south

facing slopes, and at about the 2 100 rn a.s.l. on north facing slopes.

This compares to lower limits of about 2 300 m a.s.l. and 2 000 m a.s.l.

for south and north facing slopes respectively in Banff National Park

at about 51° latitude. The alpine zone includes, at its lower limits,

occurrences of subalpine fir krummholz and dwarf heath shrub

tundra. As elevation increases, the ion s characterized by

mountain avens tundra and finally by crustose lichen tundra on rock

(Walker et al., 1976; Wells et al., 1976). The alpine zone, including

the barren rock, ice, and snow, covers about 45% of the land area within

the parks. Of this barren rock, ice and snow covers far the major

portion.

Climate*.

The general climate of Banff and Jasper National is determined

chiefly by their geographical location. Located mainly between 51° and

530 latitude and about 500 km inland from the Pacific Ocean, the macro-

climate is essentially continental. Winters, in , are long and

on occasion they can be quite cold. Summers are relatively short and

cool with o6casional hot spells.

*Abstracted from material Environment Services, Edmonton.

Ben Janz. Meteorologist Atmosphere

-51-

Essentially to the SdnHc' d i r' mas

weather sy tems tbat mi (leros:; IH:ste!'Il C,mada dt d.l d t tude TIll'

mountain r'dnEe~;, however', exert d l,rotou11<1 influ<'nc on tho mdcr'o-('ll1ldtl'

and certain mesoclimatic areas can be zed. The mesoclimates dre

generally related to topography and physiographic features particularly

the northwest-southwest direction of the mountains and main valleys.

This direction is almost at right angles to the prevailing winds aloft

giving rise to a rain shadow effect in the main valleys. The generally

low wind speeds in the valleys are also related to this orientation.

The occurrence of minor mountain ranges east of the main valleys is

effective in preventing southward flowing arctic air masses from entering

these valleys. Thus cold outbreaks are usually not as severe or prolonged

as in the es to the east CTable 3). Exceptions are the valleys of

the Athabasca and Bow rivers which pass east-west through the Front ranges,

and frequently provide the channel for the intrusion of arctic air into

the lower ions of the valleys. Topography. thus gives rise to large

climatic variations over distances of a few kilometers. In the vertical

direction there can be fairly large variations in only a hundred meters.

Winter's extreme low temperatures in the main valleys reach

-4SoC to-50°C and temperatures as low as -40°C or lower are reached 2 or

3 years out of 10. Summer temperatures have reached the 3SoC to 38°C

degree range in most of the major valleys, but these maxima do not occur

very far up the valleys because of the lowering of temperature with

increasing elevations. ° Temperatures exceed 27 C at least once in July

and t In most years. Summer lapse rates are probably near the

normal rate of a drop of about O.SoC per 100 m rise in elevation.

It should ized that local variabil fr'om one valley

to , altho ions of

have rela lon rates. W and summer

ion rates • whereas at Banff

townsit , summer However, at h elevations

in both , winter ion

in Table 4 show some tat ion variab that occur's

within per National Park.

-53-

Table 4. Jasper National Park annual itation* (mm of water).

Station Elevat Loeat Time Interval Reading m Lat. Long. (Ave in years) mm

Athabasea Pass 1740 52°23' 118°16' 2 1300

Columbia Icefields 4 1039

Amethyst Lake 1965 52°42 118°16' 3 899

River 1460 53°22' 119°16' 3 803

Marmot Basin 52°47' 118°06' 5 729

Sunwapta 4 643

Pyramid 110untain 52°57' 11 5 605 top of MiC:r'o-wave BId.

West Gate 5 589

Maligne Lake 18 LfO 52°44' 117°39' 5 579

Brazeau Lake 1770 52°24' 117°01 ' 4 566

Rocky Forks 52°50' 117°24' 3 561

Miette Hot Springs 1340 53°07' 117°46' 5 554

Topaz Lake 1760 53°23' 118°48' 3 549

East Gate 8 521

Athabasca Falls 1180 52°1+0 ' 117°53' 4 445

cJasper Town 1060 52°53' 118°04' 30 401

Willow Creek 140C 53°23' 118°21 ! 3 31+8

*Data compiled by J. Powell, Northern Forest Research Centre, Edmonton, Alberta.

Km 01il e

o o

2 1

5 3

1 : o

c e e area once co glacial La

n, is i ma r i1 y B 1 a ck c 5 i 1 s developed

on lacus ine ma also an area onetzic soils on

rock als of tour vels entirely in an

area Black C soi of relatively high ri cu Hura 1 capabili

lowi at Lacombe ea ion, a tour will be made of

Capabili

xture,

K

i

route ocation).

ill a Black

tion 11 be at

c soil will be

to Fi g. 18

C1 1i (Ellersl e corner), Fine clayey texture Black

c soils on a level

ass 1.

C soil on a

aciolacustrine plain. Agricultural

undulating morainal plain. Loam

1i Class 1.

lZED soils on a level to ating soft rock plain.

c tural Capability Class 2 to 4, de ing

6 4 E of so rock ma (Edmonton) formation

in strata of coal. gi on 9 si al creek nk. No

'-55-

) CIJLl , )11' Chernozemic on continental till

Chernozemk on lacustrine

~ Chernozemic on f\uvial·locustrine

~ ~ t" /1 Solonetzic on soft rock , ,

- TOUR ROUTE * TOUR STOP

5 0 5 10Km I I I I 3 0 3 aMi

FIG. 18 ROUTE LOCATION EDMONTON TO HIGHWAY 13

Km 11

16

21

29

45

e 7

13

18

so

1a

a

r 1

plai ,

IS a 1

a

i 1

ain.

aci

eul 1

soils on a to ula ng glae 0 uvial lacus ine

s 1 eu ral ill C ass 1.

imari ly

on a u t' vl SO

0 c

mora ic areas are

C ass 2 on ile

r areas 1 i C ass l. '-

8 • is one s s

was a

a ew n on rua 13,

t vent of inerea loration,

s is one of iea s

areas in of volume of uetion.

C so s on a 1 ul ng glaciofluvi -lacustrine

y loam some inclusions coarse textured

s. 1 i Classes 1 2.

Ie il s on an morainal plain d s

or sp 11 Ple ne or in.

1 sses 1 to 3.

a o k c soils

lat ain. texture. icultural

ses 1 2.

-57-

Km Mile 56 35 JUNCTION Highway 13. (Refer to Fig. 19 for remainder of today's

route).

70 43 BLACK CHERNOZEMIC soils on an undulating and rolling morainal plain.

Loam texture. Agricultural Capability Classes 1, 2, and 3.

88 54 JUNCTION Highway 53 to Ponoka. Sandy and loamy textured Black Chernozemic

soils on an undulating and rolling glaciofluvial plain with frequent

dune-like longitudinal ridges. Agricultural Capability varies from

Class 2 to Class 5.

90 56 BATTLE RIVER. This river rises about 80 km to the northwest and flows

some 700 km eastward before it empties into the North Saskatchewan River

at North Battleford, in Saskatchewan.

106 66 JUNCTION Highway 2A. Follow to Lacombe.

109 68 BLACK CHERNOZEMIC soils on a level to undulating glaciofluvial-lacustrine

and glaciofluvial plain. Loam texture. Agricultural Capability Class 1

and 2.

112 69 LACOMBE, population approximately 3,500. The Lacombe Research Station

where we will make our first stop. adjoins the town to the south (refer

to page III for details on the Research Station and the soil pit).

117 73 BLACK CHERNOZEMIC soils on an undulating and rolling glaciofluvial plain.

Sandy and loam texture. Several gravel pits are evident in this area.

Agricultural Capability varies from Class 2 to Class 5.

Chernozemic on continental

Chernozemic on fluvial<locustrine

Chernozemic on fluvial

-- TOUR ROUTE

* TOUR STOP Km

~-r~-----+----~. Mi

fiG. 19 ROUTE tOeA nON HIGHWAY 1 3 TO RED DEER

-59-

Km le 124 BLACKFALDS, population approximately 1000.

127 79 BLINDMAN RIVER.

129 80 BLACK CHERNOZEMIC soils on a level to undulating glaciofluvial-lacustrine

plain. Loam texture. Agricultural Capability Class 2.

132 82 JUNCTION Highway 11. Continue south to Red Deer.

134 83 RED DEER City limits. Red Deer is ideally located in the heart of some

of Alberta's best farm land. It derives its name from the Cree Indians,

who named the ver "Waskasioo Seepee l' , meaning Red Deer, because of the

abundance of deer. Legend has it. that Napia. the Indian deity and

creator of all beautiful things. decided to form a final resting place

for himself. So he created the beautiful Red Deer valley. and content

with his handiwork. he slept forever.

The first settlers arrived in 1884. Soon after, in 1891,

rail arrived bringing wi it a great influx of settlers. Growth

was steady, and Red Deer became i as a town in 1901,

Alberta s fifth city in 13. In 1905 when Alberta became a province.

Red Deer. because of its central 1 ion, argued that it should become

the provincial capital. Free land for government buildings was offered

by a leading citizen, Edward Mi , whose son was many years later

to become Canada's Governor General. However, the politicians of

day, in their wisdom. decided that Edmonton was a better location.

Despite this setback. Red Deer continued to grow and today has a

population in excess of 30,000.

i t to tour s Red Deer's annual

In ti 1 k val involving ethnic up in central

berta. This cul ra sizes preservation of

onal ues a encou develo t of cultu

to. n

Km Mile

-61-

DAY 2: RED DEER LOCAL

The Route

Travelling westward along Highway 11, (David Thompson Highway) the tour

leaves the area of Black Chernozemic soils around Red Deer, and moves

into an area of Gray Luvisolic soils. Southeast of Rocky Mountain House,

a Brunisolic Gray Luvisolic soil will be examined. After examining this

soil, the tour will move on to Dickson, along Highway 54, where lunch

will be provided. In the afternoon a visit will be made to the Hail

Research Centre at Penhold. (Refer to Fig. 20 for route location.)

o 0 RED DEER City limits. Loamy textured Black Chernozemic soils on a level

to undulating glaciofluvial-lacustrine plain. Agricultural Capability

Class 2. From Red Deer westward for about 50 km, there are similar soil

and climatic conditions to those detailed at Lacombe (Table 5),

consequently farming practices and crop yields are comparable. Since

the area is within Agro-climatic area 2H (Fig. 14), the 75 to 90 day

frost-free period places a moderate limitation on crop production.

2 1 JUNCTION Highway 11. Proceed west.

5 3 HIGHWAY 2 interchange.

6 4 DARK GRAY LUVISOLIC and Dark Gray Chernozemic soils on an undulating to

rolling morainal upland. Loam texture. Agricultural Capability Class 3.

16 10 BLACK CHERNOZEMIC soils on an undulating morainal plain. Loam texture.

Agricultural Capability Class 2.

(hemolemic on contin .. nlol till Chemozemic on fluvial-Iacu,!rine [:] luv'50lic on continental fill

~ ChemOlemic on lacustrine (h"",alem'c on fluvial luvisolic on cordilleran till

* TOUR SlOP - TOUR ROUTE

FIG. 20 ROUTE lOCATION RED DEER LOCAL

luvisalic an fluvIal-lacustrine

Bruni50Iic-luvi,alic on fluvial-eolian

i o~

N ;

-63-

Km Mile 20 12 SYLVAN LAKE. Population 1,600. A popular summer resort area serving

central Alberta.

23 14 DARK GRAY and Orthic Gray Luvisolic soils on an undulating morainal

plain. Loam texture. Agricultural Capability Class 3.

31 19 DARK GRAY and Black Chernozemic soils on an undulating morainal plain.

Loam texture. Agricultural Capability Class 2.

35 22 BLACK CHERNOZEMIC soils on an undulating glaciofluvial-lacustrine plain.

Loam texture. Agricultural Capability Class 2 to 3.

39 24 MEDICINE RIVER.



53 CONTINUOUS LUVISOLIC soils at an elevation of about 970 m a.s.l.

Brunisolic and Orthic Gray Luvisolic soils on a fine silty textured

veneer and blanket of fluvial-lacustrine material overlying an undulating

morainal plain. Fairly extensive Organic areas. Agricultural Capability

Class 4.

74 46 JUNCTION Secondary road 922. Proceed south.

82 51 CLEARWATER RIVER.

Km ~~ile 89

95

-64-

has operated at its present location since

1, a was a di rent location in the district

since 7, rms are ly owned farms whose owners have

entered into a tive agreement with the rch Branch, Canada

Agricul the land for research purposes. In the

ea y years, they ly to demonstrate to surrounding farmers

some of farm ces known at the time. The work was later

expanded to incl the tes ti crop varieties, comparative studies

of cultural and fertilizer p ices. and the evaluation of cereal and

forage crops for specific soil and climatic zones. More recently.

Project are used mainly as sites with soil and climatic conditions

diffe main Research Station. where more extensive and

vari can conduc (Refer to page 125 for site specific

information.)

PODZOLIC GRAY LUVI Ie soils on undulating and ridged glaciofluvial

and eolian materials. Sandy texture. Agricultural Capability Classes 5

and 6.

96 60 OUTLIER Cordilleran till.

98 61 MIXED TE soils on ing and ridged fluvial and eolian

rna ials. c ili Classes 5 and 6.

100 62 CLEARWATER RIVER Junction th Highway 54. Proceed east through an

area of Brunisolic Orthic Luvisolic soils on a fine silty

textured veneer anket uvial-lacustrine material overlying an

-65-

Km Mile undulating and rolling morainal plain. 11 surfaces at some locations.

Agricultural Capability Classes 4 and 5.

108 67 CAROLINE. Population approximately 400.

119 74 MIXED AREA of sandy textured Brunisolic and Regosolic soils on undulating

and ridged fluvioeolian, and level alluvial materials, associated with

the Raven River and its ibuta Stauffer Creek. Some Organic deposits.


124 77 STAUFFER CREEK.


Some Organic deposits. Agricultural Capability Classes 2 and 3.

136 85 BLACK CHERNOZEMIC soil on a level to undulating glaci uvial-lacustrine

plain. Loam texture. Agricultural Capability ass 2,

138 86 SPRUCEVIEW CORNER. Proceed south two miles to Dickson where lunch will

be served by the ladies of Bethany Lutheran Church Women. This community,

the oldest Danish community in Alberta, was established in 1903 when

seven Danish families from Omaha, Nebraska laid claim to their homesteads.

A Post Office was established in 1905, a school built in 1907, and a

general store added to the community in 1909. Although renovations and

additions have been made to the store, the original structure is still

standing and is being used today. It is located at the main road

intersection west of the church. Through the years 1 point of

Kill

143

151

')

L

1

e commun activ ties centred <- church 1t in ll. almost \.,

rs neces ary to ild a new urch. is ilding,

erec in 1968, is a la striking architectural tures.

a ibute the everence t early settlers.

Across the road urch is a rock cairn marking the location of

original ch i1 d i Many of the ladies serving the tour today

still retain their mother tongue. Enjoy your b ef visit here, an example

of the multicultural nature of Alberta's heritage.

A lunch rn to Spruceview Corner and continue east.

K CHERNOZEMIC soils on a level glaciolacustrine plain. Fine silty

fine clayey Agricultural Capability Class 2.

REGO K CHERNOZEMIC soils on terraced alluvial deposits associated

th Medicine ver. Loam texture. Agricultural Capability Class 3.

MEDICI RIV

K CHERNOZEMIC Glack onetzic soils on a level to gen y

lating glaciolacustrine plain. Fine clay texture. Agricultural

Ca ility Classes 2 and 3.

97 B K CHERNOZEMIC soils on an undula ng morainal plain. Loam texture.

ri cultura 1 pabil i Class 2.

159 99 DISTRICT ROAD. Proceed north.

-67-

Km Mile 166 103 DISTRICT ROAD. Proceed east.

169 105 RED DEER RIVER. Loamy textured Black Chernozemic soils on a fluvial-

lacustrine plain, which becomes smoot from the river. Agricultural

Capability Classes 2 and 3.

175 109 JUNCTION Highway 2A Penhold, population approximately 500. Proceed

north.

179 III HAIL RESEARCH CENTRE, Mynarski Park*. Since hail often causes more than

$50 million in crop losses each year in Alberta, the Alberta Government,

in 1973, established the Interim Weather Modification Board and the

Alberta Hail Project. This project, which incorporates an earlier Alberta

Hail Studies research program, hopes to hasten the development of hail

suppression technology and test it on a de scale in Alberta.

Hailstones normally grow on dust particles in the air. By

c10 seeding billions of silver iodide particles. which act as ice

nuclei, many more hailstone embryos are produced, thus distributing the

moisture supply into more but smaller hailstones. This should result in

a reduced hail 11 energy and sufficient melting for the hailstones to

reach the ground as rain.

Cloud seeding generally starts in mid June and continues to

about mid September. Both cloud top and cloud base seeding with silver

iodide flares is conducted from project headquarters at the Red Deer

Industrial Airport. and extends to a radius of 130 km around the airbase.

*Adapted from material provi by the Interim Weather Modi cation Board.

Km Ie

182 113

115

suri 9

co- ration

Mod cation

ironment

Alberta

BLACK

texture.

C1 OF

evaluati res ts s ve much

eral y

current gram

s very

nsored by

on

Interim Wea r

e h Counci 1 and Atmospheric

ice, scientific support from the Universi of

ill i vers i in Mont rea 1, Q

soils on an undulating to rolling glaciofluvial plain.

cul 1 Ca ility Classes 3 and 4.

Km Mile

DAY 3: RED DEER JASPER

The Route

The first portion of the tour will cover the same route as yes

along Highway II. From Rocky Mountain House westward, the tour traverses

a non-agricultural forested area of primarily luvisolic soils. Proceeding

westward, through increasingly rough terrain, the tour enters the Foothills

Region approximately 70 km west of Rocky Mountain House, where soils

gradually change from Luvisolic to Brunisolic. After reaching the most

easterly of the Rocky Mountain Ranges west of Nordegg, the tour follows

the valley of the North Saskatchewan River, through an area of Brunisolic

and Regosolic soils, into Banff and Jasper National Parks. Within the

parks, there will be opportunities for tour participants to become tourists

and enjoy the scenic beauty before stopping at Jasper. (Refer to Fig. 21,

22, 23, and 24 for route location.)

o 0 FROM RED DEER the tour covers the same route as yesterday for 74 km along

Highway No. 11. This highway, also known as the David Thompson Highway,

derives its name from David Thompson the explorer, geographer, and fur

trader, who in late 1700 established a fur trading post on the North

Saskatchewan River, upstream from Rocky Mountain House (Wood, 1955).

During his explorations he travelled more than 80 000 km by canoe, on

foot and on horseback while exploring and preparing maps of some

30 billion ha of untouched wilderness in Canada and the North Western

United States. From 18 to 1826 he was engaged by the British and

United States vernments to establish the Canada - U.S. boundary from

St. Lawrence River to the Lake of the Woods on t Manitoba Ontario

lUViSOlic all fluvial lacustrine IT?] luvisalic on Cordilleran Till

o luvisalic and Brunisolic on fluvial-eolian Brunisalic and luvisolic on Cordilleran Till

TOUR ROUTE * TOUR STOP

FIG. 21 ROUTE LOCATION SECONDARY ROAD 922 TO SHUNDA CREEK

"-J o

Km Mile

1-

border. Some writers refer to David Thompson as the greatest land

geographer the world has ever known.

74 46 JUNCTION Secondary road 922. (See Fig. 21.) Continue west along

Highway 11 through a fine textured veneer and blanket of glaciofluvial-

lacustrine soils, with Brunisolic Orthic Gray Luvisolic characteristics,

overlying an undulating morainal plain. Fairly extensive Organic areas.


82 51 ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE with a population of about 3,200, is located at the

approximate western extreme of cultivated agriculture in central Alberta.

It serves the agricultural industry to the east. the limited forest

industry to the west, as well as the surrounding oil industry. Rocky

Mountain House is Central Alberta's "Gateway to the West" by way of the

David Thompson Highway.

88 55 NORTH SASKATCHEWAN RIVER. Sandy textured Brunisolic and Luvisolic soils

on undulating and rolling dune-like fluvial-eolian materials with

Significant inclusions of Organic deposits. Forest Capability Classes 4

to 6,

105 65 CORDILLERAN TILL starts approximately here, Loamy textured Podzolic

Gray Luvisol and Brunisolic Gray Luvisol soils on a rolling morainal

upland, with significant inclusions of Organic deposits. Forest

Capability Classes 3 to 6.

-72-

Km il 117 73 I D S ild ian erve ut 1 no 1

s s ing 1 e, 0 some notor from

h s wea sti nature 5 a e to let

qui te aeeura y 5e r 5 1L

h s • his son carri on ition, 5 ngly wi ual

ace

132 82 JACKFI SITE. 38 site s ifi c in on),

i 5 5 ite rna irnate inn; of e ill s Regi on. is

ion i5 C highly dissec s ly rolling,

a irna ly rall ri In contrast area to east

a lower ocal reli numerous sma 11 y drai si s n

is ite wes ur traverses

an area of 1 mora nal blan a veneer th Degraded

E ic Bruni s a Brunisolie Luvisols, overly; rolling a

i menta rock. e a lie soils y occur along

streams n cover is mainly lodgepole

pine. rest Capabili Classes 4 5.

137 a is t-southeast

ran rallels rna n moun in ran west. It

ses to a evation ut 2 000 m a.s.l. ~ is abo 7 m ve

s ills. is as cal anticline has a core of

Mississ pian ian ca pis the

s n River ows Brazeau

CREEK. 11 on right a ut 1 to the no t.

r to Fig. 22 for route at on).

/

BANFF

NATIONAL

73~·

~ Regosolic and Brumsolic on ~ Colluvium and Rock

p 0 0 t:I30

, p

luvisolic on

Ilrunisolic on Cordilleran Till

!lrunISolic and luv;solic on Cordilleran Till

1/"9O.oli<: and Elrunisoli<: on Alluvium and Glaciofluvial

-TOUR ROUTE

* TOUR STOP

FIG.22 ROUTE LOCATION SHUNDA CREEK TO PARK BOUNDARY

Km e

3 108

175

ich 11s on ues evations

wes m a. s. l. A morai

b an veneer of n y E ic ic unisolic

so s 0 lie terti tCl. e

of loess overlies much area. y ly s

ri are n y dissec , a rock tcro re common. rest

il Classes 4 5.

NORDEGG access and k, was once a ni of

severa h people. when Brazeau llieries closed in

vi ly a 11 t II several rs

as ni securi vi 1s

serv lesser crimes. 1 in is of low medium

va a e, b nous

FORES K junction. The k

i so

(near irie to eman n southwestern

a t was ilt Al rest

t tec on a rna t services

inaccessible ion. It vi t access

ai~eas of

is sti 11 extens ve y t

s ro lar seeking recreationa

out of places ill

lit es ve been p ic use at

e road. unk tersec tour route at

H nton.

is an all weather

ion Debolt

a distance of

ice prima rily

this ati y

to the coal

ing ir

t ies.

uits in

He

locations

at

ong

5-

Km le 180 112 FRONT RANGES the k es.

184 114 BIGHORN RANGE. The sou may be seen ahead and to the right.

It is another of the several ranges wi in the Foothills Region. The

Bighorn Range is about km long a rises to an elevation of about

2 600 m a.s.l.

3 120 BIGHORN RIVER.

196 122 BIGHORN DAM and Abraham ke access road. Follow to ham Lake

viewpoint where lunch wil be provided. The Bighorn Power and Stora

Development* is a joint eet of rnment of Alberta and 19ary

Power Ltd. Completed in 1 is project was initiated to help meet

Alberta's growing electrical needs, as well as help in the conservation

of water. In addition it guarantees a r ro wa supply to

downstream users, particularly the City of Edmonton, where winter wa

supplies were sometimes critically low.

The Bighorn dam, which contains about 4.6 11ion m3 of ea

fill is 91 m high and 7 m ong. is dam is Abraham La

named after the Abraham family, who were S Indians, and long-time

residents in this area. Abraham La is about km long, covers about

5 500 ha, and has a storage capacity of about 14 370 -m. Water, from

this largest Albertals man-made la , drives two 5 400 kw

generators. recreation s tes are loped this la

become a popular tourist attraction. After lunch re

11 undoubtedly

to Highway 11

and continue west.

*Adapted from material s Ltd.

6-

Km WI s n a T ,

y to s ly

y

nc

s ece. 1 1. 1 i

Classes 4- to 6. s t to

221 eLI R V • note ian

235 on a ans. A s

uv a run s, st ing

s R ve p a n annual

onal avera of ut

tri to is

ar d high

rt is ain is

1 I Plai s.

25 consi e rtion

c

ute lows

s run 0 isolic soils

ve t r s occasionally does

pa s su

Km 1 e

264 164

265 165

273 170

-77-

route traverse areas

Brunisolic soil profiles

ion.)

eolluv um

1

rock

r

ic or

Fig. 23 for rou

JUNeT Hi 93 p towa s is highway joining

two pa

Columbia

Parkway.

e1 to is h

HOWSE VALLEY and Howse Pass lies to

travelled from his North West

rough this area to esta ish a fur-

of Rockies.

a rest fire can

is

west. In

st at

s

t on

seen to west

n

I i e 1

David Thompson

~1ounta in se

western slopes

When a s

or r fares t is bu fire releases lodgepole pine seeds,

and pine domina s 1a sea a considerable before

s and r s is in estab f. Thus, ese

fire scars can last of rs In bottoms along the

hi are areas, f any, that do show evidence of

previous res.

west is ical of ma glacier streams. BRAIDED STREAM BED

These coarse textu calcareous mate als are neral y coloni

1101''1 communities. rm S

howers on

nges in

to create

s

laciers,

ow levels

gravelly bitat on

cause abrupt la

d communities only

next

~

~

JASPER NATIONAl

PARK

AlBERTA

- TOUR ROUTE

* TOUR STOP

/ !cefielcl.

Regosolic and Brunisolic on ColluvIUm and Rock

Brunisoiic and on and (oliuvium

Regosoiic Clnd on and Glaciofluvial

FIG.23 ROUTE LOCATiON PARK BOUNDARY TO COLUMBIA ICEFIElD

9-

Km r~il e 277 172 RAMPART EK. Ca adian tels s as is re situated

throughout the Par viding tion to lists a hikers at

nominal cost.

279 3 BRAIDED STREAM Glac al y s a rivers such as this

have a strong diurnal in ow duri warm summer days A hiker

may wade across a s early morni not able get

back across by 1a a

281 174 NORMAN CREEK Flats. In the ea y 1900's, these broad flats

opposite the mouth of e Al River were used as a campsite for

hunting parties. Animals were packed camp a r bones

discarded here, t site became known as Fl a ts.

287 178 AVALANCHE SLOPES, S s those on west wall of vall ey, are 0 f

common occurrence ut Rockies. Only supple shrubs and small

plants are able to ths crus hi of moving snow.

There is an abrupt change in vegetation communities in of these

avalanches, soils also c nge a 1y. Where considerable

neral debris is carr; now e soils are Regosolic. Where

there a re a t wi 11 ows iduous s ,a aval are

frequent enG prevent a pine fir from regenerating, the

soils often ick, organic rich Ah rizoll. or may not

be an associa B horizon. 11y. above 1 800 m a.s.l., where

in uent aval i ng allows regeneration alpine fir spruce

to at least a krummho z form, so 1s are y Brunisolic or

Podzolic.

Km 1 E

3 EPI is to east. In s , t flow of wa over the

s ne e1 0 C HUS untain S almost continuous, s ining

rk. 1 i s cloaked in sheets

ue ice. From , one f s v ews of Cas e

1 ine can seen no on s r ce of Pa r's

d

297 184 NI K

HI increases i eva on 5 m in next 11 bottom

of hi 11 , tion s ical of lower evation s lpine

zone, m a.s. . ) tation is leal

s 1 pi ne lone, al ne zone can een on r's rid to

west.

PARKER'S RI , an easy cli r a t 2.5 km ta hi

n an alpine p ion of color prov; by rna

plants in to mask tenuous d these

ants ve on 1 i ts a ng wi scan occur a in

n a ve less an 2 or 3 wee campl ir

annual e. In is area mountain can seen a an

excell nt view s n Glacier in its f ma climb

11 S nee snow rem a ns 1 ate in s ng, t h s

S 0 kiers

-81-

Km Mile 301 188 STEEP (60°) sided gullies in the till deposits on either side of the

road are so unstable that, despite fairly well-developed soil profiles

in the vicinity, little horizon differentiation occurs other than an

occasional truncated Bmk horizon.

304 189 SUNWAPTA PASS (2 030 m a.s.l.), and the boundary between Banff and Jasper

National Parks. Waters owing south into the North Saskatchewan drainage

system end up in Hudson Bay, and waters flowing north into the Athabasca

drainage system eventually reach the Arctic Ocean. (Refer to Fig. 24

for remainder of route to Jasper).

306 190 WILCOX CREEK. Note the artificial appearance of this and other stream

channel approaches to culverts or bridges under the highway. Constant

maintenance is required to prevent these aggrading streams from clogging

their passageways under the highways, and damaging the road bed.

309 192 COLUMBIA ICEFIELD CHALET. Built in 1938 (prior to completion of the

Icefields Parkway) by Jack Brewster, to provide an opportunity for

visitors to stop and see an active glacier. We will stop and view the

Athabasca Glacier. (For information on the Columbia Icefield refer

to page 150.)

319 198 STUTFIELO GLACIER VIEWPOINT. Note the fluvial fan created by the

decreasing stream gradient, allowing the deposit of sediments in this

typical form.

-82-

Km 1 e 321 200 ROAD passes through a cut in a steeply sloping fluvial fan. Periodic

deposition of fresh calcareous material results in little profile

development other than spotty accumulation of L-H material. These

re 1 at; ve ly small 1 andforms often exhi bit hi ghly contrasti ng soil

properties from those of the general area.

324 201 SNOW AVALANCHE TRACK with large uprooted broken trees, mute evidence of

the tremendous force of the moving snow.

329 205 SUNWAPTA RIVER to the west. (Sunwapta is the Stony Indian word for

liturbulent riverll). The assymetric chain of mountains east of the

highway is known as the Endless Chain Ridge. These mountains are the

east limb of the Castle Mountain Syncline.

337 209 JONAS CREEK.

339 210 LANDSLIDE of massive quartzite boulders forms the base of the highway.

342 2 WARDEN STATION, Poboktan Creek. (Poboktan is the Stony Indian word for

lIowlll). For the next 14 km the landforms to the east are coalescing

fluvial aprons and fans. The parent materials are derived from the

Cambrian quartzites of the Endless Chain Ridge. The soils have strongly

developed Brunisolic profiles,

346 215 SUNWAPTA FALLS JUNCTION (falls are 0.6 km from the highway). The

Sunwapta River joins the Athabasca River about 3 km from the falls.

83

icefields

Regosolie and Bruni,olie on Colluvium ond Rock

Bruni,olic and luvisolic on Till and Colluvium

~o:: :1 .. Regosolic and Brunisolic on Alluvium and Glaciofluvial

- TOUR ROUTE "* TOUR STOP m

5 0 5 10 Km ~I --+-~I------~I----~I 3 0 3 6 MI

FIG. 24 ROUTE LOCATION COLUMBIA ICEFIElD TO JASPER

2

2

K

typical

in

va es

are no

or

stra

east s

As

r

MT.

to

nk

gate

in

s

SI

115 in

hi

ion ma

11

to lick

r

LIN

uise to

are se

in

i es are

d

s

-84-

eas

slope

lTIounta n

1 e 1 a

s

n s

across

a gull

of

1 n9

surface

Main Ranges.

1 1 m

i1 on these slopes

11; "slopes indicating

rmation.

to east is

assoc

a i ica uv a

Regosolic soils.

are occasi ly assoc a sli y

is of va road cut a the

a s rt distance.

1 s , ts respond di y

silt its ed, as on

view west, mountain y

soil , ly. lenish nera 1 s lost

molt.

t 1 i is nent mountain

tain 1 ne s 5 of

1 i

8h - ~-

Km Mile 372 231 JUNCTION with Highway 93A leading to Athabasca Falls. This is the old

highway to Jasper. (If time permits we will stop briefly at the falls).

375 233 ALLUVIAL AND GLACIOFLUVIAL gravels and cobbles are traversed from

approximately this point to Jasper. This is also where the subalpine

meets the montane vegetative zone. The soils are shallow (about 20 cm

to Ck).

381 237 SKI SLOPES of Marmot Mountain can be seen to the northwest, and farther

north the sky tram to the top of Whistlers Mountain.

386 240 BRIDGE across the Athabasca River.

388 241 JUNCTION with Highway 93A.

392 244 ROAD to sky tram and Youth Hostel.

394 245 JUNCTION Highway 16, proceed to Jasper.

-86-

DAY 4: JASPER LOCAL

The Route

Today will be spent in Jasper area. Tour participants will have an

opportunity to examine a . \ isolic soil 1n a mountain environment at

the Portal Creek site. No planned activity been arranged, thus

allowing tour cipants to fill the day with activi es of their own

choosing. Fig. 25 shows t location of the Portal Creek site (No.5 on

map) in relation to Jasper townsite and other major features in the

immediate vicinity.

Km Mile

o

2

7

o JUNCTION of Highways 16 and west of Jasper. Our route will follow

the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93) southward for about 7 km and then

follow 93A for a short distance.

1 ROAD to Youth Hostel and sky tram. lower terminal of sky tram

at 1 790 m a.s.l. provides an in sting view of the Athabasca Valley.

The top terminal. at 2 285 m a.s.l. offers an impressive panorama of

Jasper Townsite and area, and also provides access to a first hand look

at an pine environment. The ls on the glaciofluvial landform, over

which we will be travelling for the next 5 km, exhibit either Regosolic

or Brunisolic type profiles.

4 LEAVE Ie IELOS Pa via Highway 93A. As we climb above va 11 ey

bottom the steep road cuts

those at the Portal Creek si

glacial de which are similar to

(No.5 on Fig. 25). These till materials

are quite heterogeneous having gravelly pockets and slightly stratified

* TOUR STOP

I I

~

BRITISH

COLUMBIA \

(..1 )

/-) I

ALBERTA

-87-

PYRAMID ... MTN -

THE WHISTLERS'"

MARMOT ...

":t ... MOUNT EDITH

CAVElL

To Edmonton

MOUNT "'TEKARRA

fiG. 25 MAP Of JASPER AND VICINITY

To Banff

Km le

9 6

-88-

zones. As we leave vall oor is a good view of

ca River a its vall

K S1 r site s ific i

ni the soil we 11 return

on to page 154.

Es is of present townsite of Jasper did not occur

until 1911 th the arrival of k ific Rail A

second rail ,the ian • was completed in 1915 paralleling

the

railways

k gh Jas

lly canso 1 i

Over the interveni

today the i

peri

a res i

The elevation of

over the lowhead Pass. These two

into the Canadian National Railway.

has a popular resort area and

lation of 3 000.

site is about 1 060 m a.s.l.

the s t of Yell ss to west is 1 130 m a.s.l .• one of the

lowest passes the Great Di This. a ination of 0

factors, res t in one driest climates in the Canadian Rockies

be; along the 11 ey. Mean annual precipitation at

Jasper site is ut mm (less n at Edmonton) and ons of

the valley to the east are 1i

years in the I ian Vall

ve 1 ess mm.

frequen y snow free ring

bution. sublimation are

moisture from snow probably

moisture available for ant 9

ly i er. precipitation in some

35 km to , is 1 i y to

of the lower Athabasca Valley is

Low snowfall. redistri-

significa cause,

not contribute greatly to the total

Km Mile

-89-

DAY 5: JASPER TO HINTON

The Route

The tour schedule for today will involve a relatively short travel time

with most of the day spent in studying two soil pits and associated

features. The first stop will be at a Luvisolic soil site within the

Park boundary. The second stop will be at a loess soil site just outside

and east of the park boundary. Between the two the route will follow

along the braided channel of the Athabasca River which has provided,

and continues to provide, the loessial material for the formation of the

soils in the Hinton area. These soils are unique because the presence

of carbonates in the surface horizons of well differentiated soils is

contrary to current theories of soil formation. In addition forest cover

and the effects of climate on pedogenesis, will be studied at the two

sites. (Refer to Fig. 26 for route location.)

o 0 JUNCTION of east entrance to Jasper townsite with Highway 16. To the

left can be seen the steep faces of the glaciofluvial benches upon which

Jasper sits. Kettle lakes on these benches can be seen on either side

of the Athabasca River. There are occasional local silty deposits

exposed on the steep faces. Most of the route within the park follows

along the Athabasca River where Regosolic and Brunisolic soils have

developed on alluvial, glaciofluvial, and eolian deposits.

2 1 JUNCTION with Maligne Lake Road. Proceed about 9 km (5.5 mi) along this

road to the Signal Mountain site. (For specific information on this

site refer to page 163). After examining the soil pit return to Highway 16

and proceed east.

[~f,j luvisalic and Bruni,alic on Cordilleron Till

[<·:.:1 Regesolic and Brunisolie on loess

~ Regosalic and Brunisolic on Colluvium and Rock

o Brunisolic and luvisolic on Till and Colluvium

o Rage,olie and Bruni,olie on Alluvium and Glaciofluvial

- TOUR ROUTE * TOUR STOP

5 0 5 lOKm 1~-r~Ir---~I~--~1 3 0 3 6 Mi

FIG. 26 ROUTE lOCATION JASPER TO HINTON

-91-

Km ~lile 7 4 PALISADE. The long, steadily sing cliff to the left (north-west) is

known as the Palisade. This cliff of Mississippian-aged (350 million

years) limestones marks the beginning of the Front Ranges of the Rocky

Mountains. A major thrust fault separates the Palisades from Pyramid

Mountain (to the west with the telecommunication tower on top). The

reddish-orange quartzites of Cambrian age (600 million years) identify

Pyramid Mountain as belonging to the Main Ranges west of the thrust

fault.

9 5 JUNCTION with the road leading to the Palisades Warden Training Center.

11 7

The training center has a long and interesting history, but not as park

property. It was the only piece of land to which private title (through

homesteading) was held when Jasper Park was established. Negotiations

for the purchase of this property were finally completed in 1962.

The open canopied forest and grassland areas in this part of the

Athabasca Valley are characterized by Brunisolic and Regosolic soils

developed on sandy loam to silt loam textured materials. The relatively

frequent occurrence of windblown, calcareous dust apparently interrupts

the development of a thick Ah horizon, preventing the formation of a

diagnostic Chernozemic Ah horizon.

12 7 JASPER AIRFIELD.

14 9 SNARING RIVER BRIDGE. The river is named after a small tribe of Indians

who used to frequent the area, snaring small animals for food. Just

before the bridge, on the left, can be seen the overhanging calcareous

-92-

Km Mil e

18

19

23

26

loess cap, evi

acent to s r

t consi

B H?

e calcareous dust is

in basca vall

11 ATHABASCA RI Note aci ly polis rock

the highway on the east si of the bridge.

ited

sou of

12 COLD SULPHUR SPRI from rain snow melt owing rough

14

Devonian-aged limestones and shales dissolve nerals. some of ich

are high in sul The hydrogen sulfide smell is indicative

of i conversion of neral forms of sul to

LA In the 11,

la consi e

becomes the source enishi

ing wa

sho

levels in

loose

in

s llow

silt

area.

16 CALCAREOUS SAND are ially stabilized by grasses some spruce.

Regosolic soils characterize area.

28 17 UVIAL outline can be seen the southeast across Talbot ke.

ling aspen against the darker green sketched by 1i green of

of the conifers. Rapidly aggradi fluvial s, as indica by

Regosolic soils, i aspen as a pioneer species. is

clue is a useful mapping tool.

32 20 JAS E histo c int of i t. Loca across river,

use was one of earliest 0 of the mountain trade.

Jas IS House t its name r Hawes first set up No

Km ~li 1 e

-93-

West Company Post in 1812 about 25 km downstream at BrOl~ Lake. After

1820, the post was taken over by the Hudson's Bay Company and moved to

thi s poi nt.

33 21 ROCKY RIVER BRIDGE.

37 23 ANIMAL LICK. Mountain sheep often come to lick the mineral-rich mud.

41 26 ROAD to Miette Hot Springs. Located about 17 km from Highway 16, these

springs are the warmest (54oC) of several such springs in the Canadian

Rockies. A pool and bathing facilities are maintained for use by visitors.

The settlement of Pocahontas, located at the junction about 1911, was

named after a Virginia (USA) coal field. in hopes that the coal mine

established here would be as productive. However. poor quality coal

caused the mine to close after 10 years of operation.

44 27 LOESSIAL BLANKET overlying calcareous till starts approximately here.

The soils show both Brunisolic and Luvisolic morphologies with calcium

carbonate present in the entire solum (Dumanski and Pawluk, 1971).

These loessial soils extend beyond Hinton.

47 29 FIDDLE RIVER BRIDGE. Note the road cut just past the bridge showing

the loess IIcap" typical of the area.

48.6 30 EAST GATE of Jasper National Park. The approximate boundary between

the Rocky Mountains and the Rocky ~1ountain Foothills.

-94-

Km ~~i1 e 51 32 OVERLANDER LODGE SITE. Following 1 break a soil pit will ned

just east of (for information on ander site refer to

page 172).

70 44 JUNCTION Highway 40 North. Highway 40 north is a segment of the Fares

Trunk Road leading to the city of Grande Prairie and the town of Grande

Cache. Grande Cache, which is about 145 km north of the junction, is a

coal mining area. McIntyre nes Ltd., which operates both underground

and surface mines, produced 1 698 068 metric tons of clean coking coal

(Edmonton Journal, 1976) for markets in Japan in 19 The

Resources ilway links the agricultural area surrounding Prairie

the mining area of Grande Cache with the Canadian National main line

near BrOle Lake. Construction of this railroad was completed in 1969.

72 52 JUNCTION Highway 40 south to the Coal Branch area which is about 65 km

to the southeast. The region was initially developed because of the

need for coal for the railways. Commercial exploration of coal began

about 1911, with peak production reached during the Second World War,

when about 1.5 to 2 million tons per year were produced. The deterior-

ation of the coal industry followed World War II when diesel oil became

the source of power for the railway. IIGhost li towns with their slag

pil es the only reminder of the former, prosperous mining communities.

However. in the late 1960 l s a strip mine operation began at Luscar to

extract coking coal for export to Japan. Other mining companies are

ted to further develop the coal resources in the area.

-95-

Km Mile 74 53 HINTON corporate limits. Population 6,000. Hinton originated as a

small hamlet associated with the coal industry. In 1957, North Western

Pulp and Power Ltd. went into production bringing an economic boom to

the area. The mill directly employs a large number of people and a

considerable number are also employed by suppliers of contracted services

to the mill. The pulpwood lease surrounding Hinton is about 1.7 million

ha in size. A stud mill also capable of producing railroad ties went

into production in the mid 1970 1 s. A further economic boom to the town

occurred in the late 1960·s when the coal industry was reactivated.

Hinton was established as the hub of the service industries supplying

the mining operations at Luscar and Grande Cache. With its ideal

location on the Yellowhead Highway adjacent to Jasper National Park.

Hinton derives considerable revenue from tourism and long distance heavy

transport. In addition, a forestry training school is located at Hinton.

Km Mile

-96-

6: HINTON TO EDMONTON

Route

Approximately 300 km wlll be led today in this the last day of

the tour. The trip will feature examination of an Organic soil and

travel through areas having various types of soil parent materials and

landform features. Lunch will be provided at the Nojack campsite. The

tour will terminate at Congress headquarters in Edmonton. (Refer to

Fig. 27, 28, and 29 for route location.)

o 0 JUNCTION with Forestry Trunk road leading south to Nordegg.

12 8 EASTERN EXTREMITY of the loessial soils. For approximately the next

50 km three major types of soils occur independently or in complexes.

One association is comprised a collection of Gray Luvisols developed

on medium to coarse textured, moderate to highly calcareous till; the

same material underlies the loess soils to west. Another association

consists of Luvisolic and Brunisolic soils that are distinguished from

soils of the former association by the presence of a thin deposit of

fluvial and/or eolian sand occurring unconformably on the till material.

Numerous areas of Organic and Gleysolic soils are also recognized. The

landform is imarilya rolling morainal upland. Agricultural Capability

Classes 5 6. Forest Land bili Classes 4 and 5.

35 22 OBED at an elevation of 1 086 m a.s.l. is the highest point on the

Canadian National Railway in

~ er ,',

, ,

. ·~~/>;})!/\}i· .. ~' ~~~

luvisalic and Bruni.alk an lacustrine LB.

·•··· .. · .~', ~ .... ~ , '-:'"

Luvisalic and Brunisalic an Cordilleran Till

W Ilrun;salic on Sond

r·: :';':jluv;soliC on Continental Till

TOUR ROUTE

~ ~ Organic

P::::l Regasolic Gnd Brunisolic on loess

'* TOUR STOP

5 0 5 10 Km , I I I 3 0 3 5 Mi

FIG. 27 ROUTE LOCATION HiNTON TO MclEOD RIVER

I \D --.j

-98-

Km Mile 39 24 BLANKET BOG area th inclusions soils.

44 27 ISOLIC Brunisolic so 1 on an ulating y rolling

morainal ain. Medium to coarse ricul ili

Classes 5 and 6. Forest ili Classes 4 a 5.

46 29 MEDICINE The flowing well is a lar s poi for

lers. A nimum sec tion center is located

Inmates from is institu on work in area clean ng inning

forested areas, co 11 ect i ng seed cones, East of Medicine Lodge

the hi parallels the k McLeod River.

ows i ca no tour route.

61 38 LUV I SOLI C Brunisolic soils on a y rolling uvial blan

Coarse texture. rent material s an olive to ish brmJn

sand occasionally containing orthoquartzite He 1 es

up to 5 cm in diameter. s materials in this area represent

deposi on from meltwater ow; from boro glacier into the

glacial 1a in what is as Edson Lowl (surro ing

the town of Edson east of here), during initial stages of glacier

retreat (Roed, 1968). Agric pabil i C 1 ass 6. Fore s t

11; Class 5.

62 39 MARLBORO. The et is underlain by a deposit of rna In

1912, boro es ished a cement ant to util ize

1 aca 1 marl depos its. These pro unsatis and 1917 the cement

plant was receivi mestone a q near Jasper ) .

One of the stacks s till sta at the edge communi

Km Mil e

66 41

73 45

-99-

The marl is a t 1.5 m ick and can be seen to the

east of the hamlet re it is ain by Organic material and underlain

by sand and gravel of the Marl bora lta. It is very foss il iferous

containing gastropods, pelecypods. and ostracods. The rna has been

by radiocarbon method at 8,830 :! 150 years B.P. A chemical analysis

the marl indica a total of 92.24% calcium carbonate, 3.63% magnesium

carbonate, 4. organic, and other materials. The low calcium carbonate

content is probably main reason marl was not developed

for the manufacture of cement (Roed, 1968).

SUNDANCE CREEK. About one km north of the highway a rather spectac ar

mel channel is located along course of Creek. This

ter channel was formed at the ea edge of t Ma ro glacier

was even lly eroded at least 120 m into the bedrock in places.

of the s material deposited in the resulting delta was

istributed by winds to form the dune eld sou east of the delta.

The d is comprised of ped dunes consisting dominantly of

fine to ne

Some s 110w b 1

ined sand and Organic soils in the inter- areas.

and small sand s

Brunisolic soils occur on the dunes whi

use of a thick vegetative cover.

are also present (Roed, 1968).

are relatively stable at present

FIRST major ication of agricultural practice since Day 3. Climate is

a major limitation to agricul

mainly to fora

1 production in is area lim; n9 crops

-100-

Km Mile 75 47 LUVISOLIC soils on a rolling mora nal upland. Medium to fine texture.

Till is of illeran origin. Agricultural Ca ility Class 5. Forest

Land Capability Class 4.

78 49 JUNCTION Highway 47 to Robb and the Coal Branch area mentioned previously.

81 51 lUVISOLIC soils on a rolling morainal and. Medium to fine texture.

83 52

Till is of Continental (provenance in Canadian shield area) origin and

is dense, plastic, and brown to yellowish brown in color. Agricultural

Capability Classes 5 and 6. Forest Land Capability Class 4.

ISOLIC soils on a level to undulating lacustrine blanket. i um to

fine texture. The parent materials of t soils are olive brown to dark

yellowish brown silts a clays at are moderately to strongly calcareous.

The glacial lake in which the lacustrine clays and silts were deposited

probably was transgressive in nature (Roed, 1968). Initially water was

trapped in the vicinity by Keewatin ice on one side and the Foothills and

the Cordilleran ice on the other side. The retreat of the Continental

ice sheet allowed a progressive retreat of the lake levels. The final

lake position was in the Alberta Plains Region to north and south of

Edson. Deposits collected in lakes of this type are generally hetero-

geneous. consequently the lacustrine materials found in the central

portions of the lacustrine sin are icker. of finer texture, and are

more calcareous than e found along the edges.

Extensive areas of Organic soils are und in association

with the mineral soils. Agricultural Capability Classes 4 and 5.

-101-

Km ~lil e 84 53 POINT OF INTEREST sign relating to The Edson - Grande Prairie Trailli.

The old Grande Prairie Trail between Edson and the Peace River country

came into use as soon as Edson became the end of steel on the Grand

Trunk Pacific Railway in 1910. The trail was cut through timber and

over muskegs 320 km to Sturgeon lake the west, leading the hardy

settlers to "The Grande Prairie" where they dispersed and took up their

homesteads .. The tortuous mud-choked trail was used until the railway

reached Grande Prairie in 1916.

87 54 EDSON corporate limits. Population 3,500. Edson, originally established

as Heatherwood, was incorporated as a town in 1911. Soon after, it

became a starting point to the north as mail and settlers travelled along

the Edson - Grande Prairie trail by stagecoach and horseback. Present

day Edson is supported by a number of industries rather than one major

type. The oil and gas industry and forest products industry including

pulp and paper, fence post, and railroad tie production are important to

the economy of the area. Regional government offices and maintenance

shops of the Alberta Forest Service, Alberta Government Telephones, and

Alberta Highways and Transportation are located in Edson. A significant

amount of revenue comes from t tourist industry since Highway 16 passes

through the town. Edson also serves the small farming population which

is located primarily northeast of town.

92 57 ORGANIC SOIL area. Depth of peat varies from 1 to 3 m.

98 61 MCLEOD RIVER (refer to Fig. 28 for route location).

i -:"4" ." : : : : ~

. ' ...

luv;solic onO G",n;solic on Lacustrine \:::: : !luvisoliC on Continental Til!

t : j Ilrunisolic on Sand ~J Organic

c:::J luv;solic on lacustrine *' TOUR STOP - TOUR ROUTE

5 0 10Km f--- I I I 3 0 6 Mi

FIG.28 ROUTE lOCATION MclEOD RIVER TO PEMBINA RIVER

. . . . .

,.... o N I

-103-

Km Mile 101 63 WOLF CREEK.

105 65 LUVISOLIC soils on an undulating morainal plain. Medium to fine texture.

The till is of Continental origin. Extensive areas of associated

G1eyso1ic and Organic soils occur. Agricultural Capability Classes 4

and 5.

124 77 JUNCTION with Highway 32. Proceed 8 km north to the Peers site. This

area is characterized by sand dunes and muskeg. Rapidly drained

Bruniso1ic soils have developed on coarse textured, stone-free. eolian

materials. The dunes which are U-shaped or longitudinal are well

stabilized by tree cover. Organic soils are common in the inter-dune

areas. A portion of the area was scarred by fire in 1968. Agricultural

Capability Class 6. The soil pit is located approximately 1 km north

of Peers. See page 188 for site information. Following examination of

this site. return to Highway 16 and proceed east.

132 82 CARROT CREEK.

135 84 ORGANIC soils dominate with lesser amounts of Gleysolic and Luviso1ic

soils.

143 89 FARMSTEAD located in area of Organic and G1eysolic soils. Depth of peat

varies from 15 cm to 1.5 m (A. Twardy. personal communication). The

land is used for grazing and hay production.

145 90 LUVISOLIC and G1eysolic soils on undulating ground moraine. Medium to

fine texture. Agricultural Capability Class 4.

-104-

Km Mil e 148 92 NOJACK campgrou Lu 11 ded.

156 97 I PLAKE. st tip 1a visible on left (no 5i of highviay.

The lake is about 70 in is ati y s llow. Presently

there is no recreat anal t on the 1a res.

164 102 GRAY LUVISOLIC soils on a level at; lacustrine plain.

ne texture. Fora se major crop in the area.

Agricultural Capabil; Class 4.

171 106 WILDWOOD. Population 300. Hi an Agro climatic areas 3H

and 2H occurs in is vicini

180 112 PEAT MOSS processing plants are oea on He sides of hi ghvJay .

Peat is ha in vicini prima ly

use as a soil amendment r es home gardens.

188 117 PEMBINA RIVER (refer to Fig. 29 route location).

190 118 ENTWISTLE. Population 365.

192 119 LUVISOLIC soils on a lacustrine veneer an yi an lating

and rolling morainal plain. ium to ne texture. ic tural

Capability Classes 4 5.

200 124 LUVISOLIC soils on a gently roll; to rolli morainal a in. Medium

to fine texture. Agric bili Classes 3 and 4.

-l05~

z 0 I-Z 0 ~ 0 w 0 l-e.::: w >-ii2 « Z iii ~

I! w !l..

Z 'Ii i 0

~ U 0 -'

~ ::> 0 e.:::

0-N

ci ;:;::

1 1:1

V)

~ c: 0

~ ~ III

0

" .~ 'c 0

2 UJ

u ... 0-

-0 ;:l "-

!5 !i 0 0 0-

'" IJ')

,~

E '0

,~ ,~ '" '" '" :Ii ,l:!

'0 c: ;:l ;:l

~ ,. ,:a ~

0 e :l

,. 0-

-' :l -' 0

D [@ ~ t * .....

'" .,

III

y .~ j :l III y

c .5l c: c: 0 0

" u

c:

'0 ~ .:!: ::l .. U

c .5l ~ .... g c:

0

--$-_ .... _-

-106-

Km Mil e 204 127 GAINFORD. ation

222 138 WABAMUN LAKE (sou si of hig ) . lake 11 el s

the route a at some ints northern is only

about 1 km from the hi I mi to popul on centers

has resulted in i ve ion development r summer and

winter activities. rge sits or user centres an

ample water supply cooli steam s, make ke Wabamun

an ideal location for tion. Wabamun thermal

plant, si on the lake, has a capacity of

582 000 kw. On the side of the highway, ur draglines work at

the Whitewood ne more two million tons per of coal

are mined for use in the The S steam plant is

located across la si Wabamun plant. Presently

the capacity is abo 1 350 000 kw wi nsion expected. The

Wabamun and Sundance plants are operated by Calgary Power Ltd. (Power

for Progress, Calgary Power Ltd.).

243 151 JUNCTION Highway to medium textured Luvisolic soils on a

pitted glaciofluvial

Pitted deltas are

it commonly referred to as a pitted delta.

He Has streams flowed on the

surface of the glacier ice in a lake. The pitted deltas

were deposited partly over ice y around 1 ice blocks s ing

in the water of, in is case, As of the 91 ad er

receded. the deltas were ilt at di localities close to the ice

edge. Later melting of the ice bloc or surrounded sediments.

produced the istic pi and es. Although tas have a

Km Mile

-107-

rough topography resembling that of a hummocky dead-ice moraine in

general appearance, the material differs markedly from that of the

moraine. The pitted deltas are composed mainly of fine sand and silt,

clay and clayey beds. The sands and silts are well bedded with good

cross-bedding developed in coarser materials. In some places the

pitted deltas contain many pebbles and cobbles, coarse materials that

have been either ice rafted into place or have come from the surrounding

or covered residual ice blocks.

The soils developed on the deltaic material have bands in

the lower sola which have presented difficulties in classification

(Coen et al., 1966). The bands were shown to contain more organic matter,

free iron, and clay than the interbands which resulted in a darker, redder

color and finer texture as observed in the field. The bands were often

coincidental with stratified layers, but their occasional transgression

across geologic stratification and their development in profiles without

stratification suggested a pedogenic origin.

Soils with thick, well developed bands are most prevalent in

deep, generally coarse textured parent materials. The upper band generally

occurs at depth varying from 50 to 112 cm below the soil surface. Band

thickness varies from a fraction of 1 cm to about 20 cm, and bands

generally conform to the contour of the soil surface. The coarser

textured materials are generally associated with sharp, fairly prominent

knolls. Agricultural Capability Classes 4 and 5.

256 159 CHERNOZEMIC soils on a pitted glaciofluvial landform. Coarse to medium

texture. Agricultural Capability Classes 1 and 2.

-108-

Km r~n e 259 161 STONY PLAIN. Population 2,500. This community lies just east of the

boundary between Agro-climatic areas 2H and 1.

266 165 SPRUCE GROVE. Population 5,500. The size and population of centers

such as Spruce Grove and Stony Plain along with others near Edmonton

have increased dramatically in the past ten years. The expansion of

urban environments has been at the expense of good agricultural land.

283 175 WINTERBURN. Population 100. Medium to fine textured Chernozemic and

Gleysolic soils on a level to gently undulating lacustrine plain. This

large area of lacustrine deposits was formed by what is referred to as

Glacial Lake Edmonton. This lake, which covered most of the Edmonton

district bordered against the ice in many places and its level was

rapidly lowered in response to new outlet levels and to the melting rate

of the glacier. Lacustrine conditions persisted longest in the center

of the basin and the thickest Lake Edmonton sediments are generally

found there. Because of the rapid lowering of the lake level no beaches

are found on Lake Edmonton. The development of Lake Edmonton could have

been caused by two things: 1) blockage of normal drainage to the east

by an ice advance in that area - possibly the Lloydminister lobe of

Ellwood (Bayrock and Hughes. 1962); 2) delevelling of the land due to

the removal of the ice load or orogenic readjustment of the Canadian

Rocky ~1ountains. In mechanical composition the Lake Edmonton sediments

range from sand to clay. In thickness they range from about 30 m to less

than one meter. Ti 11 underl i es most of the Lake Edmonton depos its except

in very small areas where it was eroded away before deposition of lake

sediments. Ice rafted till and pebbles, found throughout the section of

Km Mile

-109-

Lake Edmonton, signify that the lake was in contact with the retreating

glacier for the greater part of its existence (Bayrock and Hughes, 1962).


285 177 CITY OF EDMONTON corporate limits. Proceed to University of Alberta

and Congress headquarters.

-110-

SITE SPECIFIC INFORMATION

-111-

THE LACOMBE RESEARCH STATION

The Lacombe Research Station (Fig. 30) was founded in B07, the seventh

in a network of experimental farms then being established across the

country by the Canada Department of Agriculture. Its original objective

was to assist the increasing population of settlers in developing their

farms in the newly settled areas of central Alberta. Its responsibilities

extended from Calgary north to Lesser Slave Lake, and from the Saskatchewau

border to the Rocky Mountains. In the early days emphasis was placed on

the testing and demonstration of farm practices, livestock breeds, grain,

forage, vegetable, and fruit varieties, which had been developed in other

parts of Canada and the United States. As the years passed, it was

recognized that varieties and practices developed elsewhere were not

always suitable for the soil and climatic conditions of this region, :;0

new programs of research, breeding, and development were initiated to

develop crop varieties and farming practices to meet the specific needs

of the short growing season in central Alberta. The primary objective

of the station today is to conduct research for the solution of problems

related to the production of crops and livestock in central Alberta.

Contributions to Agriculture in Central Alberta

Long term crop rotation and soil management studies demonstrated that thr,

inclusion of grass-legume mixtures in crop rotation resulted in higher

yields, maintenance of soil fertility, better weed control, and more

equal distribution of labor throughout the year. These studies also

showed that summerfallowing In central Alberta was necessary only once

ln 7 or 8 years, and then only to assist in weed control. More recent

-1

FIG.30 AERIAL VIEW OF THE LACOMBE RESEARCH STATION

-113-

investigations of moisture storage in the soil, and the development of

selective herbicides for weed control, have proven summerfallow to be

unnecessary in this region.

Early experiments with chemical fertilizers showed that

fertilizers drilled into the moist seed bed along with the seed promoted

faster growth and higher yields. It was also demonstrated that crops

seeded on fallow responded only to phosphorus while those on stubble

responded to both nitrogen and phosphorus. The Luvisolic soils were

discovered to be sulfur deficient, especially for legume production.

Subsequently it was established that a combination of sulfur fertilization

with suitable crop rotations, including legumes, was necessary for

increased production and the maintenace of soil fertility.

Newly developed weed control chemicals have been continuously

evaluated and recommendations for their effective use on crops in centra1

Alberta have been formulated. Surveys of weed infestations throughout

Alberta have been conducted and the economic losses in crop production

have been established for certain weeds in competition with growing crops.

Efforts to develop varieties of grain and other crops which

are more productive and better adapted to the short, cool growing season

of central Alberta have culminated in the release of several varieties of

different crops: Larain, Random, and Cavelle oats, Wolfe barley, Park

wheat, Norlac red clover, Canus potato, and Rocket and Booster tomatoes.

Small fruits and apples were evaluated for their adaptabiJity

and productivity in the climate of centra1 Alberta. A nursery of

ornamental shrubs and trees was established in 1908 and in subsequent

years many of the trees, shrubs, and other plants that now decorate the

station grounds, were set out. This resulted in the transformation of

-114-

a treeless piece of prairie land into a park which lS an excellent

of the beauty that can be added to the countryside and has served to

inspire many fal'mers in the region to beautify their own farmsteads.

Herds of swine. dairy and beef cattle were established for

comparisons of breeds and fOl' studies of feeding and management. From

these herds large numbers of good breeding stock were distributed to

farmers in the early days. Horses wel'e a vi tal source of power in the

early farming operations, so a stud of Clydesdale was established in

1912. Thousands of foals sired by these stallions provided the power

on sever'al farms in the region for many year's.

Intensive breeding work with swine was initiated in 1947

and culminated in the development and l'elease of the "Lacombe Breed" in

1957. This new breed, the first to be developed in Canada, has achieved

wide acceptance within Canada and has also been exported to numerous

foreign countries.

In recent years, a number of for~ign breeds of cattle were

imported from Europe and evaluation of their relative merits under western

Canadian conditions has begun. The foreign bl'eeds presently being

utilized in this program are Simmental, Limousin, Charolais, and Chianina.

The development and Canada-wide introduction in 1968 of a new

grading system for marketed swine was the direct result of swine carcass

composition studies which began earlier at Lacombe.

Current Soils Research

Soil fertility l'eseal'ch currently underway at the Lacombe Research

Station is aimed at mor'e effective use of N, P, and K fertilizers for

the economic I-Jl'oduction of barley, rapeseed, and forage crops.

-115-

Fertilizer responses of these crops are being correlated with the results

of soil analyses as a means of improving fertilizer recommendations and

increasing the efficiency of fertilizer use.

The responses of grasses and legumes to fertilizers are being

studied in pure stands, rather than in mixtures, the objective being a

better understanding of the growth requirements of the individual species

for higher yields.

Relationships between soil fertility and the effectiveness of

certain herbicides in controlling weeds are being investigated, with most

of this work being done on wild oats, the most troublesome and costly weed

ln Western Canada. Work is also being done on the use of urea fertilizer

as a carrier for the soil-applied herbicides triallate and trifluralin.

Climate

A summary of meteorological data collected at the Lacombe Research Station

during a period of 68 years is presented in the Table 5. These data show

that the major limitation to crop production is the short growing season.

On an average, there are only 90 frost-free days, and only 120 days

between spring and fall killing frosts. In addition, the mean minimum

temperature throughout the growing season is less than gOC. Unlike most

of the rest of western Canada, Lacombe does not have a climate suitable

for the production of wheat. The growing season is sufficiently long for

the production of barley. but short-duration varieties are necessary to

escape the risk of frost.

The amount of precipitation is the next limitation to crop

production, although the distribution of precipitation during the growing

season is very favorable with the largest amounts falling during the

months of June, July, and August.

Table 5. Meteorological data, Lacombe Research Station.

0 TemEeratures~ C, 68 year means Prec itation Maximum Minimum Mean

January -7.9 -20.7 -14.3 19 February -3.9 -17.7 -10.8 18 March 1.3 -12.3 -5.5 20 April 10.3 -3.5 3.4 30 May 17.3 2.2 9.8 48 June 20.6 6.1 13.4 84 July 23.9 8.7 16.3 74 August 22.7 7.0 14.8 61 September 17.7 2.3 9.9 38 October 12.1 -3.1 4.5 20 November 2.1 -10.5 -4.2 16 December -4.6 -16.9 -10.7 17

Total 111.6 -58.4 26.6 445

Mean 9.3 -4.9 2.2

Mean growing season precipitation (April-July inclusive) mm Mean growing season evaporation (April-July inclusive) mm

Last Spring frost OOC First fall frost OOC Number of frost-free days OOC

Last killing spring frost -2.2oC First killing fall frost -2.2oC Number of killing frost-free days -2.2oC

Sunshine

84.4 118.4 161. 9 201.7 243.4 251.4 296.7 251. 7 183.2 150.9

98.8 77 .6

2130.1

Wind No. of years -KID

29 6801 30 6236 30 7228 30 8296 30 9166 32 7472 30 6761 28 6703 29 7208 30 7710 30 6811 30 6771

87 164

236 302

June 5 September 3 90

May 18 September 15 120

ion mm

14 8 28 86 42 88 44 100 30 86 30 52

I I-' I-' O"l I

-117-

In addition to these major limitations to production, there

is the risk of partial or complete loss of crops, especially grain crops,

due to hail. Lacombe is situated in the hail belt of central Alberta

and risk of hail damage is prevalent during the months of June, July,

and part of August.

Land Use

Because of the short growing season, farming systems based on wheat

production have not developed in the Lacombe area, as has been the case

in much of the rest of western Canada. Barley, with a shorter growing

season requirement, has been the main grain crop and considerable amounts

of forage crops are also produced. This has resulted in the development

of "mixed farming" systems with large populations of livestock (especially

beef cattle and swine) on most farms to utilize the feed grains and

forage produced. Approximately 45% of the cultivated land in the region

is seeded to barley and 25% to cultivated forage crops. Only about 12%

of the land is fallowed in any year. Wheat occupies less than 3% of the

cultivated land, oats slightly more than 5%, and rapeseed cropping has

recently developed to the extent that it occupies almost 10%.

Typical yields of the various crops grown in the region are

as follows:

Barley 2.5 tonnes/hectare

Oats 2.2 tonnes/hectare

Wheat 2.2 tonnes/hectare

Rapeseed 1.0 tonnes/hectare

Forage 3.7 tonnes/hectare

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Continuous cropping to barley for several years in a row is

a COmT:lOn practice in the region, although some rotation among barley,

, and oats is done also. The major' forage species grown are

bromegrass and alfalfa, usually growL as a mixture. Seedings of forage

crops usually have a lifetime of from 1+ to 7 years before being plowed

up and seeded to grain. This usually occurs when the percentage of

alfalfa in the mixture has been seriously reduced.

Barley, oats, and rapeseed are generally responsive to

application of both Nand P fertilizers. Typically, about 40 to 50 kg

Nand 10 to 20 kg P are applied per hectare. These crops do not generally

respond to K, although isolated responses to K have been observed in some

experiments in the region. Manganese deficiency occurs in oats (Grey

speck disease) in most years but is not considered to be a serious problem.

Boron deficiency has been noted on alfalfa, but only during very dry years

and in extremely rare instances. Alfalfa is not grown for seed in the

region so boron deficiency is not considered a major problem.

Forage crops, especially the brame-alfalfa mixture commonly

grown in the region, do not appear to be as responsive to fertilization

as is barley, hence farmers are reluctant to apply much fertilizer.

Typical fertilizer applications, if made, would be 20 to 30 kg Nand

10 to 15 kg P per hectare.

The N fertilizer' applied to barley, oats, and rapeseed is

applied in the form of anhydrous ammonia, urea, or ammonium nitrate.

The availability of ammonium nitrate is decreasing while more and more

urea is becoming available and will soon be the dominant source of N

fertiliZer'. These fertilizers are applied either in the fall after the

harvest of a cr'op and during the fall cul ti vat ion of fields, or in the

-119-

early spring prior to the seeding of a new crop. Phosphorus is placed

in the drill row along with the seed.

Setting

The Lacombe Research Station property lies at the edge of an old preglacial

channel connecting the Battle River to the north, and the Red Deer River

to the south (Fig. 30). This channel has been partly filled with both

fine and coarse textured glacial and postglacial sediments. The eastern

portion of the Research Station property lies within this channel, while

the western portion is on the rough topography and steep ridges which are

in part the relic banks of the channel.

The soil pit (UTM location 12U UP1314) located on land

belonging to the Research Station lies on fluvial sediments within the

preglacial valley. A number of characteristics specific to this site

should be mentioned such as:

- non stony

- level to very gently undulating topography

- well drained

- non saline

- soil capability for Agriculture 2c

- present land use, pasture and hay

Soil

Although considerable variability in soils occur on the Lacombe Research

Station, they can all be classified as Black Chernozems. Topsoil (Ah)

depths range from 20 to 50 cm. Specifically, at the soil pit site, -the

soil has been classified as follows:

-120-

Canadian System - Eluviated Black Chernozem

FAa/UNESCO - Luvic Chernozem

U.S.A. System - Agriaquic Cryoboroll

Because of their location in the preglacial valley, soils at

this site, and elsewhere in the valley. show evidence of gleying,

particularly in the lower horizons. This gleying is probably the result

of groundwater movement and discharge in valley locations. The weak and

intermittent eluviation that is present is probably due to a fluctuating

water table, rather than past degradation or modification from the

accumulation and decomposition of forest vegetation. It is suggested

that this and other nearby profiles with deep A horizons, are perhaps

the result of a "cumulic" process, whereby deposits have been added to

the surface from past erosion.

The soil at this site has a good depth of black sandy loam

Ah, which is rather weakly structured. Below this horizon there is a

brown colored, weakly eluviated horizon, which is also sandy loam. The

B horizon, with a gray brown color, has been enriched by illuvial clays

from above, as evidenced by the loam texture. Structure in this horizon

is significantly more pronounced than in horizons above and below.

Mottling, evidence of gleyed conditions, is present in both the Band

BC horizons and becomes more marked in the Cca horizon at about 235 cm.

In both the BC and Cca horizons, dark grayish brown colors persist in

sandy loam materials which have a weaker structure. The weak to moderate

effervescence in the Cca horizon is indicative of a relatively low lime

carbonate accumulation. In the Cca horizon there is some evidence of

differential deposition of fluvial deposits. A slightly acid to neutral

reaction persists throughout the profile, except for the Cca horizon which

is mildly alkaline.

-121-

Mineralogical analysis indicates that smectite dominates in

the Ae to II Ccag horizons, particularly in the Btjgj horizon.

Weathering to chlorite and chloritized vermiculite is evident in the

surface horizons.

Pedon Description.

Horizon

Ap

Ah

Ahe

Ae

Btjgj

Depth (cm)

0-15 Black (10 YR 2/2 d) sandy loam; weak, medium granular

to single grain; slightly hard; abundant, medium and

fine, random roots; abrupt, smooth boundary; 10 to

15-35

35-40

35-40

40-75

20 cm thick; slightly acid.

Black (10YR 2/2 d) sandy loam; weak, medium granular

to single grain; very friable; plentiful, fine,

oblique roots; numerous crotovina; clear wavy

boundary; 15 to 30 cm thick; slightly acid.

Brown to dark brown (10YR 4/3 d) sandy loam; weak,

coarse subangular blocky to single grain; soft; few

to plentiful, fine and coarse, vertical roots; clear,

broken boundary; 0 to 5 cm thick; slightly acid.

Yellowish brown to brown (10YR 5/4 - 5/3 d) sandy

loam; weak, fine platy to granular; soft; few to

plentiful, fine and coarse, vertical roots; clear,

broken boundary; 0 to 5 cm thick; slightly acid.

Dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2 m) loam; many, coarse,

distinct, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2 m) mottles;

weak, medium to fine subangular blocky; friable;

few, very fine and medium, vertical roots; gradual,

smooth boundary, 30 to 40 cm thick; neutral.

Hor,izon

BCgj

Ccag

-122-

Depth (ern)

75-235 Dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2 m) sandy loam; many,

coarse, distinct, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2 m)

mottles; very weak, medium subangular blocky to

blocky; friable; few, medium, vertical roots;

gradual, smoo·th boundary; 120 to 200 ern thick;

slightly acid.

235+ Dark grayish brown to olive brown (2.5Y 4/2 - 4/4 m)

sandy loam; many, coarse, distinct, gray (5Y 5/1 m)

mottles; weakly laminated; firm; very fine, medium

roots; weakly to moderately effervescent; mildly

alkaline.

Analytical Data.

Some chemical, physical and mineralogical properties for

the Gleycd Eluviated Black Chernozem at the Lacombe site are presented

in Table 6.

123

ri Ie 6. Analytical data for the Gleyed Eluviated Black Chernozem at the Lacombe site.

Total CaC03 Total ~ori zon CaC1 2 C% Equi.% N% C/N Total

.. ,l An 6.3 5.6 2.9 0.26 11 13.3 12.5 2.4 0.2 O.i

IIfJe 6.3 5.7 1.0 0.09 9 6.9 6.4 1.7 0.4 0.: 6.4 5.7 0.5 0.05 11 5.9 5.3 1.7 0.2 0.:

:jgj 6.6 6.1 0.3 0.03 11 8.5 8.5 2.9 0.3 0 .. BCgj 6.1 5.6 0.4 0.02 12 12.8 12.2 3.7 0.3 O.!

Ccag 7.5 7.1 6.2 20.1 43.7 6.7 0.3 O.

Water Soluble Salts (me/1) Conductivity

SAR Horizon mmhos/cm Ca+Mg Na K

Ap Ah Ahe Btjgj BCgj

0.5 Ccag 0.3 2.8 0.6 0.12

Available Organic Matter Mineralogy <2 H clayl Nutrients (ppm) Extracted FA HA

Horizon N P-Bray K S %C %N Cha/Cfa E4/E6 E4/E6 Mica Chlor. Kaolln Smect. Verm. Quar

Ah 14 7 78 4 51.8 46.1 2.10 12.5 4.5 tr tr tr 1 tr

Ahe 3 5 79 2 71.6 55.0 1. 21 11.0 4.7 tr tr tr 2

jgj 3 2 107 9 53.3 55.7 0.70 8.5 5.4 tr tr tr 4 1 o\.ogj tr tr tr 3 1

Ccag tr tr tr 3

Ph,r:s;cal

Part Size Dist - % <2 mm Moisture % Classification

Horizon Sand Silt Clay F-Clay 1/3 atm 15 atm Unified USDA

.. .1 Ah 77 16 7 5 16.0 9.0 SL III-Je 80 15 5 4 7.7 3.6 Sl

83 10 7 4 12.0 5.8 SL :jgj 67 20 13 8 SL

BCgj 63 14 23 11 Sl Ccag

-124-

Fi 31. of a Gleyed Eluviated Black Chernozemic soil at the

a. x b.plane light c.plane light d.plane light

c consists of almost equal amounts of loosely packed sand grains «0.5 ~m) to black, organic rich material that occurs as

aggregates (10-1 ~m) part; ly filling intergranular spaces, as discontin-coati ( ~m) on ns, and as bridges between grains (Figure a). The

Ae

occas; -1- s 1

~m) gefuric

our

size. -1- c

organic inorganic material. isotic intergranular material

complex fabric: phyto-mull-orthogranic-matr;chlamydi

moderately packed sand grains uncoated (30%) and etely (20%) coated, with few dark aggregates in

( re), The thin coatings (5-20 ~m) are anisotropic. sometimes link grains.

grain matrans c: mullgranoidic//matrichlamydic

c consi of sand grains and abundant fine matrix material. This occurs as sepic matrans (10-40 ~m) commonly linking grains

ie.

se i ranular material (Figure c). Porosity is modvoids. Manganiferous and sesquioxidie nodules are

lic

lie th intertextie areas and thin matrans (10-40

se, fine silty, calcareous material (Figure d) occurring as clusters and isolated grains. The

wi the gray areas apparently reduced. Some gray are common with vughs and joint and skew planes.

its, and mixtures of the two are very common and d), nodules that range up to 2 ~m in

common nodules.

-125-

CHEDDERVILLE SITE

Location

This site is located on the Howard Willinmc; farm about 2J+ km sou tiled:, t

of Rocky Mountain House. Its legal location is SE 24, T37, R7, WS

(UTM 11U PH4684).

Contributions to Agriculture

One of the earliest contributions of the Chedderville Project Farm to

the agriculture of Central Alberta was the discovery of sulfur deficiency

of Luvisolic soils for the growth of legumes. It was subsequently

established that the combined use of legumes, suitable crop rotations,

and sulfur-containing fertilizers was essential to good productivity and

the maintenance of fertility on these soils. The necessity of nitrogen

and phosphorus fertilizers for both cereal and forage crops was also

demonstrated. The yield levels of most crops produced in the region

have increased through the introduction of improved varieties of cereal

and forage crops and the adoption by farmers of suitable crop rotations,

legumes, and proper fertilizers.

Setting

The landform at this site is a fluvial-lacustrine veneer and blanket on

an undulating to rolling undifferentiated bedrock and/or morainal plain.

Although underlying materials at depth are bedrock, much of this area is

in fact underlain by till. It is, however, suspected that the till layer

is relatively thin (one to two meters) and surface topographic features

are bedrock controlled. Regionally, this site lies in the Lower

-126-

Foothills Section of the Boreal Forest Region (Rowe, 1959) and has a

humid microthermal climate. As Fig. 32 indicates, the site has a forest

background of trembling aspen and a few lodgepole pine (a plant community

description follows later in the text). Bowser (1967) places this site

within Agro-climatic Area 3H. In addition there are a number of other

char'acteristics specific to this site, such as:

- non stony

- elevation about 1 000 m a.s.l.

- 1 to 3% slope, eastern aspect

- moderately well drained

- non saline

Climate

A summary of meteorological data for the 35 year period 1941-1975 is

presented in Table 7. Both total precipitation and precipitation during

the growing season are higher than at Lacombe. Growing season

precipitation (May to September inclusive) averages 372 mm. Mean monthly

temperatures are slightly lower than at Lacombe during the growing season

and slightly higher during the winter. The number of frost-free days is

about 80 days, considerably less than at Lacombe. The most serious

production limitation is the shortness of the growing season, especially

for the production of cereal crops, but this factor is much less

important for forage crop production. This region also experiences

considerable risk of hail during the growing season and the consequent

damage to crops.

-127-

FIG. 32 VEGETATIVE COVER ATTHE CHEDDERVILlE SITE

Photograph by A. A. Kjearsgaard Photograph by A. A. Kjearsgaard

-128-

Table 7. Meteorological data, Chedderville Project Farm (35 year means).

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Annual Total

Mean monthly precipitation

mm

23

22

28

30

60

106

90

71

45

26

21

21

543

Land Use

Annual mean

Me,111 monthly tenll)cr'at ure

°c

-12

- 7

- 4

3

9

12

16

14

9

5

- 4

- 9

3

Soil and climatic conditions combine to give this site a capability

rating of 4d for agriculture. Because of the short growing season and

the risks of frost and hail in an area of adequate rainfall, a system

of agriculture based on forage crops and livestock production has

developed in this region. It is estimated that about 60% of the

-129-

cultivated land is seeded to forage crops, 20% to oats, and 15% to barley.

Fallowing is not an extensive practice. In addition, much of the

uncleared land that remains covered by trees and shrubs is used as

"bush" pasture.

Typical yields of the crops grown in the region are as

follows:

Barley

Oats

Forage

2.2 tonnes/ha

2.5 tonnes/ha

4.5 tonnes/ha

Forage yields are considerably higher than those on the more fertile

Chernozemic soils in the Lacombe area because of the greater precipitation

and cooler temperatures.

Crop rotations generally consist of two to four years of

forage followed by one or two years of oats or barley. Continuous cropping

to cereals is not practiced. The Luvisolic soils in the region are

extremely deficient in nitrogen and phosphorus for the growth of all crops,

and deficient in sulfur for legume crops. Fertilizer use has traditionallY

been only moderate, but has increased considerably in recent years.

Leguminous forage crops contribute large amounts of fixed nitrogen for

the maintenance of soil fertility.

Most of the soils of this region are acid, with pH values of

6.0 or less. Consequently there is very little alfalfa grown. The major

forage species are Alsike clover, red clover, timothy, and bromegrass. The

productivity of Alsike and red clovers is not affected by the degree of

acidity in the soils of the region, although alfalfa and barley have both

shown responses to lime. The use of lime has not become a common practice

although interest in lime has been shown by some farmers. A market infra-

-130-

structure for lime has not developed in the region and is not expected

to de for some time in the future because of the level of productivity

obtained from the currently used forage crops.

Soil

The soil described and sampled at this soil pit is clas ified by three

classification systems as follows:

Canadian system - Brunisolic Gray Luvisol

FAO/UNESCO - Albic Luvisol

U.S.A. system - Eutrochreptic Cryoboralf

Elsewhere on the Project Farm, as well as in the general

area, the main associated soils are Podzolic Gray Luvisols (Caroline

series), and gleyed members of both the Brunisolic and Podzolic Gray

Luvisol. At the research plots, located about 0.5 km to the west, the

soils ar'e primarily the Brunisolic and Podzolic Gray Luv isols.

At this soil pit, the Brunisolic Gray Luvisol has 2 to 3 em

of partly decomposed plant litter. The upper horizon sequence consists

of a dark brown Bm horizon and a yellowish brown Ae horizon in a very

friable silt loam material. Underlying this, at about 20 em, the Bt

horizon is dark brown in color, friable, and has a clay loam texture.

The lower Bt is firm, has a darker brown color, and a higher silt

content than the horizon above. A moderately calcareous Cca horizon

occurs at about 70 em, in a grayish brown silt loam mater'ial which is

very friable. Underlying this profile, at about 1 m depth, is a

yel1owi:;h In'own bedrock mat which has a loam xture.

In this area, the Brunisollc Luvisol and Podzolic

Cray Luvisols are closely associated. In fact, at this site there are

-131-

pedons which have a very thin horizon of Ae above the Bm. Some soils In

the vicinity, which have several centimeters of upper Ae, are also

classified as Brunisolic Gray Luvisols by the Canadian Classification

System (Canada Soil Survey Committee, 1977), primarily because the Bm

horizon does not meet the color, thickness and chemical criteria of a

Bf horizon. However, these soils all have a Bt horizon. The soil survey

report for this area (Peters and Bowser, 1960) classified these soils in

the Podzol Gray Wooded Subgroup (present equivalent is the Podzolic Gray

Luvisol). It is difficult to predict with any degree of certainty, where

in the landscape one might expect to find the two subgroups.

Possibly 10 to 15% of the soils in the vicinity will be gleyed

as evidenced by mottles and duller colors throughout the profile. Micro

topographic variations are responsible for periodic wetness which produce

reducing conditions and the associated gleyed colors. Although not evident

in the immediate vicinity of the site, a significant portion of this

general area has a surface organic deposit. Such deposits are usually

associated with areas of lower relief, where Gleysolic soils also occur.

A mineralogical analysis indicates that from the Bm horizon

to the eca horizon inherited smectite is decomposed to low intensity and

x-ray amorphous material.

Pedon Description.

Horizon Depth (cm)

LFH 4-0 Moderately well decomposed organic matter; abundJot,

medium and coarse, horizontal roots; clear, smooth

boundary; 1 to 5 cm thick.

Horizon (em)

Bm 0-13

Ae 13-20

Btl 20-48

Bt2 48-71

Cea 71-99

llCk 99-132

-132-

(10YR 3/3 to 3/4 m, 4/2 d) silt loam;

very fine very friable;

urn, and coarse, horizontal

and roots; clear', wavy ; 5 to 13 em

thick; slightly acid.

Yellowish brown (10YR 5/4 m, 7/ d) silt loam;

moderate coarse platy; very friable; plentiful,

fine, medium and coarse, vertical, and horizontal

roots; gradual, wavy ; 2 to 10 cm thick;

slightly acid.

Dark brown to br'own (10YR 4/3 m, d) clay loam,

blocky; moderate, fine, to medium,

friable; few, fine, medium and coarse, vertical

roots; diffuse, smooth boundary; 20 to 30 cm thick;

medium acid.

Dark brown (10YR 3/3 m, 5/4 d) silty clay loam;

moderate. medium to coarse. subangular' blocky,

few fine sand medium, vertical roots; gradual, wavy

boundary; 20 to 36 em thick; neutral.

Dark grayish brown to grayish brown (10YR 4/2 to

3/2 m, 7/3 d) silt loam; very weak, massive; very

friable; few, fine and medium, vertical roots;

, wavy boundary;

15 to 5 em alkaline.

low brown to dark yellowish brown (10YR 5/4

to 4/4 m, 6/3 d) loam; ver'Y weak, massive; friable;

Horizon Depth (cm)

Analytical Data.

-133-

very few, medium, vertical roots; weakly

effervescent; cobbly and stony; moderately

alkaline.

Some chemical, physical and mineralogical properties

of the Brunisolic Gray Luvisol at the Chedderville site are presented

in Table 8.

134

-able B. Analytical data for the Brunisolfe Luvisol at the Cheddervil1e site.

Total CaC03 Total orizon H2O CaC1 2 e% .% N% elN

Buffered NH"OAe {~h, 1 K Ca M9 Al Total Total Ca M9 Ha K

LFH 6.7 6.3 25.9 1.56 17 Bm 6.4 5.4 2.0 0.13 15 Ae 6.2 5.3 0.3 0.04 8 Btl 5.9 5.5 0.4 0.05 8 Bt2 7.0 6.6 0.6 0.9 0.06 8 eca 7.9 7.4 24.6

77 .3 66.1 9.7 tr .J.E 1.6 7.6 1.0 0.0 10.2 14.5 7.3 1.5 tr l.~ 0.5 5.5 1.1 0.0 7.1 11.3 5.8 1.3 tr " ~ ~ OA 15.5 2.9 0.0 18.8 20.1 15.4 3.6 tr ~

29.0 27.2 4.1 tr c

lICk 8.1 7.4 8.5

Sesguioxides (%) Water Soluble Salts {me/l)

Dithionite Oxalate P.};roQhos. Conductivity orizon Fe Al Mn Fe Al Fe Al mmhos/cm Ca+Mg Na K SAR

LFH Bm 0.73 0.10 0.49 0.04 0.20 0.09 fie 0.67 0.03 0.27 0.02 0.07 0.05 Btl 1. 17 0.07 0.44 0.13 0.17 0.06 Bt2 1. 27 0.06 0.56 0.10 0.13 0.12 Cca 0.74 0.03 0.26 0.03 0.03 0.03 lICk 0.59 0.05 0.20 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.3 3.5 0.4 tr 0.3

Available Organic Matter Mineralo9~ <2 ~ cla~1 Nutr i ents {12F!!!I) Extracted FA HA

orizon N P-Bray K S %C %N Cha/Cfa E4/Eo E4/E6 Mica Chlor. Kaolin Smect. Verm. Quartz Felds.

LFH 1 38 264 19 27 .8 39.1 1.04 11.7 3.3 8m <1 18 422 5 39.7 46.9 0.89 12.0 5.3 1 0 tr tr 0 2 tr Ae <1 18 422 3 52.5 32.5 0.35 15.0 5.3 1 0 tr 1 0 2 t-Btl <1 7 118 2 48.0 24.S 0.40 13.0 5.2 1 . tr tr 4 0 1 Bt2 Cea 1 tr tr 4 0 1 0 lICk

Part Size Dist - % <2 mm Moisture % Classification Horizon Sand Silt Clay F-Clay 1/3 atm 15 atm Unified USDA

LFH Bm 20 65 15 5 Sil Ae 21 69 10 3 22 II SiL Btl 32 39 29 16 22 10 Cl Bt2 10 57 33 16 SiCl Cca <'I 74 22 8 40 16 SiL lICk 48 42 10 2 L

--.~-------------------.---------------------------------

Amount estimated fl'om x-ray diffradograms: tr" trace, 1 2-20%, 2 = 20-40%, 3 = 40-60%, <'I 60-80%, 5 " 80-100%.

-135-

Figure 33. Micromorphology of the Brunisolic Gray Luvisol at Cheddervil1e site.

a, partly X b.plane light c, partly X d.plane light

Ae This horizon is moderately packed grayish material with (F) channels, (0) vughs, and (0) horizontal planar voids. The channels give this otherwise

dense material an appearance of partially to accommodated and fused peds «5mm) in many areas (Fig. 33a). Organic material is (F) and most is moderately humified brown to black material (c8mm) with the more humified material embedded in the s-matrix. Sesquioxidic nodules «lmm) are (VR), generally diffuse, and some contain birefringent clay. Volcanic ash is (0) and well mixed with the s-matrix. -1- silasepic porphyroskelic -2- matrifragmoidic//matrigranoidic porphyroskelic

Bm This horizon is moderately packed grayish brown material with (e-F) hori-zontal joint planes, (e) vughs, and (0) channels. Banded fabric type A

is prominent (Fig 33b) and it is darker and denser at the top of each band. Sesquioxidic nodules «400~ml are (VR) and weakly oriented silty argillans are (VR) on planes and vughs. -1- silasepic porphyroskelic with banded fabric type A -2- banded metamatrigranoidic

Btl This horizon is dense brown material with (e) skew planes, (O-C) vughs, and (R) channels. There are large areas of partially accommodated to fused

peds separated incompletely by skew planes. Weakly oriented very silty argillans are (R). There are common small nodules in the s-matrix of moderately oriented clay. There are a few clusters of sand and silt in the voids. -1- mosepic porphyroskelic -2- matrigranoidicl/matrigranoidic porphyroskelic

Bt2 This horizon is pale to medium brown moderately packed material with (e-F) round to irregular metavughs, (e) skew planes and a few channels. Most

of this horizon has a dense vughy appearance (Fig. 33c) that probably results from strong fusion of the fine grained peds. Areas of partially to accommondated and fused peds are (0) and contain (0) sand clusters. Most of the vughs are in the peds. Moderately oriented argillans «lOO~m with most 25jJm) (1 in Fig. 33c) are (O-C), occur mainly on void surfaces, and are more common with stronger orientation in the fine grained areas. Dark brown humified organic material is (R-O). Moderately oriented clay stringers (nodules) are (0) within the peds. -1- argillasepic porphyroskelic -2- matrifragmoidic/lmatrigranoidicl/matrigranoidic porphyroskelic

Cca This horizon is moderately packed grayish brown material with (C) skew planes, (e) rounded to irregular metavughs. and (O-C) channels. As a re

sult of all the voids this horizon takes on a fused appearance (Fig. 33d) with many areas of partially to accommodated peds «5mm with most 1-2mm). The peds are very fine grained, dominantly carbonate and the rest is medium silt size quartz. Dark brown humified organic material is (0). -1- silasepic porphyroskelic -2- matrifragmoidic//matrigranoidic//matrigranoidic porphyroskelic

-136-

Plant Community Description*

Ai Upper crown layer - 40%

A2 Lower

B2 Lower

Populus tremuZoides (Trembling aspen)

Pinus contorta (Lodgepole pine)

crown layer - 15%

Populus tremuZoides (Trembling aspen)

Betu Za pwni Za (Swamp birch)

Salix sp. (Willow)

shrub layer (up to 1.5 m) - 20%

Shepherdia canadensis (Canadian buffalo-berry)

Rosa acicuZaris (Prickly rose)

Salix sp. (Willow)

C Herbs and grasses - 9

Oy'yzopsis asperifoZia (Rice grass)

Rubus pubescens (Dewberry)

Vacciniwn myrtiZZoides (Blueberry)

Lathyrus ochroZeucus (Cream-colored vetchling)

Aster consp~cuus (Showy aster)

Aster ciliolatus (Lindley's aster)

Petasites paZmatus (Palmate-leaved coltsfoot)

Achillea llefoZiwn (Common yarrow)

FY'agaY'ia virginiana (Strawberry)

Comus canadensis (Bunchberry)

americana (Wild vetch)

Anemone sp. (Anemone)

*Recorded by G.L. Lesko.

C

-137-

Geraniwn sp. (Ger'anium)

Galiwn boreale (Northern bedstrdw)

Vac)(]1:niwn vitis-,:daea (Bog cranberry)

Maianthemwn canaden8e (Wild lily-of-the-vCl

LiUwn phiZadelphicwn (Western wood lily)

Mitella nuda (Bishop's-cap)

Linnaea borealis (Twinflower)

Pyrola asarifolia (Common pink wintergreen)

Lonicera utahensis (Red twin-berry)

ThaUctrwn venuloswn (Veiny meadow rue)

'l'araxacwn officina le (Common dandelion)

Tl'ifoUwn pratense (Red clover)

Calamagrostis canaden8~is (Marsh reed grass)

Picea glauca (White spruce)

Elymus innovatus (Hairy wild rye)

Castilleja miniata (Cornman red paint-brush)

-138

JACKFI ROAD SITE

Location

This site is located on the David about 50 km west of

Rocky Mountain House. Its legal location is NW 3 , TLI-O, Rl1, W5 (UTM

llU NJ9816).

Setting

This site is situated at the approximate juncture of the Western Alberta

Plains with the Rocky Mountain Foothills. Landform characteristics can

be described as a morainal blanket overlying a rolling undifferentiated

bedrDck. This morainal blanket. composed of fine silty

till, is of variable thickness. but is of insufficient

thickness to mask the steep of the underlying bedrock. As Fig. 34

indicates, there is a fairly dense stand of lodgepole pine with lesser

amow1ts of trembling aspen (a descr ion of the

later the the text), The site lies at the western

community follows

of the Lower

Foothills Section of the Boreal Forest Region (Rowe, 1959). In addition

to the above there are a number of other characteristics specific to this

site, such as:

- slightly stony

- elevation about 1 200 m a.s.l.

- moderately rolling topography

- 9 to 15% east facing slope

- well dr'a ined

- non saline

-139-

Climate

Although no meteorological data is available for this location, its

general characteristics can be inferred from its position relative to

that of the recording stations in the region. Climatic conditions here

probably closely approximate those at the Clearwater Ranger Station aboet

50 km to the southeast (see Table 3). Furthermore, a frost-free period

of less than 60 days (Chapman and Brown, 1966) makes this area undesirable

for cereal crop production, even though precipitation is adequate. These

factors place this site in the 5H Agro-climatic area (Bowser, 1967).

land Use

The location of this site within Alberta's "green area" limits its use to

activities compatible with forest vegetation, such as timber production,

water shed management, wildlife, and recreation.

The site has a forestry capability of class 3 according to

3 the Canadian Land Inventory System, producing about 2.5 m wood per year,

per hectare. Possible commercial species of the area are lodgepole pine,

white spruce, and black spruce. The first two species are suitable for

saw timber or pulp wood, while black spruce is limited to fibre production.

Site productivity at this location is:

Species: Pinus contorta var. latifolia

Stand Age: 72 years

Stand Height: 20.5 m

Site Index: 20 m at age 70 years

Basal Area: 25 2 m Iha

Volume: 212 3 m Iha (merchantable)

300 3

m Iha total

-140-

FIG. 34 VEGETATIVE COVER AT THE JACKFISH ROAD SITE

Photograph by A. A. Kjearsgaard Photograph by A. A. Kjearsgaard

-141-

Grazing is the possible agricultural act at

site. However, the herbaceous vegetation of this forest community has

a low value for grazing and the animals probably would cause more

to other uses than the value gained grazing.

Soil

The soil described and sampled at this site has been classifi

three classification as follows:

Canadian system - Podzolic Gray Luvisol

FAO/UNESCO - Albic Luvisol

U.S.A. system - Orthodic Cryoboralf

The soil at this site is quite similar to the Lobley soil

series by Peters and Bowser (1960) in their soil survey report for

the area immediately to the east and southeast. Similarly, unpublished

soil survey maps in Alber'ta Soil files, indicate that soils n the

area immecl north of the site are the seY'

The Lobley soil has developed on till of Cordilleran origin. This t J.

has a variable texture ranging from sandy loam to clay loam.

the material at this sit has a rather low stone content, this is not

characterist of the till in this region. Normally it has a

content of smooth waterworn quartzites and fragmented chunks of dolomite

and sandstone.

Regionally, the Lobley series predominates in most

areas of rough topography where a coniferous forest cover

Areas of mixed forest cover tend to occur on either the Orthic or the

Brunisolic Luvisol soils. Infrequent and smaller areas of fluvial

deposits associated with some of the larger stream channels usually have

-142-

Podzolic or Brunisolic Luvisol soils. On the more coarse textUl'ed

fluvial sits, a Brunisolic Ie usually develOps. In poorly

drained areas associated with stream channels, Organic soils usually

• most of which would be classified as Typic Mesisols. The less

poOY'ly drained of these channels will have a Humic Gleysol soil developing.

The soil at this site has a few centimeters of partly decomposed

t lit er covering the sequence of the upper horizons. This

sequence, totalling 18 cm, includes a grayish colored upper Ae, and brown

Bf, and and yellowish broilll lower Ae horizon. These horizons generally

have a silt loam to loam texture. The illuviated B horizons are dark

brown to br'own in color, with textures varying from silt loam to clay loam.

They also have a friable subangular blocky structure. Below the 60 em

, loam textures prevail through the BC horizon and into the C horizon

at about 96 cm. At these lowc~r depths, the brown colors continue. but the

blocky structure becomes less pronounced. No horizon of CaC0 3 accumulation

was encountered wi thin the sampling of 125 cm, even though it occurs

at about the 1 m depth elsewhere in the vicinity. The medium to

acid conditions of the upper horizons gradually change to a slightly acid

condition at the 1 m depth.

A mineralogical analysis indicates that smectite is abundant

In the lower solum, but much less common in the surface horizons.

Pedon Description.

Horizon (em)

LFH 5-0 well decomposed matter; abundant,

coarse and medium, horizontal root , wavy

; 1 to 8 cm thick; acid.

Horizon Depth (cm)

Ael 0-4

Bf 4-10

Ae2 10-18

Btl 18-41

Bt2 41-61

-143-

Gray (10YR 5/1 m, 6/2 d) silt loam weak, fine platy;

very friable; plentiful, medium and fine, oblique

roots; few, vesicular pores; abrupt, wavy boundary;

2 to 5 cm thick; very strongly acid.

Dark brown to brown (7.5YR 4/4 m, 6/4 d) silt loam;

weak, medium granular; very friable; plentiful,

medium and fine, oblique roots; few, interstitial

pores; clear, wavy boundary; 2 to 10 cm thick;

medium acid.

Yellowish brown (10YR 5/4 m, 7/3 d) loam; weak,

medium platy; very friable; plentiful, fine and

very fine, oblique roots; feVl, vesicular pores;

clear, wavy boundary; 5 to 10 cm thick; medium acid.

Dark brown to brown (10YR 4/3 to 5/3 m, 6/3 d) silt

loam; moderate, medium, subangular blocky; friable;

few, fine and very fine, vertical, exped roots;

common, micro, interstitial pores; contains sand

stone bedrock fragments of variable size up to

30 cm; gradual, waVy boundary; 18 to 30 cm thick;

strongly acid.

Dark bro~1 (10YR 3/3, 5/3 d) clay loam; moderate,

medium, subangular blocky; friable; few, fine and

very fine, vertical, exped roots; common, micro,

interstitial pores; contains sandstone bedrock

fragments of variable size; gradual, wavy boundary;

15 to 25 cm thick; strongly acid.

Horizon Depth (em)

Be 61-97

c 97-127

81-117

Analytical Data.

-144-

Dark brown (10YR 3 m, 5/2 d) loam; weak, medium,

subangular blocky; friable, very few, fine and very

fine. vertical, exped roots; common, micro, inter

stitial pores, contains sandstone fragments of

variable size; diffuse. wavy boundary; 20 to 40 em

thick; slightly acid.

Dark brown (10YR 3/3 m, 5/2 d) loam; weak, amorphous;

friable to firm; contains sandstone fragments of

variable size; neutral.

Discontinuous bedrock inClusion; dark grayish brown

and grayish brown (2/5Y 4/2 and 5/2 m, 6/3 d, mixed)

sandy loam; weakly cemented; neutral.

Note: All horizons contain quartzites varying in

size from 2 to 15 em.

Some chemical, physical and mineralogical properties of

the Podzolic Gray Luvisol at the Jackfish Road site are presented in

Table 9.

145

iL ,e 9. Analytical data for the Podzolic Gray Luvisol at the Jackfish Road site.

Exchangeable Cations {meOOOg}

2H Total Total Neutra 1 Salt Extraction Buffered NH~OAc {eH1 } 10"'; zon H2O CaC1 2 C% N% C/N K Ca Mg Al Total Total Ca Mg Na K

LFH 5.5 5.0 35.9 1.15 31 3.8 27.3 6.5 0.0 37.6 Ae1 5.0 4.0 0.9 0.05 19 0.3 2.7 0.7 1.8 5.5 9.9 2.7 0.8 tr 0.2 B 6.0 4.9 1.3 0.08 17 0.7 4.4 0.9 0.2 6.2 19.2 4.8 1.1 tr 0.6 J!< • 5.7 4.B 0.3 0.02 16 0.3 4.4 1.4 0.1 6.2 9.5 4.B 1.4 tr 0.2 Bl.i 5.3 4.9 0.5 0.05 10 0.3 13.1 4.0 0.0 17.4 25.7 14.0 4.7 tr 0.6 Bt2 5.5 5.1 0.4 0.04 11 0.2 16.4 4.9 21.5 29.2 16.9 5.4 tr 0.5 8" 6.3 5.6 0.1 20.4 5.9 26.4 30.2 21.0 5.4 tr 0.3 ( 6.6 5.9 0.1 19.4 6.0 25.5

Sesguioxides {%l DHhionite Oxalate PjTOQhos.

Horizon Fe Al Mn Fe Al Fe Al

LFH AeJ 0.12 0.14 0.00 0.05 0.02 0.03 0.05 Bf 1. 45 0.47 0.02 1. 39 0.82 0.37 0.41 Ae2 0.73 O.OB 0.00 0.31 0.04 0.08 0.06 Btl 1. 31 0.09 0.02 0.47 0.05 0.17 0.17 [;t2 1.27 0.13 0.04 0.58 0.12 0.14 0.08 Be 0.84 0.09 0.04 0.48 0.03 0.08 0.06 C 0.84 0.06 0.05 0.40 0.04 0.05 0.03

Available Organic Matter Mineralo~ <2 ~ clal 1

Nutri ents (PEm} Extracted FA HA Horizon N P-Bray K S %C %N Cha/Cfa E4/E6 E4/E6 Mica Chlor. Kaolin Smect. Verm. Quartz Felds

LFH <1 60 2 '.3 11 25.0 39.4 1.27 12.8 3.6 Ael <1 24 uo 3 43.2 46.0 0.44 13.8 5.3 tr 0 tr 1 2 2 tr

<1 10 163 2 60.1 50.9 0.24 16.5 4.9 0 0 0 tr 1 1 0 2 <1 8 88 2 58.7 48.3 0.26 12.0 5.0 tr 0 tr 2 tr 2 0

bel <1 7 129 1 41.5 22.7 0.52 BtZ

16.0 5.9 1 tr 0 3 tr 2 0

PI' ( tr tr 0 3 0

., < 0

Ph;ts1cal

Part Size Dist - % <2 mm Moisture % Classification

Horizon Sand Silt Clay F-Clay 1/3 atm 15 atm USDA

LFH Ae1 35 59 6 2 24 5,1 SiL Bf 33 56 11 3 29 8.5 SiL Ae2 44 45 11 3 17 3.7 L Btl 24 57 19 15 23 10.0 SiL Bt2 32 38 30 15 CL BC 34 44 22 8 L C 34 46 20 6 L

'Amount estimated from x-ray diffractograms: tr = trace, 1 ~ 2-20%, 2 = 20-40%, 3 = 40-60%, 4 = 60-80%, 5 ~ 80-100%.

-146-

c the Bisequa Gray Luvisol at the Jackfish Lake site.

a, y X b.partly X c.partly X

Ae1 This horizon grayish material with a particle size range from fine silt to medium sand

along with banded (i

abundant.

x s well packed or dense but the abundance of channels and jOint planes a mcderate porosity. The Joint planes occur in series and give a weak

Brown to black organic material (20-4000umJ. whole or fragmented. is

as bubbly, porphyroskel

metamatrigranoidic

of humification, and occurs in the channels. Volcanic ash s very common and/or fibrous grains.

Bf This horizon consists of moderately to loosely packed medium brown aggregates (bO-3000wm) of s-matrix material that vary in colour depending on the amount of included clay and iron oxides.

Most of the are 250-2000um in size and dense, with the darker ones being more equant and sharp. The larger , most of which are channels, have a general horizontal alignment. Complete ) matrans «SOum) occur on most free gra ns and are commonly sepic. Volcanic ash is present and a lot s probably masked by the iron oxides. Brown to black moderately humified organic material is co~non Ferrug nous nOdules are (VR), some are large (250-1S00um) and sharp while others are small (IOO-250um) and less sharp. -1- skelsepic c aggregates -2- matri granic

Ae2 horizon moderately packed pale grayiSh brown material with a particle size distribution t medium sand. The s-matrix is well packed or dense but the abundance of joint

planes and channels give a moderate poros ty. Banded fabric is more pronounced than in the the accumulation of s It and clay along the top of each band (250-1000 um) with most about 1 Within the bands the vughs have a silty clay accumulation along their bottoms and sides. Volcanic ash is noticeable but not nearly as common as n the Ael. Brown to black moderately humified organic mated ( is occasional. Partial matrans «60um) occur on the void side of Illany grains.

nous nodules are (VR). asepic th banded fabric (type A)

banded

Btl This horizon s dense to mcderately packed medium to dark brown material with (el sandstone and s ltstone (200-60DOwlll). Skew planes and vughs are (e) and channelS (R-OJ. Cutans

(20-1S0iJm) are D-e consist of moderately oriented ferriargillans and silty (ferri) argillans and with some strongly oriented argillans They occur on vughs, skew planes, channels, and embedded grains and fill the smal er vughs and skew planes. Compound cutans «300wm) are occasional. Nodules «30Dwm) of apparently translocated material occur n the s-matrix. Other pedological features are (VR) papules, and (R) clay nodules (IOO-1500ulll) -1- mosepic porphyroskel c

Bt2 This horizon is imilar to the Btl with the following exceptions: a) the overal porosity is lower

b) there are less s argi 1ans c) most of the cutans are strongly oriented d) amount of translocated clay is greater (e) -1- mosepi

Be This horizon is dense packed medium to dark brown material with (e) skew planes s. Argillans (1 in Fig. 35c) and ferriargillans and 1 I 5-1mm) vughs

cal y all voids and are generally strongly oriented. There is almost no (20- 80~m) are ( translocated cl Fig 35c) ( as sand and gravel.

matr n comparison to the Btl and Bt2. Irregular manganiferous nOdules (2 in ilre (R) and (VR) mangans are present. Sandstone and siltstone fragments are common

nodules (200-1 are sharp and (R). -1- sepic porphyroskel c

-147-

Pla Communi Oesc ptions*

A1 Upper crown layer - 60%

A2 Lower

B1 High

contorta (Lodgepole pine)

Populus tremuloides (Aspen poplar)

crown layer

mar'&ana (Black spruce)

shrub layer (1. 5 to 6 m) - 30 96

Alnus cr1:spa (Green alder)

(White spruce)

B2 Lower shrub layer - 20%

(Canadian buffalo-berry)

Rosa acicularis (Prickly rose)

groenZandicum (Common Labrador tea)

glauca (White spruce)

A crispa (Green alder)

LZoides (Blueberry)

(Aspen poplar)

mariana (Black spruce)

(Alpine fir)

contorta (Lodgepole pine)

Amelanchier

Spi:t'aea

Viburnum

Zia (Saskatoon-berry)

(White meadowsweet)

(Low-bush cranberry)

lucrata (Bracted honeysuckle)

Sa sp. (Willow)

*Recorded by C.L. Lesko.

C Herbs and grasses -

Comus

Lycopodiu.m

Aster'

-148-

(fireweed)

(Wild -of-the-

(Palmate-leaved colt foot)

(Western wood lily)

(Tall mertensia)

(Ground cedar)

(Strawberry)

aster)

(Wood horsetail)

Areta (Kinnikinnick)

Rubu8 (Dewberry)

Lathy1'U8 (Wild sweetpea)

Streptopus amp (Twisted-stalk)

la virens (Greenish-flowered wintergreen)

Pyrola

Arnica

MiteZZa

(One-sided wintergreen)

(Heart-leaved arnica)

(Bishop's-cap)

( club-moss)

sp. (Reed grass)

sp. (Coral-root)

Viola sp. (Violet)

D Mosses and lichens - 60%

Plew'oziwn (Schreber's moss)

po

-149-

c liurn crista-cast.r'ensis (Plume moss)

splendens

Polytrichurn Juniperinurn

-150-

COLUMBIA ICEFIELD AND ATHABASCA GLACIER

The Columb Icefield, straddles the continental divide, has an

average elevation of about 3 000 m a .. 1. and an area. including outlet

2 , of approximately 325 km. Although ice thickness has not been

measured, estimates based upon measurements of surface slope suggest that

it averages no more than 100 m. As viewed from the highway, the Icefield

stretches to the skyline at the head of Athabasca Glacier and includes

the ice cliffs on Snow Dome, Mt. Kitchener and Mt. Stutfield (Fig. 36).

The Athabasca Glacier as a major outlet glacier from the

2 Columbia Icefield encompasses an area of about 18.5 km • a length of

7.3 km, and a width of 1. km. It descends over three bedrock steps

marked by icefalls where transverse crevasses occur'. The boundary

between accumulation and ablation zones usually is positioned in the

highest icefall at about 2 600 m a.s.l. Most of the glacier is parabolic

in cross-section, except for two bedrock shelves inclining upwards towards

the terminus in the last 0.7 km, with ice thickness on the centerline

ranging between 250 and 325 m. Below the bedrock shelves the ice thins

r'apidly towards the terminus. Ice movement along the centerline is

approximately 130 m/yr over the lowest icefall and decreases from 70 m/yr

just below the falls to a mere 5 to 10 m/yr at the terminus. Meltwaters

from Athabasca Glacier and small glaciers on its southeast side drain to

Sunwapta Lake (1 920 m a.s.l.) and eventually through the Mackenzie River

system to the Arctic Ocean.

Fluctuations in the ice front have been recorded since 1897;

studies of moraines and tree rings (dendrochronology) provide information

prior to that. An ice advance ended about 1715 which was further forward

117°55' 116'45' 52 031 ' rs;:::; _ '/ ,,<,S\ 'C~C I 1 52 °31'

52000,1 -~ \\\1 "0;,,';\'''--==2 '52°00'

117'55' 5 0 5 10 15 20 km 116'45'

FIG. 36

CI-'S H -:"=-1=====E :"::::.- _~r=::::===--I

The Columbia Icefield situated along the Continental Divide is a large snow and ice field with several outlet glaciers. There are several other icefields in the area

....... U1 ....... I

-152-

than at any time for at least 350 years previously, a position

corresponding approximately to the highway (Fig. 37). A readvance

reached another maximum about 1840 followed by a recession underway by

1870 which has continued with minor interruptions. Recession since 1870

totals 1.4 km 01' about 13 m pel' year. Recessional rates during the

period 1960 to 1970 averaged 3.5 metres pel' year. An average of 3.8 m

of ice melts annually from the glacier surface between the lowest icefall

and the terminus. An estimate of the amount of thinning dUT'ing the last

100 years is indicated by the crest of the lateral moraine being 250 m

higher than the present terminus. However, the thinning is considerably

less fur'ther up the glacier.

Numerous recessional moraines are crossed by the r'oad leading

to the glacier terminus. These arcuate steep-sided ridges of unsorted

rock debris are 3 to 6 m high, and the most recent ones represent winter

ice front advances of 7 to 10 m. The glacier front retreats 15 to 27 m

during the summer.

Furthel' details on glaciology, geomorphology and chronology

for the Athabasca Glacier and its environs are d and

illustrated in the bulletin "Probing the Athabasca Glac ert! by Richard C.

Kucera. The bulletin is available upon request.

FIG.37 Athabasca Glacier, located beside the Banff·Jasper highway, drops approximately 670m over its 7.3km length. The glacier front has a net retreat of 13m per year

I I-' (J1

W I

-154-

PORTAL EK SITE

The reader will note that the characteristics of this site (as well as

those at the Signal Mountain Site) are not discussed in the detail

the sites outside the park. Such a discussion seemed unnecessary, and

would be repetitious, especially since site related information can be

inferred from the general information presented previously in the sections

dealing with the Rocky Mountains, and Banff and Jasper National

Field Description

Classification: Eluviated Eutric Brunisol.

Elevation of site: 1030 m a.s.1.

Location: UTM llU MJ 2390 5040.

About 300 m along an abandoned roadway to the north of the

picnic area on Portal Creek.

Climate: Continental, with fairly long cold winters and cool summers.

Annual precipitation is in the range 400 to 500 mm.

Vegetation: Representative include lodgepole pine ( • 38),

buffalo-berry and grass (see plant community descrption).

Parent material: Calcareous; dense, coarse loamy till.

Landform: Hummocky mor'aine (Fig. 39).

Slope, position, aspect: 35% complex slopes, crest of narrow ridge

northeast.

Estimated drainage: Well drained.

Surface runoff: Rapid.

Notes: The tills in this part of the valley are modified by ice contact

phenomena pockets of stratified gravels. Thin section evidence

-155-

FIG.38 LODGEPOLE PINE COVER AT PORTAL CREEK SITE

-156-

FIG. 39 Stereogram of the Portal Creek area. Soil pit location marked with * (Alberta Govt. Photos AS147, 156·157)

-157-

indicates that the cross sectional area of clay films is

probably close to the required to identify a Bt.

Pedon Description.

Horizon (cm)

F-H 2-0

Ae 0-14

Bm 14-20

Cca 0-25

Very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2 m) weI de

organic litter; plentiful fine and medium random

roots; abrupt, wavy boundary; 2 to 5 cm thick;

strongly acid.

Pale brown (10YR 6/3 m) and very pale brown (10YR

7/3 m) sandy loam; weak, medium platy; very friable;

few fine, random roots; many fine, random pores; no

effervescence; estimated coarse fragments

clear wavy boundary; 12 to 20 em thick.

gravels;

Strong brown (7.5YR 5/6 m) loam; weak to moderate

medium, subangular blocky; friable, plentiful finc,

random roots; cornman fine,random pores; no

effervescence; no clay films; estimated coarse

fragments 5% gravels; clear wavy boundary; 8 to 17 cm

thick; neutral.

L yellowish brown (1. 5Y 6/4 m) sandy loam;

structureless with fine, subnangular blocky

structur'e; friable; abundant fine and medium,

vertical roots; very few fine pores; ctrong

effervescence with common fine irre white

(10YR 8/2 m) spots of secondary carbonates;

Horizon Depth (ern)

Ckl 35 50

Ck2 50-75

Ck3 75-100

Ck4 100-150+

Analytical Data.

-158-

timated eoars s 1 ; clear,

wavy boundary; 9 to 18 em thick; mildly alkaline.

L5 brown to light 01 brown (2.5Y

5.5/4 m) sandy loam; structureless; firm; few fine

random roots; very few fine, random pores; strong

effervescence; estimated coarse fragments 10% gravels

and 10% cobbles; diffuse wavy boundary; 13 to 17 cm

thick; moderately alkaline.

Light olive brown (2. 5Y 5/4 m) sandy loam; strueture-

less; firm; few fine, random exped roots; very few

pores; strong effervescence; estimated coarse

fragments 10% gravels and 10% cobble; diffuse, wavy

boundary; 45 to 55 cm thick; moderately alkaline.

Light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4 m) sandy loam; structure-

less; firm; strong effervescence; estimated coarse

fragments 10% gravels and 10% cobbles; diffuse wavy


Light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4 m) sandy loam; structure

less; firm; strong effervescence; estimated coarse

fragments 10% gravels and 10% cobbles; moderately

alkaline.

Some chemical, physical and mineralogical properties of the

Eluviated Eutric Brunisol at the Portal Creek site are presented in

Table 10.

159

a e 10. Analytical data for the Eluviated Eutric Brunisol at the Portal Creek site.

:=

0

FH A> BI C. Ck1 Ck? C C

:=============================================-~~~~<'.-~--~~~'" --"'''-

zan H2O

5.5 6.4 7.2 7.8 8.3 8.4 8.4 8.4

Horizon

FH Ae Bm Cca Ckl Ck2 Ck3 Ck4

Horizon

FH Ae Bm Cea Ckl Ck2 Ck3 Ck4

Horizon

FH Ae Bm Cea Ckl Ck2 Ck3 Ck4

Total CaC1 2 C%

5.1 29.1 5.7 0.56 6.7 1.41 7.4 7.6 7.7 7.7 7.7

Dithionite

Fe Al

1. 73 0.12

Available

CaC03 Equ.%

2.90 24.1 17.5 15.4 14.1 14.6

Total N%

0.99 0.03 0.06

Sesguioxides (%) Oxalate

Mn Fe Al

0.03 0.36 o 06

Nutrients (PEm} Extracted

N P-Bray K S 'XC %N

26.7 41.8 0 23 2 45.9 36.6

<1 0 75 2 36.4 37.4

Part Size Dist - % <2 mm

Sand Silt Clay F-Clay

7 1 58 35 49 30 21 10 60 31 9 2 59 32 9 1 60 31 9 1 54 36 10 2 60 31 9 1

C/N

29 19 24

Pyrophos.

Fe Al

0.12 0.05

Buffered NH.OAc (pfiU~_

Tota 1 CIl Mg Na K

58.5 5.0

12.8

37.2 6.15 5.09 0.92

15.8 2.25

0.01 1.25 0.00 0.07 0.04 0.20

Organic Matter

FA HA Cha/Cfa E4/E6 E4/E6

0.92 8.8 6.1 0.41 11.2 6.7 0.27 13.3 7.8

Classification

USDA

SL L

SL SL SL SL Sl

-160-

Figure cromo ogy Eluviated Eutric Brunisol at the Portal Creek site,

a. ane light b. plane light c.plane light d, X pola zers

Ae This horizon is moderately to loosely packed medium to grayish brown mat-erial in which most grains have matrans «lOOum) and the matrix material

forms some aggregates «3mm) but mainly occurs as thick bridges between grains (Fig. 40a). The overall appearance is a porous mass with (C) sand and gravel-sized rock fragments (sandstone siltstone, shale, schist). There are some areas that are enriched with ferruginous clay and diffuse sesquioxidic nodules «2.5mm) are (R) and oecas ona 11y contain some mangani ferous mated a 1. Moderate 1y ori ented ferri argi 11 ans are (R-O usually are thin «1 ) vugh cutans to fillings, but occasionally are thick «2S0um) coatings on sand and g Large moderately humified organic mat-erial «8mm) is (0). -1- intertextic -2- matriplectic

Bm This horizon is moderately to loosely packed orange-brown material with some () sh brown areas. The former is enriched with ferruginous

clay and contains ( sesquioxidic nodules ( 300wm) that occasionally in-clude some manganiferous material. grains have matrans «lOOwm) which extend to form bridges and then to aggregates but most areas appear to consist of aggregates «3mm) and fused aggregates (Fig. 40b). There are (0) sand and gravel-sized rock fragments, carbonates are (R) as sand and gravel, and calcans «350wm) capping gravel are (VR). Weakly to moderately oriented ferriargillans are (R-O) and occur on free and embedded i s and occasionally on aggregate surfaces. Moderately humified

c material ( ) is (R-O). -1- i ntertexti c -2- matriplectic//matrigranic//matriganoidic

Cca This horizon is very dense grayish calcareous material with (C) thick (<3mm) zontal 1s and skew planes which give an overall moderate porosity

and a banded fabric. In the channels and skew planes are clusters of aggregates (50-300um) t are occasionally fused (Fig. 40c). Carbonates are very abundant oc-curing as ravel. sand. coarse silt. a few calcans «250wm) capping gravel and sand. and very ne matrix material. Ferruginous nodules «400wm) are (VR) and there is (0) non-calcareous 1 (sandstone, siltstone. shale). -1- silasepic parp roskelic with weak banded fabric

This zon is 1y packed gray calcareous material (Fig. 40d) with (R) vughs and (C) skew anes, most of which are aligned subparallel to the

surface. This material is quite se but the abundant planar voids increase the overall porosity. rbonates are very abundant occuring as gravel, sand, coarse silt. a ealeans «500wm) capp ng gravel, (R-O) skew plane calcans «120um) and very fine matrix material. Sand and gravel-sized rock fragments (schist, quartzite, shale) are (0) and irregular ferruginous nodules «200um) are (VR). -1- si1asepic lie

-161-

Plant Community Description

Tree Layer: A Cover Class;':

Ai: Pinus contorta (Lodgepole pine)

A2: Pinus contorta 2

Shrub Layer: B

B 1 : Pinus con torta '2

B2: Rosa acicularis (Prickly rose) 1

Shepherdia canadensis (Canadian buffalo-berry) +

Herb Layer: C

Calamagrostis ruhsecens (Pine grass) 2

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Kinnikinnick) 2

Vacciniwn vitis-idaea (Bog cranberry) 2

Elymus innovatus (Hairy wild rye) 2

Linnaea borealis (Twinflower) 2

Aster conspicuus (Showy aster) :1

Pyro la secunda (One-sided wintergreen) 1

Pyrola asarij'olia (Common pink wintergreen) 1

AquiZegia sp. (prob. j'lavescens)(Yellow cOlumbia) +

Moss and Lichen Layer: D

Db: Hylocomium splendens 2

Pleurozium schreberi 2

Barbilophozia hatcheri 1

Dicranum polysetum 1

Dicranum sp. 1

Aulacomnium palustre +

;':Cover class according to Braun - Blanquet! s system as follows: 5 = 100-75%; 4 = 74-50%; 3 = 49-25%; 2 = 24-5%; 1 = 4-1%; + = less than 1%. (Recorded by R. Moyse on October 8, 1976).

Tortu"la princeps

Dl: PeltigeY'a

sp.

sp.

Pe Z- tigera oaflina

-162-

Cover Class

+

1

1

1

i

-163-

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN SITE

Field Description

Classification: Orthic Gray Luvisol.

Elevation of Site: 1~60 m a.s.l.

Location: UTM 11U MJ ~290 6390.

Near the start of the Signal Mountain fire road, Jasper

National Park.

Climate: Continental with fairly long cold winters and cool summers.

Annual precipitation is in the 1+00 to 500 mm range.

Vegetation: Representative species include lodgepole pine, buffalo-berry

and pinegrass (see plant community description and Fig. 1+1).

Parent material: Calcareous, dense coarse loamy till.

Landform: Rolling moraine (Fig. 42).

Slope, position, aspect: complex slope, mid slope, northwest.

Estimated Well

Surface runoff: Moderate.

Notes: Soil temperature at 50 em was 6oC. This site and peden is typical

of much of the montane areas In Jasper National Park.

Pedon Description.

Horizon

L-H

Depth (cm)

4-0 Very dark gray (10YR 3/1 m) and dark grayish brown

(10YR 4/2 m) well decomposed organic litter; abundant

medium and coarse, horizontal roots; abrupt, wavy

boundary; 3 to 5 em thick; neutral.

-164-

FIG.41 VEGETATIVE COVER AT SIGNAL MOUNTAIN SITE

FIG.42 Stereogram of the Signal Mountain area. Soil pit location marked with ~'. (Alberta Govt. Photos AS145, 51·53)

I-' O'l (j1

I

Horizon Depth (em)

Ae 0-3

Ae2 3-11

Bt 11-22

Bek 2 -34

-166-

Light gray (10YR 2 m) loam; weak moderate,

medium platy; very fr'iable; plentiful fine root

very fine, random pores; estimated coarse fragment

5% gravels; abrupt, broken boundary; 0 to 5 em

thick; neutral.

Pale brown (10YR 6/3 m) fine sandy loam; weak,

medium platy; friable; plentiful fine roots; common

very fine and fine pores; no clay films; no

effervescence; estimated coarse fragments 5% gravels;

clear wavy boundary; 6 to 9 cm thick.

Yellowish brown to dark yellowish brown (10YR 4. 5 m)

ped surfaces and light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4 m)

ped interiors; clay loam; moderate, medium to coarse,

subangular blocky; firm; few fine and medium, oblique

roots; common, fine, random pores; many model'ately

thick clay films in many voids and on some horizontal

and vertical ped faces; estimated coarse fragment

gravels and 15% cobbles; clear, wavy boundary;

8 to 12 em thick; mildly alkaline.

Yellowish brown (10YR 5/5 m) ped surfaces and light

yellowish brown (10YR 6/4 m) ped interiors; loam;

moderate, medium, subangular blocky; friable; few

fine and medium roots; common, fine, random, inped

pores; few clay films in voids and on some vertical

and horizontal ped faces; moderate effervescence;

estimated coarse fragments 5% gravels and 15%

-167-

Horizon Depth (cm)

cobbles; clear way boundary; 10 to 13 cm thick;

moderately alkaline.

Cca 34-75 Light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2 m) and dark brown

(lOY 4/3 m) loam to sandy loam; structureless;

friable; few fine, random roots; few fine, random

pores; few very thin films in voids or channels;

strong effervescence; estimated coarse fragments

5% gravels and 15% cobbles; clear wavy boundary;

32 to 41 cm thick; moderately alkaline.

Ck 75-102+ Grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2 m) sandy loam; structure-

less; firm; very few roots; few fine, random

pores; few very thin clay films in voids or

channels; strong effervescence; estimated coarse

fragments 5% gravels and 15% cobbles, moderately

alkaline.

Analytical Data.

Some chemical, physical and mineralogical properties of

1

the Orthic Gray LvuSiol at the Signal Mountain site are presented

in Table 11.

168

fable 11. Analytical data for the Orthic Gray luvisol at the Signal Mountain site.

= Exchangeable Cations {me/lOOg)

lorizon H2O _ ~ __ ~_~0 ____ "

LH 6.8 Ael 7.2 Ae2 6.7 Bt 7.5 l3Ck 7.9 Cca 8.1 Ck 8.1

Available Nutrients (22m)

orizon N P-Bray K

_H <1 8 130 ~el ~e2 <1 1 78 3t <1 0 148 3Ck :ca ;k

Horizon

lH Ae1 Ae2 Bt BCk Cea Ck

Total CaC1 2 C%

6.1 35.4 6.4 1.43 6.0 1.62 6.8 1.01 7.2 7.4 7.5

Extracted S %C %N

6 27.8 51.3

2 39.1 54.8 2 34.0 37.6

CaC03 Equ.%

2.10 17 .0 2.65

16.6

Organic Matter

Total %N

1.16 0.06 0.05 0.06

FA Cha/Cfa E4/£6

0.60 10.3

0.45 9.6 0.27 10.7

Part Size Dist - % <2 Im1

Sand Silt Clay

45 46 9 2 52 40 8 1 36 34 30 13 40 33 27 10 53 34 13 4 55 33 12 3

Buffered NH,OAc ([!H7)

C/N Total Ca Mg Na

31 107. 95.6 11.0 0.00 24 11.7 9.66 1. 79 0.02 32 9.5 8.38 1.49 0.01 17 10.4 19.4 2.51 0.00

Mineralo9~ <2 H clax!

HA £4/£6 Mica Chlor. KilO] n Smect. Verm. Quartz

6.B 1 tr 0 1 1 1

5.4 2 tr 0 tr 1 1 6.7 3 tr 0 0 0 1

1 tr 0 0 0 1

Moisture % Classification

1/3 atm 15 atm USDA

20 7.1 l 16 6.2 l-Sl 17 II. CL

l l-SL

Sl

mount estimated from x-ray dlffractograms: tr· trace, 1 • 2-20%, 2 ~ 20-40%, 3 • 40-50%, 4 • 50-80%, 5 • 80-1001.

2 :4 0 :4 O.ll 0.56

Fel!

tr tr tr

tr

-169-

Figure Orthic Gray luvisol at the Signal Mountain site.

a.plane 1i b. ane 1 i ght c.plane 1ig d. plane light

Ae2 This horizon is moderately packed grayish brown material with (C) channels (Fig. 55a), (O-C) vughs, and a few skew planes. The particle size is quite

variable and includes a little gravel (sandstones and shales). The vughs and skew planes occasionally have smoothed surfaces and sometimes these surfaces are silty neoargillans (20-80~m). Some areas (10-20%) contain a high amount of birefringent clay with fine sand silt. Di e ferruginous nodules (100-400~m) is (O-C), -1- insepic porphyroskelic

Bt This horizon consists of moderately packed brown material with (C) vughs (250-l000~m), (0) skew planes, and (0) channels. The particle size is

again quite vari le and in some areas there is clustering of grains with sparse matrix material. It is in these loose areas that translocated clay partly to completely fills the intergranular spaces (Fig. 55b), Moderately oriented argillans (20-l00~m) are (C) and occur on almost all void and free grain surfaces. There are some areas containing a high amount of birefringent clay with fine sand and silt. Diffuse ferruginous nodules (50-300~m) are (VR) and irregular manganiferous nodules are (R). Black organic material (300-2000~m) is (R-O). Carbonates are (C) occuring mainly as gravel and coarse sand but with some fine sand and silty. Channel cal cans (50-200pm) are (VR). -1- mosepic porphyroskelic -2- matri ecticllmatri dic porphyroskelic

BCk This horizon is grayish brown material in which two fabrics are prominent. The first is large dense matrix aggregates (1-5mm). partially accommodated,

being separated by channels and skew planes (Fig. 55c). These aggregates contain a few vughs (200-350pm). The second consists of smaller aggregates (50-l000~m) moderately to strongl fused and the resulting vughs are irregular, often interconnected and lined with (0 moderate oriented argillans «80 with most 20~m). Carbonates are fairly abundant and occur as sand and coarse silt but mainly as fine material in the matrix and its content is quite variable from one area to another. Dark brown moderately humified organic material is (0). Gravel is (VR) and consists of shale and carbonates. -1- insepic porphyroskelic and intertextic areas -2- matrifragmic-matrigranoidic

Ck This horizon is dense brownish gray material with a wide range in particle size including (a-C) gravel (Fig. 55d). Irregular vughs are (C) and skew

planes are (0). Silty and skew plane weakly oriented argillans (20-120~m) are (R). rbonates are not as abundant as in the BCk but are still plentiful and occur as gravel. sand. coarse silt and fine matrix material. -1- silasepic porphyroskelic

-170-


Tree Layer: A

A1: Pinus contorta (Lodgepole pine)

Populus tpemuloides (Aspen poplar)

A2: Pinus contorta

Shrub Layer: B

B1: Picea glauca (White spruce)

Pinus contoy'ta (Lodgepole pine)

B2: Juniperus co"munis (Ground juniper)

Cover Class":

3

1

" L

2

2

2

Shepherdia canadensis (Canadian buffalo-berry) 2

Picea glauca 1

Rosa aciculapis (Prickly rose) 1

Spiraea Lucida (White meadowsweet) 1

Herb Layer: C

Calamagpostis rubescens (Pine grass) 2

Vaccinium vitis-idaea (Bog cranberry) 2

Linnaea borealis (Twinflower) 2

Arctostaphylos uva-upsi (Kinnikinnick) 1

Elymus innovatus (Hairy wild rye) 1

Pyrola secunda (One-sided wintergreen) 1

Aster conspicuus (Showy aster) 1

Comus canadensis (Bunchberry) 1

Aster ciliolatuB (Lindley's aster) 1

Pyrola sp. (Wintergreen) 1

Pyrola sp. 1

*Cover class according to Braun - Blanquet's system as follows: 5 = 100-75%; 4 - 74-50%; 3 - 49-25%; 2 = 24-5%; 1 = 4-1%, + = less than 1%. (Recorded by R. Moyse on October 8, 1976).

-171-

Moss and Lichen Layer: D

Db: Hylocomium sp

Pleurozium

Dicranum sp.

Mn.ium sp.

Barbilophozia hatcheri

Other mosses

Tortula princeps

Dl: Peltigera aphthosa

CladowDa sp.

Cladonia sp.

Peltigera

Epiphyte Layer: E

Usnea sp.

Hypogymnia sp.

Letharia sp.

Cover Class

2

<) L

1

1

1

1

+

1

1

1

1

1

+

+

-172-

OVERLAtlDER SHE

Location

This site is located in the SE 24, T49, R27, W5 (UTM - 11U MJ 461 991).

Setting

This site is located at an elevation of 1 060 m a.s.l. in an area of

eolian blanket overlying till (Fig. 44). The topography is undulating

with slopes of 3 to 5% and the site is located on a crown position.

Regionally, this site is located in the Montane Forest Region (Rowe,

1959) and the forest cover consists primarily of a relatively old white

spruce stand (Fig. 4·5). Bowser (1967) places this site within Agro-

climatic area SH. The site is well drained.

Land Use

This site, located within the North Western Pulp and Power Ltd. lease

area, is used mainly for fiber production. Forest capability of the

area is Class 4 according to the Canada Land Inventory System, producing

3 about 2.0 m wood per ha per year. White spruce and lodgepole pine are

the possible commercial species at the site, both suitable for either

sawlog or pulpwood production. Site productivity at this location is:

Species: Picea gZauca

Stand Age: 200 years

Stand Height: 21 m

Site Index: 12 m at age 70 years

Basal Area: 48.5 2 m Iha

Volume: 247 3 m Iha (merchantable)

349 3 m Iha total

FIG.44 Stereogram of the Brule Lake area. Overlander site is marked with ..... (Alberta Govt. Photos AS2872, 9·11)

I-' -.....J W I

-174-

Photographs by A. A. Kjearsgaard

FIG.45 SETTING AND VEGETATIVE COVER ATTHE OVERLANDER SITE

-175

Climate

The area has a subhumid, continental climate with moderate precipitation.

Long term meteorological data is presented in Table 12 for Entrance which

is about 17 km northeast of the site.

So;ls

The unique soils (Dumanski, 1970, and Dumanski and Pawluk, 1971)

discussed in this section are confined by 53°10' and 530

20' north

latitude and by 1170

25' and 1170 55' west longitude. They lie within

the borders of the Athabasca River Valley, which is a broad, regional

depression ranging from 15 to 20 km in width, with a local relief

ranging from about 300 to 525 m.

In this area the Brazeau Formation is commonly overlain by

moderately calcareous Obed till (Roed, 1968) which is a Cordilleran till

derived mainly from the Front and Main Ranges of the Rocky Mountains.

The Obed till is very cobbly, olive brown to olive gray in color, medium

to coarse textured, and contains about 18 to 30% carbonates. It has an

average thickness of about 15 feet. Outwash terraces and deposits of

lacustrine silts and clays overlie Obed till in local areas.

Superimposed on all the previously mentioned deposits is an

extensive blanket of calcareous eolian material. This material is

generally grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) in color, friable to loos in

consistence, and strongly calcareous. It commonly consists of a mixtur'e

of fine and very fine sand, with varying amounts of both finer and

coarser particles. It is up to 60 m thick in the vicinity of Brule

Lake (Roed, 1968) but thins rapidly toward the east. The source regions

of the eolian material are the floodplains of the Athabasca River in

-176-

Table 12. Meterological data, Entrance (1941-1970).

January

February

Marcb

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Annual total

Winter snow

Mean monthly precipitation (mm)

26.4

24.3

24.8

33.7

55.1

84.8

75.1

79.2

40.6

22.3

24.3

24.3

513.5 Annual mean

161.10

Mean monthly temperature (Oe)

-13.3

- 7.8

- 3.3

2.8

8.3

12.2

14.4

13.3

8.9

4.4

- 3.3

- 8.9

2.2

-177-

Jasper National Park and the shores of BrGl~ Lake. The loess is

transported by southwesterly winds channelled through the Athabasca

River Gorge. There are no wind data appropriate to this area nor is

there a long term local observer record.

In this area soil development is a function of former c1 imatic

conditions with some modification from modern climates. Results of field

and laboratory studies indicate these soils have had a polygenetic origin.

The presence of humified, surficial horizons whose physical make--up differs

from that of the "paleo!! B horizon suggests a hiatus in deposition of

sufficient time to allow for the formation of the "paleo" B horizon. The

soils possess well developed Ahk horizons regardless of the fact that

soils ln surrounding areas are of the Gray Luvisolic type. The follow

sequence of events is postulated:

1. Deposition of calcareous eolian material following with

drawal of the Obed glacier.

2. Colonization of this material by plants. This would

result in the release of iron present in the primary

carbonates, the dissemination of which would form the

"paleo" B horizon.

3. Subsequent resumption of loessial deposition, coupled

with litter comminution by various soil fauna,

the formation of Ahk material in which there were

considerable quantities of primary carbonates. In

western portions of the region, rapid excessive burial

then preserved the "paleo" B horizon in place.

4. In regions where the "paleo ll B remained within the zone

of active pedogenic weathering. internal transformations

took place.

-178-

The dissemination of calcareous eolian material from the

source eastward appears to result in a geographic zonation of decreasing

carbonate content, sand content, and soil reaction. A mean rate of loess

accumulation can be calculated for a var'iety of sites in the area. For

the last 8,000 years at Brule Lake (3 km west of this site) an area of

active accretion, the rate is 0.7 mm per year. At other less actively

accreting sites a rate as low as 0.2 mm per year' has been calculated.

The major periods of loess hiatus and soil formation can be determined

from the paleosol record. For the period from 8,000 years B.P. to

4,300 years B.P. a maximum five episodes of accumulation and four

episodes of soil formation may be recognized.

The alkaline reaction throughout the soil profile and the

very high percentage of the cation exchange complex occupied by calcium

appear to adversely affect spr'uce growth in the region. Trees commonly

appear to be rather stunted, possess a dense branching habit, and show a

characteristic reddening at the tips of the needles. These calcareous

soil areas are also difficult to reforest by use of seedlings.

The soils occurring in the area surrounding the site are

dominantly Cumulic Regosols in combination with significant amounts of

Orthic Brunisols, Degraded Brunisols, and possible minor inclusions of

gleyed soils. The major difference between most of these soils is the

lhicknes of the Ahk horizon.

Classifications: Canadian System - Orthic Melanic Brunisol

(calcareous cumulic)

FAO/UNESCO System - Eutric Cambisol

U.S.A. System - (Mollic) Eutrochrept

-179-

The profile development or horizon sequence indicates the

depositional nature of the soil. A thin L-F or litter layer occurs on

the surface overlying a black Ahk horizon which has weak fine granuJat'

to single grain structure. Beneath the topmost Ahk horizon a sequence

of A, B, and C horizons display the addition of materials over time.

These horizons vary in thickness from 2 to 8 cm, usually being about

2 cm thick. They tend to be discontinuous and take on a stratified

appearance.

Below this sequence of A, B, and C horizons is a relatively

thick (25+ cm), distinct yellowish red to strong brown "paleo" B horizon

which is weakly structured and friable. This "paleo" B horizon can be

split into two separate horizons based primarily on color. Below is the

parent material (Obed till) which is sandy, olive brown to grayish brown

in color, and slightly plastic when moist. It has a large proportion of

pebbles and cobbles which are well rounded and generally less than

fi ve em in diameter. It is important to note that the horizons above the

"paleo" B have a silt loam texture throughout with very similar pH values.

Pedon Description.

Horizon

L-F

Ahk1

Depth (cm)

2-0 Partially decomposed leaf and needle remains;

moderately effervescent.

0-20 Black (lQYR 2.5/1 m), very dark gray (10YR 3/1 d)

silt loam; weak, fine, granular; very friable;

abundant micro and very fine, oblique roots; many

micro, continuous interstitial pores; clear, wavy

boundary; 15 to 24 cm thick; mildly alkaline.

Hopizon Depth (em)

Bmk1 20-23

Alikbl 23-2S

Ckb1 25-43

Ahkb2 43-45

Ckb2 45-48

-180-

Brown to dark brow'Il (7. 5YR 4/4 m), bl"own (7. 5YR 4/2 d)

silt loam; weak, fine sub angular blocky; very friable;


micro, continuous, interstitial pores; clear, wavy

; 1 to 4 em thick; moderately alkaline.

Black (10YR 2.5/1 m), very dark gray (10YR 3/1 d)

silt loam; weak, fine granular'; very friable;


micro, continuous, interstitial pores; abrupt, wavy

boundary; 0 to 3 em thick; moderately alkaline.

Very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2 m), brown (7.5YR

4/2 d) silt loam; weak, fine subangular blocky;

very friable; plentiful very fine and fine, oblique

roots; many micro, continuous, interstitial pores;

abrupt, wavy boundary; 12 to 26 em thick; mOclCl"ately

alkaline.

Black (10YR 2.5/1 m), very dark gray (10YR 3/1 d)

silt loam; weak, fine granular; vepy friable;

plentiful very fine and fine, oblique roots; many

micro, continuous, interstitial pores; abrupt, wavy

boundapy; 0 to 3 em thick; moderately alkaline.

Dark brown (10YR 3/3 m), grayish brown (10YR 5/2 d)

silt loam; weak, fine subangular blocky; very

fr'iable; plentiful very fine and fine, oblique roots;

common micro and ver'y fine, continuous, intel'sti tia1

pores; 1, wavy boundary; 8 to 16 cm thick;


Horizon

Ckb3

Bmkb1

Ahkb3

Ckb4

Bmkb2

-181-

Depth (cm)

58-63 Dark brown (10YR 3/3 m), grayish brown (10YR 5/2 d).

silt loam; weak, fine ,;ubangular blocky; very

friable; plentiful very fine and fine, oblique roots;

common micro and very fine, continuous, interstitial

pores; abrupt, wavy boundary; 3 to 8 cm thick;


63-68

68-73

73-81

81-86

Dark brown (7.5YR 4/4 m), brown (7.5YR 5/4 d) silt

loam; weak, fine subangular blocky; very friable;

plentiful very fine and fine, oblique roots; common

micro and very fine, continuous, interstitial pores;

clear, wavy boundary; 2 to 7 cm thick; moderately

alkaline.

Dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2 d) silt loam weak, fine

granular; very friable; plentiful very fine and fine,

oblique roots; many micro, continuous. interstitial



Dark brown (10YR 3/3 m), grayish brown (10YR 5/2 d)

silt loam; weak, fine subangular blocky; plentiful

very fine and fine, oblique roots; common micro and

very fine, continuous, interstitial pores; clear,

wavy boundary; 4 to 10 cm thick; moderately

calcareous.

Dark brown (7.5YR 4/4 m), brown (7.5YR 5/2 d) silt

loam; weak, fine subangular blocky; very friable;

plentiful very fine and fine, oblique roots; many

Horizon Depth (cm)

Ahkblj 86-88

Ahkb5 88-93

Bmkb3 93-100

IIBmk 100-110

-182-

rr:lcro • cont , interstitial pores;

; 3 to 6 cm thick; moderately

brm.Jn ( m), dark grayish brown (10YR

d) s fine • fI'iable; few

very fine and roots; common micro,

continuous, itial pores; , wavy

9 to 3 moderately alkaline.

Dark brown (7.5YR 2 , dark brown (10YR 4/3 d)

silt loam; weak, fine granular; friable; few ver'y

fine and fine,

interstitial

tb

(7 • YR 11

loam; weak,

very fine and

roots; common micro continuous,

clear, wavy ; 3 to 6 cm

alkaline.

m), 1 brown (7.5YR 6/4 d) silt

blocky; friable; few

• oblique roots; many micro and

very fine, discontinuous, oblique, dendritic, tubular


alkaline.

Yellowish red (5YR 8 m), reddish yellow (7.5YR

6/6 d) loam; weak, fine subangular blocky; friable;

few very

and veI'y

fine, oblique roots; many micro

, dendritic, tubular

; 6 to 12 eil, thlck;

Horizon

IIBCk

-183-

Depth (cm)

110-122 Strong brown (7.5YR 5/6 m), reddish yellow (7.5YR

6/6 d) loam; weak, fine subangular blocky; friabl

very few very fine and fine, oblique roots; mdny

micro and very fine, discontinuous, dendritic,

tubular pores; few pebbles and cobbles; clear, wavy


I IICK1 122-132 Yellowish brmffi (10YR 5/4 m), pale brown (10YR 6/3 d)

sandy loam; single grain; friable; very few very

fine, oblique roots; numerous pebbles and cobbles;

clear, wavy boundary; 7 to 15 cm thick; strongly

alkaline.

IIICK2 132-150+ Grayish brown (2.5YR 5/2 m), pale yellow (2.5YR

Analytical Data.

7/4 d) loam to sandy loam; friable; numerous pebbles

and cobbles; moderately alkaline.

Some chemical and physical properties of the Orthic

Melanic Brunisol at tDe Overlander site are presented in Table 13.

-.1U"1'-Tab1e 13. A11dlyUcal data for the Drthlc MelJllic Brunisol (ca1rdrt'uus cur,ul ic) at the Overldl,dcr s1te~.

---- ---~- ~-----~ - - --- -~." -- --.------~-----~----- --~-.--- ' - - -- -.--~-~-----~-- -- - " - .-~-----____ PI1

Total CaCO) Total Horizon ex Equ.l, Nt C/N

Ahkl 7.7 7.0 10.4 23.7 0.35 22 BmU 8.0 1. 6.1 31. 5 0.17 13 Ubi 8.0 8.7 22.6 0.24 25 CkhZ 8.2 7.6 6.3 7 0.14 19 Ckb3 8.2 7.7 6.5 38.2 0.13 15 Bmkbl 8.3 7.7 4.9 17.2 0.08 36 Ahkb3 8.3 1.7 S. 9.2 0.13 32 CkM 8.3 7.7 5.6 18.9 0.13 26 Bmbk2 8.3 7.7 5.0 31.9 0.11 11 AhkM 8.4 7.7 .2 23.5 0.18 13 AhkbS 8.4 1.7 3.7 10.0 0.16 16

8.4 1.6 1.6 5.9 0.08 11 1 8.3 7.7 0.3 0.9 0.08 2 1 8.2 7.6 0.4 1.6 0.04 5 IllCkl 8.5 1.7 19.1 lllCk2 8.4 7.8 35.2

Sesguio.ides m_ OltMonHe Oxalate PJ'ro~hos .

Horizon Fe A1 ~.!1 Fe Al Fe A1

Ahld 0.82 0.03 0.02 0.37 0.06 0.07 0.01 BmU 0.98 0.03 0.02 0.38 0.05 0.06 0.01 COCbl 0.711 0.02 0.32 0.06 0.06 0.02 Ckb2 0.92 0.03 0.50 0.08 0.09 0.02 Ckb3 0.82 0.02 0.01 0.42 0.05 0.08 0.02 I3mkbl 1.03 0.03 0.03 0.53 0.07 0.08 0.03 Allkb3 1.03 0.02 0.02 0.64 0.04 0.08 0.01 Ckb4 0.89 0.01 0.02 0.50 0.03 0.11 0.02 Blllbk2 1.05 0.04 0.03 0.56 0.05 0.10 0.02 1\111<.04 1.11 0.04 0.04 0.62 0.06 0.11 0.01 Ahl<.b5 1.33 0.08 0.06 0.91 0.12 0.12 0.03 Blllkb:l 1.27 0.09 0.04 0.77 0.15 0.05 0.01 UBmk 1.46 0.07 0.03 0.24 0.02 0.05 0

1.50 0.08 0.03 0.23 0.04 0.06 0.02 0.84 0.03 0.02 0.21 0.02 0.05 0.02

lllCk2 0.76 0.03 O.Ol O. 0.01 0.02 0.01

organic Matter Extracted FA HA

Horizon N ?·(ll'"ay K S :u: iN Cilli/efa E4/£6 E4/£6 -------. Ahkl 3 0 53 I) 4l.0 38.3 0.92 5.6 1.8 Bmkl Cit!! 1 2 a 25 4 Ckb2 Ckb3 Bmkbl 45.1 28.4 0.46 21.0 5.5 AIlkb3 53.3 45.3 2.08 28.5 1.6 Ckb4 Blllbk2 Ahkb4 Ahkb5 51.1 40.8 1.19 18.7 2.8 Bmkb3 58.9 40.1 0.14 22.0 5.2 HElmI: IIBCk II JCkl I1ICk2

Ph,ls lea 1

Part Size Dist - %. <2 mm £Iassificatlon

Horizon Sand Silt Clay F-ClIlY USDA

22 66 12 2 SiL 21 68 11 2 S1I.. 24 66 10 Sit 21 68 11 3 Sil 25 62 13 4 Sll 29 63 !l 2 27 63 10 2:

CkM 20 70 10 3 Bmbk2 14 76 10 1

10 79 11 2 SIl 13 75 12 2

Bmltb3 19 64 17 7 nBmk 40 43 17 6 l 1!8Ck S1 33 16 8 L

65 28 7 J Sl 53 36 II <\ Sl

~The l-F. Ahkbl ~nd Ahkb2 horilons were not sampled.

* TOURSTOP

I I

~

BRITISH

COlUMBIA I /

(.-1 )

r-) ALBERTA

PYRAMID .. MTN -

THE ~~.~ .. WHISTlERS"

MARMOT ..

'::l .",

\ \ AS t 0

-185-

.. MOUNT EDITH CAVEll

To Edmonton

FIG. 25 MAP OF JASPER AND VICINITY

-186-


A Crown layer - 50%

Picea glauca (White spruce)

B Shrub layer' - 10%

Betula papyrifera (Paper birch)

Rosa acicularis (Prickly rose)

Shepherdia canadensis (Canadian buffalo-ber'ry)

Amelanchier alnifolia (Saskatoon-berry)

Lonicera dioica (Twining honeysuckle)

Viburnum edule (Low-bush cranberry)

Juniperus communis (Ground juniper)

Rosa sp. (Rose)

C Herbs and grasses - 85%

Elymus innovatus (Hairy wild rye)

Geocaulon livid~1Jn (Bastard toad-flax)

Linnaea borealis (Twinflower)

PyroZa secunda (One-sided wintergreen)

HedysQY'um alpinum (Alpine hedysarum)

Mertensia paniculata (Tall mertensia)

Mitella nuda (Bishop's cap)

Galium boreale (Northern bedstraw)

streptopus amplexifolius (Twisted stalk)

Zygadenus elegans (White camas)

Cypripedium calceoluB (Yellow Lady's-slipped

Arctostaphylos uva-UI'si (Kinnikinnick)

Rubus puhescens (Dewberry)

Carex sp. (Sedge)

D - 60%

-187-

pyrola sp. (Wintergreen)

Luzula sp. (Woodrush)

Viola. sp. (Violet)

Disporum sp. (Fairy-bells)

AbietinelZa abietina

Hypnum sp.

-188-

SITE

Location

This site (Site 7) is located in the SE 21, T54, R14. W5 CUTM 11U NK670

480). The elevation is 907 m a.s.l.

ing

This site is situated in the Eastern Alberta Plains. The landform can

be described as a bowl bog having very poor drainage. The soil is derived

from the decomposition of mosses and the vegetative cover is typical of

Organic sites in the general area (Fig. 47). This site is located in the

Lower Foothills Section of the Boreal Forest Region (Rowe, 1959). Bowser

(1967) places the site within Agro-climatic area 3H.

C1 imate

The climate of the area is continental, characterized by relatively warm

summers and cold winters. The nearest long term meteorological data

available is for Edson which is approximately 30 km west of the site

(Table 14).

Land Use

Presently, the soils at this site are of no agricultural value and are

non-productive from a forestry standpoint. They do, however, provide an

excellent reservoir for water, thereby controlling spring flooding to

some extent. Wildlife habitat is one of their major uses.

-189-

Photograph by A. A. Kjearsgaard

FIG.47 VEGETATIVE COVER AT THE PEERS SITE

-190-

Table 14. Meteorological data, Edson (1941-1970).

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Annual Total

Winter Snow

Mean Monthly Precipitation (mm)

30.9

25.9

23.3

26.9

59.6

84.3

104.1

77.4

45.4

24.1

25.6

25.9

533.9 Annual Mean

167.80

Soil s

Mean Monthly Temperature (oC)

-13.9

- 8.9

- 4.4

2.8

8.3

12.2

15.0

13.3

8.9

3.9

- 5.0

-11.1

1.7

Organic soils, as defined and classified in the Canadian taxonomic

system include al~ soils that have developed largely from organic deposits.

A commonly used name for such soils within the forested regions of north-

central United States, Canada, and Alaska is "muskeg ft , an indigeous term

-191-

of Algonquian and Cree origin meaning a moss-covered musk or peat bog

(Soils of Canada, 1977). Organic soils occur in all physiographic regions

of the tour area.

Organic soils are generally found in concave or level

topographic positions. Sometimes they occur along the peripheries of

sloughs and small lakes and in some cases they have completely overgrown

free water areas. They are commonly associated with muskeg vegetation

which includes black spruce, tamarack, and an undergrowth of feathermosses,

sphagnum moss, horsetails, various sedges, and Labrador tea. These soils

are commonly saturated to within a few centimetres of the surface.

Often associated with Organic soils are Gleysolic soils which

show intense mottling and restricted soil drainage. These soils are found

generally on lower sideslope positions in areas intermediate between well

drained upland soils and Organic soils in the depression. These soils

usually have accumulations of unconsolidated, semi-decomposed peat on the

surface of the mineral soil.

Organic soils in Alberta are generally divided into two

different types determined by the source material, whether sedge or moss.

Sedge bogs are more useful for agricultural purposes than the moss type.

Some sedge bogs can be used for pasture and production of grasses for hay.

Those Organic areas with a thick accumulat ion of moss generally al'e

excellent reservoirs for surface water. They help control spring flooding

and provide for a steady stream discharge throughout the summer. Small

areas associated with cultivated fields can be used for the production of

hay, pasture, and other crops if adequate drainage can be provided.

Drainage allows a more rapid rate of decomposition and greater subsid nee

and compaction of peat resulting in a shallower peat layer and thus better

-192-

ions for cultivation. A combination of pasturing, , and

tilling can result in the eventual incorporation of the organic with the

subsurface mineral layers to form a cultivated humic mineral soil.

problems in cultivated areas of Organic soils involve the

maintenanc of controlled drainage, adequate fertilization, and tillage

lces necessary to maintain a firm bed for seed ion and root

Other problems characteristic of cultivated Organic soils are

frost and fire hazards. Frozen conditions persist longer in the spring

while in the fall such areas are subject to earlier frosts than are the

better drained mineral soils. Drained Organic soils are subject to

serious ground fire. Uncontrolled burning can result in complete loss

of the organic layer, unevenness of land surface, aggravation of drainage

problems, and l"xposure of poorly structured mineral soils.

In some areas, thicker Fibrisols have been developed for

commercial peat moss pr'oduction and used as a soil amendment for nurseries

and home gardens. A number of enterprises of this kind have been developed

in Alberta and throughout Canada, particularly where a source of supply is

located within marketable access to urban areas.

The soil at this site is comprised of the remains of

feathermosses and sphagnum moss. There is little variation in the

composition of the material to depth. The first tier is mesic with a

thin layer of humic material near the surface. The second or middle

tier is also mesic and has a fibric layer at its base. Beneath the

fibric layer is a thin ash layer. The bottom tiep is also predominantly

mesic. There ape some thin horizons that ape too difficult to sample and

describe. This ular site has a very low woody content compared to

other Organic soil sites in the area.

-193-

The soil described and sampled at this site has been

classified as follows:

Canadian System - Typic Mesisol

U.S.A. System - Typic Hemist

FAO/UNESCO System - Histosol

Pedan Description.

Horizon

Of

Ohl

Oml

Om2

Om3

Om4

Of2

Depth (cm)

0-2 Brown (7.5YR 5/4 wet) fibric sphagnum moss; coarse

fibred; fine and coarse, oblique roots; abrupt, wavy

boundary; slightly acid.

2-5

5-40

40-55

55-75

75-108

108-127

Dark brown (7.5YR 3/2 wet) well decomposed moss peat;

few medium, horizontal, and abundant very fine,

random roots; medium acid.

Brown to dark brown (7.5YR 4/2 to 3/2 wet), moderately

decomposed moss peat; few fine, vertical roots; medium

acid.

Strong brown (7.5YR 5/6 wet) moderately decomposed

moss peat; very few medium, vertical roots; strongly

acid.

Dark brown (7.5YR 3/2 wet) moderately decomposed

moss peat; very few medium, vertical roots; medium

acid.

Brown to dark brown (7.5YR 4/2 wet) moderately

decomposed moss peat; medium acid.

Broh~ (7.5YR 5/4 wet) partially decomposed moss

peat; medium acid. Ash layer at base of this

horizon.

OmS

Om6

1 i ca 1

l~esj sol

-194-

Depth (em)

127-160 BpOWTl to dark brown (7.5YR 4/2 wet)

160+

Some chemical and

Peers ite are

mos ; medium acid.

brown (7.5YR 4/4 wet) modepately

moss ; medium acid.

properties of the Typic

in Table 15.

195

, )le 15. Analytical data for the Typic Mesisol at the Peers site.

~H Total f dzon H2O CaC1 2 C%

on 6.4 6.0 29.1 ~'1 5.8 5.6 39.5

n1 5.7 5.1 45.3 __ 02 5.5 5.2 48.2 Om3 5.6 5.4 44.9 nm4 5.6 5.1 46.8

f2 5.7 5.1 47.1 TIS 5.8 5.2 45.6

Om6 5.8 5.2 47.4 ASH 5.8 5.3 38.3

Available Nutrients (p~m}

Horizon N P-Bray K

on 34 12 181 Oh 51 6 73 Oml 4 1 2 Om2 Om3 Om4 Of2 OmS Om6 ASH

S

31 18 2

Total N%

2.06 4.29 3.75 2.15 3.09 2.60 2.31 2.72 2.97 1.98

Extracted

%C

24.9 28.0 1B.7

12.7 15.6

17.8

Horizon

on Oh Om1 Om2 Om3 0m4 Of2 OmS Om6 ASH

%N

37.7 34.7 21.4

19.0 22.8

24.8

C/N Total

14 9 156.8

12 170.5 22 155.8 15 176.4 18 185.2 20 155.8 17 92.1 16 45.1 15 50.0

Organic Matter

Cha/Cfa

0.79 0.96 O.Bl

1.73 2.43

2.33

Physical

Fibre Content

Unrub % Rub %

84 78 86 80 80 98 78 70 40

10 30 40 22 22 46 30 22 12

Buffered NH,OAc (pH?)

Ca Mg Nil. K

68.8 13.8 0.2 0.8 68.0 11.6 0.1 tr 67.0 11.8 0 tr 77 .3 12.6 0 0.1 76.9 12.6 0 tr 71.3 -12.3 0.1 0.1 40.9 7.2 0 tr 69.6 12.1 0.1 0.1 16.5 2.6 0 tr

FA HA E4/E6 E4/E6

15.0 9.5 13.8 9.9 14.2 8.8

12.8 7.8 12.8 7.9

12.0 7.7

-1

Plant i cri ion

A1 - 25%

( T alLar'ack )

A2 L01der crown 5%

(Black spr'uce)

B2 Lower shrub layer - 60%

la var,

(Bracted

Salix sp. (Willow)

triste (Wild red cUl'rant)

birch)

uckle)

Ledwn (Common Labrador tea)

C Herbs and grasses - 40%

Ca !o:mnnYI/)

l

(Marsh reed

(fireweed)

(Common yarrow)

Carex (Sedge)

(Kinnikinnick)

(Bog cranberry)

Pyrola asarifolia (Common pink wintergreen)

Viola sp. (Violet)

(

Po (Marsh cinquefoil)

D Mosses and lichens - 80%

Po

Dicranum sp.

Peltigera aphthosa

-197-

-198-

Soil description - follow the standard conventions oUTlined by Canada

Soil Committee (1977).

Analytical methods - as described by Canada Soil

General pl'ocedures are as follows:

Committee (1976).

pH: saturated paste (H20) and neutral salt (0.01 M CaC1 2 )

Total C: induction furnace method

CaC0 3 equiv: calcimeter method

Total N: semi-micro Kjeldahl

Exchangeable cations:

a. neutral salt - extracting with 2N NaCl

b. pH7 buffered ammonium acetate

Iron and aluminum:

a. dithionite - citrate - bicarbonate

b. acid ammonium oxalate (pH3)

c. sodium pyrophosphate (O.lM)

Water soluble salts: ions were determined on saturated

extracts.

Available nutrients:

a. N - modified PI Bray (NH4

F-H2

S04

) extract

b. P - modified PI Bray (NH4

F-H2

S04

) extract

c. K - ammonium acetate (iN)

d. S - 0.1 M CaC12

Organic matter: classical NaOH/Na4

P2

07

extractions

Mineralogy: x-ray diffraction of the <2 flm soil fraction

Fibre content: syringe method for fibres retained on 100 mesh

sieve.

-199-

Bulk density: saran coated clod method

Water holding capacity: pressure plate method

Atterberg limits: standard procedure

M

The a brief

the main features of the microfabric in The

relative • sizes or areal extent of features such as voids

and nodules are indicated in brackets follm-ling the feature descl' iLee.

The technical of the fabric in (1) Brewer's (1964) and (2) Brewer s

and Pawluk I s (1975) tel~minology is given following the general

On some occaS1ons only the that is best suited or most

descriptive is used. Analyses were conducted on thin sections

from polyester;-styrene samples.

nif cations Used

1. for script ions a) 25X - for color and of large peds

aggregates

b) 63X - for al'rangement of smaller units and more

detailed description

c) 125X - for examination of specific features

2. for photography - the size of the photographs at different

magnifications are listed. The size at a) 24X 1S 3.2 x 2.1 mm

to Relative

- after Stace et al. (1968)

ies of

a) cutans fre (F) >5% of the area

COEUTIOn (C) 5-2%

b) 60X 1S 1.2 x 0.8 mm

c) 120X is 0.6 x 0.4 mm

ical

b) nodules

-201-

occasional (0) 2-0.5%

rare (R) but easily located and identified

very rare (VR) section must be searched to positively ident

them.

(F) >20% of the area

(C) 10-20%

(0) 5-10%

(R) 2-5%

(VR) <2%

Description of Overall Porosity

Using only those voids greater than 25 ~m in diameter

< - very dense

5-10% - dense

10-25% - moderately porous or moderately packed

25-40% - highly porous or loosely packed

>40% - highly porous or very loosely packed

Note: a horizon that consists of well packed fine sand and silt at 25X

or 63X magnification is silasepic porphyroskelic while at higher

magnification it is granular. On some occasions, both fabrics

will be stated along with the applicable magnification.

Types of Banded Fabrics

- after Dumanski and St. Arnaud (1966)

1. isoband

2. banded fabric type A

3. banded fabric type B

4. banded fabric type C

, L.A a G.M. s cial

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-204-

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-205-

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r

I l

I [

for - sis.agr.gc.ca€¦ · west of rocky mountain house, the till is of cordilleran origin, while...

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