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Alma Claim. These gravels were deposited on a heavily eroded and very uneven surface of soft, <br /> fine grained Pennsylvania sandstone underlain by Precambrian basement rocks. <br /> Description of soils on Alma Placer affected lands was developed as a result of discussions with <br /> Soil Conservation Service staff members and existing soils surveys. In all pre-law northern <br /> disturbed areas, not a trace of topsoil was salvaged. The vast majority of these areas have washed <br /> gravels on the surface with very little fines. Natural vegetation has occurs extremely slowly in <br /> pre-law land reclamation, although there are a few patches of volunteer evergreens. Rooting <br /> materials are very scarce. <br /> Undisturbed soils in the permit area generally exhibit profile development to depths of 24 to 36 <br /> inches. Residual soils in the these areas have A horizons composed of approximately four to six <br /> inches of dark brown sandy loam or loam. These soils have a very gravelly light brown surface. <br /> However, these gravels are usually in the fine gravel range (4 mm to 20 mm) instead of <br /> exhibiting the full range of gravels. B horizons are about seven to ten inches thick usually sandy <br /> loam, sand or loamy sand textures. Parent materials are likely Quaternary gneiss dominant <br /> glacial till and alluvium. Weathering of this material leads to the development of generally sandy <br /> soils and a cobbley profile occurring on-site. The C horizon includes weathered bedrock and <br /> gravel and is encountered within 30-36 inches of the surface. <br /> Soils stripped to below the C horizon indicate that parent material has nutrient availability and <br /> water holding capacity similar to the developed profiles. Volunteer vegetation, usually native <br /> grasses,with some perennials and shrubs, is present within those areas bladed sometime since <br /> 1939. This volunteer vegetation suggests that even the parent material may be a suitable plant- <br /> growth medium. <br /> Four basic soil pedons occur on-site. The first map unit, UF, is found on flat to very gently <br /> sloping open grassy areas. The second pedon, map unit FA, is similar to map unit UF, but occurs <br /> under a forest canopy. Pedon three, map unit GO, exhibits characteristics quite different from <br /> those of map units OF and FA. These soils formed on very gravelly glacial outwash. <br /> Alma Placer Mine <.r,t ond Asu t6tm PIA <br /> December 2017 1-2 <br />