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• 'The remnants of virgin gravels on the property sho thick- <br /> nesses of up to 30 feet at the southern end of the Powless <br /> Claim and up to 60 feet at the southern rim of the p evious- <br /> ly worked gravel on the Alma Claim. Bedrock was obs ~rved in <br /> three places on the Alma Claim. This rock is a so t, fine <br /> grained Pennsylvania sandstone underlain by a so t black <br /> shale. Visualizing the periodic Flooding and heavy, <br /> sediment-filled water outflows from the glaciers, o e would <br /> expect a heavily eroded and very uneven surface in t is soft <br /> bedrock. <br /> Description of the soils existing within the lan s to be <br /> affected by mining was developed as a result of disc ussions <br /> with Soil Conservation Service staff members and tudy of <br /> existing soils surveys. Photos 7, 8 and 9 are repr esenta- <br /> tive of typical soil profiles. <br /> Soils in the permit area generally exhibit sign ificant <br /> profile development to depths of 30 to 36 inches. ~ esidual <br /> soils in the area have A horizons that are appro imately <br /> four to six inches of dark brown sandy loam or loam. These <br /> soils have a light brown surface that is very gr avelly. <br /> However, the gravels are usually in the fine grave l range <br /> (4mm to 20inm) instead of exhibiting the Eull r nge of <br /> gravels. <br />• The soils over the area have B horizons about seve to ten <br /> inches thick usually of sandy loam, sand or loa ~y sand <br /> textures. <br />Parent materials are generally from quaternary glac al till <br />and alluvium, the most common are gneisses. The weathering <br />of this material has lead to the development of th gener- <br />ally sandy soils and cobbly profile occurring on sit The <br />C horizon above and including weathered bedrock an gravel <br />is encountered within 30-36 inches from the surface. <br />Considerable soil disturbance has occurred over th~ permit <br />area. Tailings piles that have been present sinc about <br />1939 have little indication of soil development or r vegeta- <br />tion, although there are a few patches of volunteeF ever- <br />greens. Soils that have been stripped to belo the C <br />horizon indicate that the parent material has n trient <br />availability and water holding capacity similar to the <br />developed profiles. Volunteer vegetation, usually native <br />grasses, with some perennials and shrubs, is presen within <br />those areas bladed sometime since 1939. This vo~unteer <br />vegetation suggests that even the parent material lay be a <br />suitable plant-growth medium. <br />• <br />26 <br />