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Mountain Coal Company Exhibit 27 <br />• West Elk Mine Characteristics of West Elk Mine Soil Mapping Units <br />than in areas of low or intermediate elevation. Evapotranspiration rates are lower and <br />demands for total soil moisture are less extreme because of colder temperature and <br />shorter growing season. <br />Morahological Group 8 <br />Soils in morphological group 8 are maturely developed. heavily timbered. and cold, have <br />thick light colored surface horizons (A2 horizons): and occur at high elevation (above <br />7,800 feet). This group includes mapping unit X38. <br />The soils of group 8 have limited acreage and occur only in the southern and <br />southeastern parts of the mine area in the general area of Beaver Reservoir. They occur <br />on moderately to steeply sloping ridge and hillsides at elevations above 7,800 feet. They <br />are cold soils with mean annual soil temperature of less than 47°F and mean summer soil <br />temperatures of less than 59°F. They occur only on north-facing slopes under dense cover <br />of conifers. <br />The soils of the group are characterized by very friable, platy to granular moderately <br />• coarse-textured surface mineral horizons 10 to 24 inches thick that are light gray to very <br />pale brown when dry and brown to yellowish brown when moist. These are underlain <br />by transitional horizons that retain most of the properties described for the surface <br />horizons but in addition contain seams and nodules of finer textured material like that of <br />the underlying B2t horizons. The B2t horizons generally start 20 to 40 inches below the <br />surface of the ground and consist of bright colored, blocky, moderately tine textured <br />material with evidence of clay translocation and accumulation as coatings and flow <br />surfaces on pad faces and in root channels and pores. Normally such horizons are 20 to <br />50 inches thick and grade into somewhat coarser textured C horizons. Surface soil <br />textures are usually sandy loam while those of the B horizon are loam, clay loam, or <br />sandy clay loam. <br />• <br />Exhibit 27-37 <br />