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Table 3
Summary of Description of Zones in the Upper Mackenzie Area
Zone Dominant Soil Dominant Vegetation Permafrost and Associated Landforms
2 Cryic Brunisols and Cryic Open black spruce-lichen-Ledum Because of the fine-textured till material and
Gleysols on till and sandy and type on all drainage situations . higher elevation, permafrost is widespread .
gravelly deposits . Alpine Aspen and jack pine on Fine-textured materials have a typical hummocky
Brunisols above the timber- recently burned areas . Some micro-topography with little cryoturbation .
line . These soils are slightly white spruce is found in On coarser materials above the timberline
affected by cryoturbation . valleys . Above the timber- nonsorted circles, nonsorted stripes and non-
Cryic Fibrisols and Cryic line (3,300 feet a .s .l .) sorted steps are found . Sand and gravel are
Mesisols dominate the peat- alpine tundra type of also frozen, but with no indication of
lands . vegetation . micro-topography . Almost continuous permafrost
on peatlands and peaty gleysols . Peat
plateaus and palsas are indicators of permafrost
on peatland .
3 Cryic Brunisols and Cryic Open black spruce-lichen-Ledum Widespread permafrost on well to imperfectly
Gleysols on till deposits . type on all drainage situations in drained fine-textured deposits . Some of the
Alpine Brunisols above the the lowland except for peat poly- soils have a typical hummocky topography with
timberline . These soils, gons which are treeless and little cryoturbation . Almost continuous
especially in the alpine covered with lichens . Some aspen permafrost on peatland and peaty gleysols .
areas, are affected by and jack pine is found on recent Peat plateaus, peat polygons and palsas are
cryoturbation . Cryic burns . White spruce is found in indicators of permafrost on peatlands .
Fibrisols dominate the
valleys and on mountain slopes
peatlands . where it forms the timberline at
approximately 3,300 to 3,400 feet
a .s .l .
4 . Luvisols and Brunisols on well Dominantly black spruce type of Discontinuous permafrost on poorly drained fineto
imperfectly drained and vegetation on all sites . Aspen textured mineral soils . Widespread permafrost
Cryic Gleysols on poorly and jack pine common on burned on peatland, especially on bogs, in the form of
drained mineral deposits . areas . White spruce found in peat plateaus and palsas .
Cryic Fibrisols and Cryic valleys . Open black spruce-
Mesisols are associated with lichen-Ledum type on perennially
bogs and Mesisols are frozen peatlands . Sedge and
associated with fen types tamarack type on fens .
of peatland .