Soil evolution on a terrace chronosequence in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming

1994 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.A series of strath terraces overlain with alluvial deposits from glacial and inter-glacial periods were used to develop a chronosequence. The sequence of soils examined in this study illustrate the effects of time on soil formation. Clay and carbonate percentages showed significant increases over time. Other indicators of soil evolution were less useful in evaluating the relationship between time and soil properties. Mineralogy characterization shows a predominance of smectite throughout the clay size fractions at each site. Chlorite, vermiculite and palygorskite are also abundant as well as intergrades of chlorite-smectite and mica-smectite. Results of this study demonstrate the dominance of aeolian additions to soil vs. chemical weathering in these environments. This work provides a greater understanding of the relationship between soil properties and time and should prove useful to pedologists, geologists and other scientists interested in landscape evolution