Soils of the - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

DEVIL SOILS (DV)
Location and Extent : Devil soils occur only in the vicinity of Blue Mountain northeast of Haney, where abou t
280 ha of pure map units are classified .
Topography and Elevation : The topography of Devil soils is strongly to moderately rolling with slop e
gradients ranging between 10 and 30 percent . Elevations lie between 700 and 750 m above sea level .
Parent Material and Texture : Devil soils have developed from stony, moderately coarse to coarse-texture d
glacial till, about 80 to 200 cm thick, which overlies and is mainly derived from Tertiary sandstone an d
conglomerate . Sandy loam, gravelly sandy loam or sometimes loam are the usual surface textures while sand y
loam, gravelly loamy sand or loamy sand are usual in the subsurface and subsoil . In some areas the underlyin g
bedrock is partially weathered .
Soil Moisture Characteristics : Devil soils are moderately well drained . They are rapidly to moderatel y
pervious and have moderate water holding capacity and moderate to slow surface runoff. Lateral, telluri c
seepage along the surface of the underlying bedrock is usual during and after heavy rain and during snowmelt .
General Soil Description : Devil soils have between 10 and 20 cm of coniferous forest litter on the minera l
soil surface, the lower half of which is well-decomposed, friable and very dusky red to dark reddish brown i n
colour. Under this is 5 to 10 cm of leached, grayish, sandy material which abruptly overlies about 60 cm of dar k
reddish brown to yellowish-brown, friable, sandy or loamy material that contains between 8 and 15 percen t
organic matter. Below this is about 15 cm of firm, yellowish-brown, strongly weathered sandstone or con -
glomerate which grades to unweathered rock . Soil reaction is extremely acid throughout except in the partiall y
weathered rock where it is strongly acid . Soil classification is Orthic Ferro-Humic Podzol.
Commonly Associated Soils : Whonnock, Dennett, Sayres and Golden Ears soils occupy map polygon s
adjacent to Devil soils . Whonnock and Golden Ears soils differ from Devil soils by having developed mainly fro m
glacial till derived from and overlying, granitic rock . Both have strongly cemented subsoil layers and, additionally,
Whonnock soils are imperfectly drained . Sayres soils differ by having bedrock within 1 m or less of th e
surface while Dennett soils consist of 10 cm or more of organic forest litter over bedrock .
Vegetation : Parts of the Devil soil areas have been logged . Unlogged areas support a coniferous forest
consisting mainly of western hemlock, coast Douglas-fir and western red cedar mixed with Pacific silver fir ,
mountain hemlock and yellow cedar. Rooting is generally unrestricted to within 15 cm of the underlying rock .
General Land Use Comments : (1) The high elevations (adverse climate) and steep topography mak e
Devil soils unsuitable for agricultural or urban uses . (2) Forest production is high . Mean annual increments of
about 9 to 12 m 3/ha/yr by western hemlock are estimated . (3) The underlying sandstone and conglomerat e
provides a local aggregate source .
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