Soil survey of the County of Two Hills No. 21, Alberta

The soil survey of the County of Two Hills No.1 began in the spring of 1971. This survey was the first in Alberta to be carried out on a county basis. The format of the report and the type of map presentation used is also a first in the province.

This soil survey was carried out to update a portion of the reconnaissance survey, Wainwright and Vermilion Sheets, which is adequate for present day needs because of the mapping scale employed. The new survey benefits from more intensive investigation of soils in the field, use of recent, good quality aerial photographs and improved map presentation (photo base).

The report outlines in detail the system that was employed in soil mapping. The soils were mapped on the basis of soil associations. Each soil association is characterized on the basis of its parent material, tax-economic classification, the topography on which it commonly occurs, surface and internal drainage and the dominant textures. The association names correspond to the series names previously established in older soil survey reports for similar soils. Each soil association is subdivided into soil mapping units that are based on soil subgroups. Each mapping unit is defined on the basis of the proportions of soil present and the extent of erosion, if any.