Environmental Description:  From Boggs (2000): This is a major type on the barrier island, dune, and spit landscape, and a minor component of the outwash plain and uplifted marsh landscapes of the Cooper River Delta, Alaska. The distribution pattern of the sites ranges from large and continuous, primarily on dunes, to patchy and discontinuous on outwash and uplifted marshes. On barrier islands, coastal dunes, and spits, this type usually occupies the upper and mid dune sites above the Leymus arenarius / Achillea millefolium var. borealis community type and below the forested types. The surface topography is undulating and uneven, and shifting sand may still be common. Salt inputs from ocean spray is likely sporadic, and precipitation rapidly leaches the salts from the system. On uplifted marshes, this type occupies moist slough levees, and on outwash plains, it occupies abandoned channels and new alluvial deposits. On dunes, the soils are classified as Typic Cryopsamments. They are characterized by a thin (0 to 2 inches) humus layer, over deep, well-drained silt and sand, with minor horizon development. Mottles and gleying were not encountered. The pH of the mineral soil ranges from 5.6 to 6.5.