Acid sulfate soils of the Mackay area of North Queensland - MWQM

This dataset is an acid sulfate soils map for the Mackay area of North Queensland, from Shoal Point to Sandy Creek and Seaforth. The mapping covers parts of the Calen, Cape Hillsborough, Mackay and Sarina 1: 50,000 map sheets (8656-2, 8756-3, 8755-4, 8755-3) and was completed in 2004. It shows the presence of, type of, and average depth to acid sulfate soil layers in polygons interpreted as relatively homogenous acid sulfate environments. A combination of soils description, laboratory testing, elevation and geology data, and API (airphoto interpretation) was used to construct the map.This mapping is at a nominal scale of 1:50,000 and is restricted to coastal areas below 5m AHD. However, the effective scale of each map polygon varies based on the number of soil description sites within it. This map may be used for strategic land use planning. It is also appropriate for a very general preliminary assessment of acid sulfate hazard at property scale. However, it is not sufficiently detailed for intensive development planning.