The source area of the Urumqi River in the cental part of Tianshan Mountainsunderwent several glacier environmental changes.
Tills extended outwards 12 km fromthe end part of the No. I glacier. Soil development kept pace with the biologicalevolution. On the bare surface of moraines, microbial and algae communities appearedfirstly, then lichen and moss grew, finally they evolved into alpine meadow. With thesame pace of vegetation development the alpine soils first were (A)-C profile firstly,then developed to A-C Profile and finally became A-(B)-C profile. AlPine soils havenegative temperature and icy soil body, undergoing a freezing-thawing-freezing processwith state changes of ice-water-ice. Frost heaving and stone Polygons appear on thesoil surface with squamose structure, and soils have weak humification anddecomPosition of minerals. Alpine soils have different degrees of Profile
formation. Noprofiles in primitive soils, obvious humic
horizons in Cryi-orthic Entisols, and perfectA and B horizons in Mattic-cryic Cambisols can be found.