Is there a way to tell if land is full of permafrost just by looking at it?

Is there a way to tell if land is full of permafrost just by looking at it?

Permafrost is intermittent in and around Fairbanks. While there are some visual indicators, they are not 100% reliable when determining whether or not land has permafrost.  For starters, look at the other houses in the area and the types of foundations they have.  If most homes are on posts, or if houses with conventional foundations are sagging, that could be a sign of permafrost.  If the land is down in the flats or on the north side of a hill and contains lots of little black spruce trees and moss, that often indicates ice in the soil, because the land cannot support a big root structure. Sometimes a piece of land can have good-looking ground but permafrost underneath at a low depth or ice lenses (pockets of ice) only under small areas.

If you decide to build on a site, it’s important to test the subsurface conditions to look at the occurrence, extent, and characteristics of permafrost, ground ice, soil, and rock. Borehole drilling is the most common and cost-effective method for evaluating permafrost, which can be performed by a soil engineer. As you begin planning your foundation, it’s a good idea to talk to a structural engineer about your foundation design. It should also be noted that some banks may not be willing to finance a home built on this type of soil due to the inherent risks.