Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks for the soil order in the USDA Soil Taxonomy that characterizes cold regions, specifically involving permafrost and frost-action processes like cryoturbation.
Detailed Explanation:
• Gelisols: These are soils of very cold climates that contain permafrost (soil at or below $0^{\circ}$C for at least two consecutive years) within two meters of the surface.
• Cryoturbation: A defining characteristic of Gelisols is cryoturbation. This is the process of mixing soil layers due to the repeated freezing and thawing of ground ice. This "churning" results in irregular or broken soil horizons and sometimes brings stones to the surface.
• Analysis of other options:
- Oxisols: Highly weathered tropical soils, rich in iron and aluminum oxides.
- Vertisols: Clay-rich soils that shrink and swell with moisture changes, causing deep cracks.
- Andisols: Soils formed from volcanic ash.
Step 2: Final Answer:
The soil order exhibiting cryoturbation in cold climates is Gelisols.