West Virginia Soil Surveys

Web Soil Survey (WSS).  West Virginia has map data for 53 counties available on the national Web Soil Survey. Three basic steps - Define, View, and Explore - make the Web Soil Survey a simple yet powerful way to access and analyze soil data.  After defining a location on the screen, the viewer can print a map with related soils and other information, save the map to a hard drive, or download the data for use in a geographic information system (GIS). The viewer can also explore the designated location for specific data on soil suitability for various uses, and create customized reports for printing or saving.  Map data for Fayette and Raleigh counties will be added as it becomes available. Soils report data can be generated through the Web Soil Survey for these counties without map data.

Digital soils. Digital soil layers and associated data may be obtained from the Soil Data Mart (download only) or the Geospatial Data Gateway (download, CD-ROM, or DVD). Digitizing of county soil survey data sets is in progress; not all survey areas are available in digital format. See the Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database website for more information on digital soils. (Digital soils are also available through the Web Soil Survey.)

Bound, hard copy soil surveys. To obtain a free copy of the most recent county soil survey publication, send an e-mail with the words "Soil Survey Request" in the subject line to Stephen Carpenter, State Soil Scientist and MLRA Leader. Remember to include in your message all pertinent information such as county you are requesting, your name, and a mailing address where the information may be sent. Receipt of material is subject to availability and only one copy per customer per request. If additional copies are needed, please call the appropriate USDA service center. The hard copy soil survey publications contain information that was current as of the publication date; the text, tables, and soil maps may have been updated since publication. The most up-to-date information is available on the Web Soil Survey.

PDF format. Several county soil surveys are available in .pdf format (see table below). Adobe Acrobat is required to view PDF documents. PDF files of West Virginia’s most recent soil surveys are available at the NRCS Soils website. To link to the PDF file through the Web Soil Survey, select  "Archived Soil Surveys" in the left column of the WSS home page, or select the tab at the top of the WSS Area of Interest page. Then select West Virginia and a county. In addition, PDF files of some historical archive West Virginia soil surveys are available through the links in the table below. These historical surveys contain information that was current as of the publication date and are available for reference; the text, tables, and soil maps may have been updated since publication. The most up-to-date information will be posted to the Web Soil Survey when available. A CD of any of these PDF files may be requested from this office. To request a PDF file CD, send an e-mail with the words “PDF file CD Request” in the subject line to Stephen Carpenter, State Soil Scientist and MLRA Leader. Include the name of the county you are requesting, your name, and a mailing address.

SoilView 2.7 CDs.  Many soil surveys are available in SoilView 2.7 CD format. SoilView 2.7 is a method of viewing information traditionally published in a hard copy soil survey. SoilView allows the user to look at data layers including soils, roads, and streams over an aerial photograph or topographic map background and link to soil map unit descriptions and various soil properties and interpretations. SoilView is a runtime version of the ESRI GIS software ArcView, and is a product of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. To request a SoilView CD, check availability in the table below and send an e-mail with the words “SoilView CD Request” in the subject line to Stephen Carpenter, State Soil Scientist and MLRA Leader. Include the name of the county you are requesting, your name, and a mailing address.

• View the National List of Published Soil Surveys
• Visit the Major Land Resource Area Office #13 Home Page

These publications require Adobe Acrobat.

View the status map Web Soil Survey - WV Counties Available  (522 KB) (Updated 4/2008)
View the status map of WV Digital (SSURGO) Soils (269 KB) (Updated 4/2008)
View the status map of WV Soil Surveys (411 KB) (Updated 4/2008)

Status of West Virginia Soil Survey Reports, April 2008

County	Responsible Service Center	Phone	Status of Published Survey (bound, hard copy)	PDF File (Requires Adobe Acrobat)	Status of Soilview 2.7 CD
Barbour	Philippi	304-457-4516	Available	Barbour County, WV  (16,299 KB) (Historical Archive)	-
Berkeley	Martinsburg	304-263-7547	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Boone	Huntington	304-697-6033	Available	-	Available
Braxton	Gassaway	304-364-5103	Available	-	Available
Brooke	McMechen	304-242-0576	Available	-	-
Cabell	Huntington	304-697-6033	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Calhoun	Glenville	304-462-7171	Available	Calhoun and Roane Counties, WV (7,413 KB) Index to Map Sheets	Available
Clay	Gassaway	304-364-5103	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Doddridge	Mt. Clare	304-624-9232	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Fayette	Beckley	304-255-9225	Available	-	-
Gilmer	Glenville	304-462-7177	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Grant	Petersburg	304-257-4702	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Greenbrier	Lewisburg	304-645-6172	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Hampshire	Romney	304-822-3020	Available	-	Available
Hancock	McMechen	304-242-0576	Available	-	-
Hardy	Moorefield	304-530-2825	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Harrison	Mt. Clare	304-624-9232	Available	-	-
Jackson	Ripley	304-372-6231	Available	-	-
Jefferson	Ranson	304-725-3471	Available	Jefferson County, WV (12,509 KB) (Historical Archive)	-
Kanawha	Cross Lanes	304-776-5256	Available	-	Available
Lewis	Weston	304-269-8431	Available	-	Available
Lincoln	Huntington	304-697-6033	To be published	NRCS Soils	-
Logan	Huntington	304-697-6033	To be published	-	-
Marion	White Hall	304-363-8861	Available	-	Available
Marshall	McMechen	304-242-0576	Out of print	-	-
Mason	Point Pleasant	304-675-2020	Available	-	-
McDowell	Princeton	304-487-1404	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Mercer	Princeton	304-487-1404	Available	-	-
Mineral	Keyser	304-788-2332	Available		Available
Mingo	Huntington	304-697-6033	To be published		-
Monongalia	Morgantown	304-291-4377	Available		Available
Monroe	Union	304-772-3006	Available	Monroe County, WV (51,244 KB) Index to Map Sheets (Historical Archive)	-
Morgan	Martinsburg	304-263-7547	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Nicholas	Summersville	304-872-1731	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Ohio	McMechen	304-242-0576	Available	-	-
Pendleton	Franklin	304-358-2285	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Pleasants	Sistersville	304-758-2173	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Pocahontas	Buckeye	304-799-4317	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Preston	Kingwood	304-329-1923	Out of print	Preston County, WV (192,273 KB) (Historical Archive)	-
Putnam	Point Pleasant	304-675-2020	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Raleigh	Beckley	304-255-9225	Available	-	-
Randolph	Elkins	304-636-6703	Available	Tucker and Northern Randolph Counties, WV (84,735 KB) (Historical Archive)	-
Ritchie	Parkersburg	304-422-9072	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Roane	Spencer	304-927-1023	Available	Calhoun and Roane Counties, WV (7,413 KB) Index to Map Sheets	Available
Summers	Princeton	304-487-1404	Available	-	-
Taylor	White Hall	304-363-8861	Available	-	-
Tucker	Elkins	304-636-6703	Out of print	Tucker and Northern Randolph Counties, WV (84,735 KB) (Historical Archive)	-
Tyler	Sistersville	304-758-2173	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Upshur	Weston	304-269-8431	Available	Upshur County, WV (81,825 KB)	Available
Wayne	Huntington	304-697-6033	Available	-	Available
Webster	Summersville	304-872-1731	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Wetzel	Sistersville	304-758-2173	Available	NRCS Soils	Available
Wirt	Parkersburg	304-422-9072	Available	-	-
Wood	Parkersburg	304-422-9072	Available	-	-
Wyoming	Beckley	304-255-9225	Available	-	Available