Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database Description

Data Product Keywords

Soils, soil survey area, map units, components, properties, interpretations, productivity.

Summary

Field mapping methods using national standards are used to construct the soil maps in the Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database. Mapping scales generally range from 1:12,000 to 1:63,360; SSURGO is the most detailed level of soil mapping done by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). SSURGO digitizing duplicates the original soil survey maps. This level of mapping is designed for use by landowners, townships, and county natural resource planning and management. The user should be knowledgeable of soils data and their characteristics.

Extent of Program

National.

Available Product Coverage

SSURGO data are available for selected counties and areas throughout the United States and its territories. The Soil Data Mart lists the survey areas available.

Information Content

Digitizing is done by line segment (vector) format in accordance with Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) digitizing standards. The mapping bases meet national map accuracy standards. SSURGO data are distributed as a complete coverage for a soil survey area.

SSURGO is linked to a National Soil Information System (NASIS) attribute database. The attribute database gives the proportionate extent of the component soils and their properties for each map unit. The SSURGO map units consist of 1 to 3 components each.

Examples of information that can be queried from the database are: available water capacity, soil reaction, electrical conductivity, and flooding; building site development and engineering uses; cropland, woodland, rangeland, pastureland, and wildlife; and recreational development.

Product Delivery Format

The map extent for a SSURGO dataset is a soil survey area, which may consist of a county, multiple counties, or parts of multiple counties. A SSURGO dataset consists of map data, attribute data, and metadata. SSURGO map data are available in ArcView® shapefile, ArcInfo™ coverage, and ArcInfo™ Interchange file formats. The coordinate systems are Geographic, Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), and State Plane. Attribute data are distributed in ASCII format and can be imported into a Microsoft® Access® database. Metadata are in ASCII and XML format.

Technical Information

To obtain technical information about the use of soil data, please contact the NRCS State Soil Scientist in your state, or:

Soils Hotline Staff
Telephone: (402) 437-5378 (Steve Speidel) or (402) 437-5379 (Tammy Cheever)

Ordering Information

To obtain SSURGO soil spatial and attribute data:

• Soil Data Mart (download only)


• Geospatial Data Gateway (download, CD-ROM, or DVD)

Media Price

The cost is $50 for single CD-ROM or $100 for single DVD disk which may contain one or more survey areas, depending on file size. The cost is $500 for Digital Linear Tape (DLT) (special order only).

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