Soil Texture Classification by Place

What is Soil Texture?

Soil texture refers to the relative proportions of sand, silt, and clay particles in the soil. It's one of the most fundamental properties of soil and affects water retention, drainage, nutrient availability, and plant growth.

USDA Soil Texture Classes

The USDA soil texture classification system categorizes soils into 12 main classes:

• Clay: Fine-textured soil with excellent water retention
• Loam: Balanced mixture of sand, silt, and clay - ideal for most plants
• Sand: Coarse-textured soil with excellent drainage
• Silt: Medium-textured soil with good fertility
• Clay Loam: Good water retention with moderate drainage
• Sandy Loam: Good drainage with moderate water retention

Why Soil Texture Matters

Understanding your soil texture helps with:

• Gardening: Choose the right plants and watering schedules
• Agriculture: Optimize crop selection and irrigation
• Construction: Assess foundation suitability and drainage needs
• Landscaping: Design appropriate drainage and planting systems

Data Source: POLARIS

Our soil texture data comes from the POLARIS (Probabilistic Remapping of SSURGO) dataset, which provides high-resolution (300m) soil property maps across the United States. POLARIS uses machine learning to downscale the traditional SSURGO soil survey data, providing more detailed and spatially consistent soil information.