STATSGO: Soil Characteristics for the Conterminous United States at 1-Kilometer Resolution

STATSGO soil mapping unit identifiers gridded on a 1-kilometer resolution for the conterminous United States. The data were derived by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1994 for regional and national studies requiring estimates of soil characteristics, such as permeability and available water capacity.

Use Cases

• Parameterizing watershed simulation models based on spatially lumped soil hydraulic parameters like permeability and available water capacity.
• Explaining regional water-quality variations using soil characteristics such as organic matter and bulk density as variables.
• Assessing soil erosion risk using the soil erodibility factor (KFACT) and soil loss tolerance factor (TFACT).
• Modeling agricultural suitability or hydrology based on weighted averages of slope, depth to water table, and depth to bedrock.

Strengths

• Covers the conterminous United States at a 1-kilometer grid resolution.
• Provides weighted average values for multiple soil characteristics, including permeability, available water capacity, and organic matter.
• Data structure allows joining attribute tables to the spatial grid for analysis.

Limitations

• Last updated 1994-01-01 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Department of Agriculture (STATSGO), processed by USGS.

Collection Method

Derived from the STATSGO database using arc macro language (aml) and Fortran programs to compute weighted averages of soil components.

Time Range

1994

Freshness

1994-01-01 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Conterminous United States