How To Use This Website

This site contains a wealth of information on the soils of Western Stanislaus County. Browsing through the menus, you will find a variety of maps, written descriptions, and interpretive tables with detailed information on the 105 soil mapping units. Further helpful information on natural resources topics can be accessed as well.

The site has the same structure as the printed soil survey report with sections and subsections, in the form of a dynamic menu or table of contents.  To expand the main section menus, click the 's.  The subsections will become visible.  To close or collapse the section menus, click the 's.  

The typical soil survey user may simply want to locate their site on a soils map and go directly to the mapping unit description for that soil. To do this, click on "Introduction-Index to Map Sheets". At the following page, click on "Index to Map Sheets (View)". This will take you to a gridded base map of Western Stanislaus County, comprised of 20 quadrangle maps. Find your general location, and click on the appropriate quad map sheet. Once the map has fully loaded on the page, use the scroll bars to move to your location. When you find your site, simply click on the MUID's pull down menu, then place cursor on the 3-digit soil map unit number and click. This will take you to the description page. Scroll up or down on that page for a description of the representative soil profile for that soil series. 

If you are interested in printing maps, click "Introduction-Index to Map Sheets", then "Download Map Sheets" from the menu on the left.  This will take you to a gridded base map of Western Stanislaus County, comprised of 20 quadrangle maps. That page includes instructions to download a map. The .jpg files can be loaded into most PC applications from which you can print graphics.  You may also view the maps and print directly from your browser. 

If you’re only interested in a soils description, skip the map steps and click on the next to "Detailed Soil Map Units" from the menu on the left, then click on the desired soil map unit appearing on the menu that opens.  A description of the mapping unit is displayed.

Specific topics listed below can be found by clicking on the following menu items:

Soil Properties   Summary of Tables
Engineering Properties   Temperature and Precipitation
Textural Properties Freeze Dates in Spring and Fall
AASHTO Classifications Growing Season
Physical & Chemical Properties Acreage and proportionate extent of the soils
Soil Features Prime Farmland
Water Features Farmland of Statewide Importance
Use & management of the soils Yields per Acre of Crops
Prime Farmland Land Capability Classification
Crops and Pasture Storie Index Rating
Land Capability Rangeland Productivity and Characteristic Plant Communities
Major Land Resource Areas Recreational Development
Storie Index Building Site Development
Rangeland Sanitary Facilities
Vegetative Soil Groups Construction Materials
Wildlife Water Management
Engineering Engineering Index Properties
  Physical & Chemical Properties of the Soils
  Water Features
  Soil Features
  Selected Physical Laboratory Data
  Selected Chemical Laboratory Data
  Classification of the Soils
  NRCS FOTG Section II - RUSLE- California