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Soils

Soil Survey Manuals / guides

List of Published Soil Surveys, United States

~90% of soil surveys from all states are available online at:  https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/soilsurvey/soils/survey/state/ 

Most soil surveys (and subsequent soil maps) can be found through the NRCS link above. The pdf’s of the soil surveys can be viewed using any browser, however, the soil maps can (currently) only be viewed using Firefox or possibly Microsoft Edge.

The soil surveys are available in print in Parks Library according to the table below.

 

Title Coverage Call # Locations Notes
Soil Survey of Iowa, Report 1917-1942

S599 I8 Io9s

Storage, Microfilm, Special Collections Covers only 82 of the 99 Iowa counties
Soil Maps of Iowa 1913-1930

S599 I8 S65x

Special Collections

Covers 70 Iowa counties, including maps not covered by the above set.

Maps taken from the two series below and cut up and mounted in separate booklets by county, with one township per leaf.

Soil Survey Reports (U.S.) Covers 1923 onwards

S599 Un3fs

Tier 5 All States, including Iowa (post-1923)
Field Operations of U.S. Bureau of Soils 1899-1922

S599 Un3f

Parks Library Storage Annex All States, including Iowa (pre-1922)

(NOTE: pre-1922 reports are in the Field Operations of U.S. Soils publication)

 

Concerning  the state of Iowa soil maps: The following soil surveys for the county/year indicated are not available on the NRCS website.  Soil maps only are available online for the counties with associated URLs.

Direct Links to missing Iowa Counties from the NRCS website where available through the ISU digital repository.

Clarke County – 1926 https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/soilmaps/58/
Decatur County – 1910  
Fremont County – 1928  
Guthrie County – 1929 https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/soilmaps/92/
Hancock County – 1930 https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/soilmaps/91/
Ida County – 1939 https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/soilmaps/95/
Jefferson County – 1925 https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/soilmaps/59/
Lee County - 1916 https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/soilmaps/7/
Marion County – 1939  
Monroe County – 1931  
Osceola County - 1940  
Pocahontas County – 1928 https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/soilmaps/85/
Story County – 1941  
Tama County - 1950  
Taylor County – 1954  
Washington County - 1930 https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/soilmaps/93/
Winneshiek County – 1927

East: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/soilmaps/56/

West: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/soilmaps/57/

Woodbury County - 1923

East: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/soilmaps/25/

West: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/soilmaps/26/

Worth County - 1922 https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/soilmaps/60/