Soil series profile
Ascalon soil series
Ascalon is a well drained soil with a fine sandy loam surface, mapped on 1,249,030 acres in 38 counties across 5 states. Hydrologic group B.
- Drainage class
- Well drained >99% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- B 99% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 7.0 neutral · range 7.0–7.2
- Mapped area
- 1.2M acres in 38 counties, 5 states
Typical Ascalon profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–7 in (Ap) | Fine sandy loam | 7.0 | 9% | 65% | 1% |
| 7–13 in (Bt1) | Sandy clay loam | 7.2 | 25% | 57% | 0.6% |
| 13–18 in (Bt2) | Sandy clay loam | 7.4 | 25% | 57% | 0.48% |
| 18–48 in (Bk) | Sandy loam | 8.2 | 17% | 62% | 0.22% |
| 48–80 in (C) | Sandy loam | 8.2 | 8% | 68% | 0.1% |
What this means
What Ascalon soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Ascalon soils is neutral: pH 7.0 (most land between 7.0 and 7.2), the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.
Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers 96% of mapped Ascalon acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is sandy loam (65% of mapped Ascalon acres).
>99% of mapped Ascalon acres is moderately well to excessively drained, which suits most garden plants.
For lawns and yards
Most land is in hydrologic groups B and C, where rain soaks in at a moderate pace.
For a septic system
For conventional septic absorption fields, NRCS rates <1% of the acres in mapped Ascalon soils very limited, 66% somewhat limited and 32% not limited.
Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.
Where Ascalon soil is found
Mapped acres
Ascalon is mapped in Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and Montana.
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Weld County, CO | 270,297 | 10.6% |
| Washington County, CO | 133,827 | 8.3% |
| Laramie County, WY | 102,214 | 6.0% |
| Lincoln County, CO | 86,971 | 5.3% |
| Adams County, CO | 85,609 | 11.3% |
| Elbert County, CO | 83,291 | 7.1% |
| El Paso County, CO | 65,835 | 4.5% |
| Morgan County, CO | 63,497 | 7.9% |
| Baca County, CO | 62,052 | 3.8% |
| Kit Carson County, CO | 45,292 | 3.3% |
| Logan County, CO | 44,653 | 3.8% |
| Goshen County, WY | 27,383 | 2.0% |
| Fall River County, SD | 20,071 | 1.8% |
| Boulder County, CO | 19,686 | 4.2% |
| Yuma County, CO | 18,437 | 1.3% |
| Las Animas County, CO | 16,791 | 0.6% |
| Larimer County, CO | 13,319 | 0.8% |
| Arapahoe County, CO | 12,244 | 2.3% |
| Chase County, NE | 11,770 | 2.1% |
| Cheyenne County, CO | 11,520 | 1.0% |
| Crook County, WY | 11,118 | 0.6% |
| Phillips County, CO | 10,262 | 2.4% |
| Garfield County, CO | 7,695 | 0.4% |
| Denver County, CO | 6,567 | 6.5% |
| Johnson County, WY | 5,587 | 0.2% |
| Sedgwick County, CO | 4,166 | 1.2% |
| Big Horn County, MT | 1,954 | 0.0% |
| Delta County, CO | 1,598 | 0.3% |
| Perkins County, NE | 1,378 | 0.2% |
| Jefferson County, CO | 1,359 | 0.3% |
| Deuel County, NE | 765 | 0.3% |
| Douglas County, CO | 661 | 0.1% |
| Cheyenne County, NE | 550 | 0.1% |
| Broomfield County, CO | 512 | 1.8% |
| Prowers County, CO | 71 | 0.0% |
| Banner County, NE | 17 | 0.0% |
| Keith County, NE | 5 | 0.0% |
| Platte County, WY | 2 | 0.0% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Ascalon acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 32.3% |
| Somewhat limited | 66.4% |
| Very limited | 0.6% |
| Not rated | 0.8% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Ascalon acres
- Depth to seasonal high water table
- None reported within about 6.5 feet (median where reported).
- Flooding
- Not mapped as flooding on most acres.
- Slope
- Typically 2–7% (median 3%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 1.2%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 99.3% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Very poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Not rated | 0.7% |
Hydrologic soil group
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) | 0.0% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 98.5% |
| C: slow infiltration | 0.7% |
| D: very slow infiltration (clayey, shallow or wet) | 0.0% |
| A/D: D as is, A if drained | 0.0% |
| B/D: D as is, B if drained | 0.0% |
| C/D: D as is, C if drained | 0.0% |
| Not rated | 0.8% |
Sources & data dates
- Source
- USDA NRCS Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), queried through Soil Data Access. Public domain.
- Data date
- SSURGO as published on November 3, 2026 (most recent survey area update October 26, 2026). NRCS refreshes SSURGO each October.
- Scope
- All map unit components named Ascalon (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 1,249,030 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Ascalon components. The profile comes from the single largest Ascalon component. Full methodology.