Soil series profile
Crete soil series
Crete is a moderately well drained soil with a silty clay loam surface, mapped on 2,040,955 acres in 52 counties across 2 states. Hydrologic group C.
- Drainage class
- Moderately well drained 100% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- C >99% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 5.7 moderately acidic · range 5.7–5.7
- Mapped area
- 2.0M acres in 52 counties, 2 states
Typical Crete profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–6 in (Ap) | Silty clay loam | 5.7 | 30% | 7% | 3% |
| 6–12 in (BA) | Silty clay loam | 6.1 | 36% | 5% | 2.5% |
| 12–23 in (Bt1) | Silty clay | 6.5 | 47% | 4% | 1.5% |
| 23–31 in (Bt2) | Silty clay | 7.1 | 42% | 4% | 0.8% |
| 31–39 in (Bk) | Silty clay loam | 7.6 | 32% | 5% | 0.5% |
| 39–79 in (C) | Silty clay loam | 7.8 | 27% | 6% | 0.3% |
What this means
What Crete soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Crete soils is moderately acidic: pH 5.7. Many vegetables grow well here, and some gardens benefit from a little lime. Test before adding any.
Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers 100% of mapped Crete acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is silt loam (76% of mapped Crete acres).
100% of mapped Crete acres is moderately well to excessively drained, which suits most garden plants.
For lawns and yards
On 100% of mapped acres, rain soaks in slowly (hydrologic groups C and D, including dual groups that are D until drained). Expect runoff and puddles after heavy rain: core-aerate compacted lawns and keep ground sloping away from foundations.
For a septic system
For conventional septic absorption fields, NRCS rates 100% of the acres in mapped Crete soils very limited, 0% somewhat limited and 0% not limited.
Where the soil is very limited (slow permeability, a high water table, flooding, shallow bedrock or steep slopes), alternative systems such as mound or sand-filter designs are common and cost more.
Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.
Where Crete soil is found
Mapped acres
Crete is mapped in Kansas and Nebraska.
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Washington County, KS | 239,959 | 41.8% |
| McPherson County, KS | 174,803 | 30.4% |
| Fillmore County, NE | 158,691 | 43.1% |
| Clay County, KS | 152,307 | 36.9% |
| Republic County, KS | 109,291 | 23.8% |
| Saline County, NE | 103,568 | 28.2% |
| Ottawa County, KS | 96,396 | 21.0% |
| Clay County, NE | 92,362 | 25.2% |
| Thayer County, NE | 91,587 | 25.0% |
| Rice County, KS | 91,086 | 19.6% |
| Jefferson County, NE | 83,533 | 22.9% |
| Dickinson County, KS | 83,409 | 15.4% |
| Barton County, KS | 78,937 | 14.0% |
| Saline County, KS | 63,855 | 13.9% |
| Nuckolls County, NE | 62,726 | 17.1% |
| Cloud County, KS | 57,066 | 12.5% |
| Ellsworth County, KS | 50,896 | 11.1% |
| Hamilton County, NE | 32,020 | 9.2% |
| Russell County, KS | 27,658 | 4.9% |
| Harvey County, KS | 21,841 | 6.3% |
| Geary County, KS | 20,595 | 8.4% |
| Adams County, NE | 20,198 | 5.6% |
| York County, NE | 17,121 | 4.7% |
| Lancaster County, NE | 15,710 | 2.9% |
| Seward County, NE | 12,922 | 3.5% |
| Jewell County, KS | 8,875 | 1.5% |
| Mitchell County, KS | 8,803 | 2.0% |
| Riley County, KS | 8,690 | 2.2% |
| Reno County, KS | 8,646 | 1.1% |
| Polk County, NE | 8,165 | 2.9% |
| Ellis County, KS | 7,844 | 1.4% |
| Butler County, NE | 7,101 | 1.9% |
| Lincoln County, KS | 5,040 | 1.1% |
| Webster County, NE | 4,252 | 1.2% |
| Marshall County, KS | 4,178 | 0.7% |
| Marion County, KS | 3,348 | 0.6% |
| Phelps County, NE | 2,718 | 0.8% |
| Hall County, NE | 1,236 | 0.4% |
| Pawnee County, NE | 1,161 | 0.4% |
| Kearney County, NE | 809 | 0.2% |
| Morris County, KS | 536 | 0.1% |
| Harlan County, NE | 391 | 0.1% |
| Franklin County, NE | 174 | 0.0% |
| Brown County, KS | 166 | 0.0% |
| Sedgwick County, KS | 145 | 0.0% |
| Shawnee County, KS | 70 | 0.0% |
| Pottawatomie County, KS | 16 | 0.0% |
| Gosper County, NE | 13 | 0.0% |
| Gage County, NE | 12 | 0.0% |
| Nemaha County, KS | 11 | 0.0% |
| Jackson County, KS | 10 | 0.0% |
| Butler County, KS | 10 | 0.0% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Crete acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.0% |
| Somewhat limited | 0.0% |
| Very limited | 100.0% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Crete acres
- Depth to seasonal high water table
- About 6 inches (median where reported); within 18 inches on <1% of acres.
- Flooding
- Not mapped as flooding on most acres.
- Slope
- Typically 1–5% (median 2%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 3%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 0.0% |
| Moderately well drained | 100.0% |
| Somewhat poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Very poorly drained | 0.0% |
Hydrologic soil group
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) | 0.0% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 0.0% |
| C: slow infiltration | 99.8% |
| 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 | 0.2% |
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 Crete (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 2,040,955 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Crete components. The profile comes from the single largest Crete component. Full methodology.