Soil series profile
Daglum soil series
Daglum is a moderately well drained soil with a silt loam surface, mapped on 809,005 acres in 41 counties across 3 states. Hydrologic group D.
- Drainage class
- Moderately well drained 78% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- D 73% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 6.6 neutral · range 6.5–6.6
- Mapped area
- 809k acres in 41 counties, 3 states
Typical Daglum profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–3 in (A) | Silt loam | 6.6 | 23% | 17% | 5.5% |
| 3–5 in (E) | Silt loam | 6.8 | 20% | 27% | 3.5% |
| 5–18 in (Btn) | Silty clay loam | 7.8 | 38% | 15% | 2% |
| 18–32 in (Btkny) | Clay loam | 8.6 | 38% | 22% | 0.75% |
| 32–47 in (BCk) | Clay loam | 8.6 | 38% | 25% | 0.5% |
| 47–79 in (C) | Clay | 8.8 | 42% | 28% | 0.25% |
What this means
What Daglum soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Daglum soils is neutral: pH 6.6 (most land between 6.5 and 6.6), the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.
Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers 100% of mapped Daglum acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is silt loam (45% of mapped Daglum acres).
100% of mapped Daglum acres is moderately well to excessively drained, which suits most garden plants.
For lawns and yards
On >99% 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 15% of the acres in mapped Daglum soils very limited, 83% somewhat limited and 2% not limited.
Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.
Where Daglum soil is found
Mapped acres
Daglum is mapped in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana.
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Corson County, SD | 78,192 | 5.0% |
| Ziebach County, SD | 75,807 | 6.0% |
| Morton County, ND | 73,018 | 5.9% |
| Perkins County, SD | 51,061 | 2.8% |
| Stark County, ND | 46,010 | 5.4% |
| Adams County, ND | 44,361 | 7.0% |
| Grant County, ND | 41,698 | 3.9% |
| Harding County, SD | 40,248 | 2.4% |
| Dunn County, ND | 39,909 | 3.1% |
| Hettinger County, ND | 37,240 | 5.1% |
| Bowman County, ND | 36,623 | 4.9% |
| McKenzie County, ND | 36,149 | 2.0% |
| Sioux County, ND | 33,858 | 4.9% |
| Slope County, ND | 32,061 | 4.1% |
| Dewey County, SD | 26,211 | 1.8% |
| Emmons County, ND | 25,648 | 2.7% |
| Billings County, ND | 20,993 | 2.9% |
| Mercer County, ND | 16,567 | 2.5% |
| Fergus County, MT | 9,801 | 0.4% |
| Burleigh County, ND | 8,475 | 0.8% |
| Oliver County, ND | 8,173 | 1.8% |
| Fallon County, MT | 5,550 | 0.5% |
| Golden Valley County, ND | 3,913 | 0.6% |
| Williams County, ND | 3,357 | 0.3% |
| McIntosh County, ND | 2,989 | 0.5% |
| Mountrail County, ND | 2,781 | 0.2% |
| Logan County, ND | 1,596 | 0.3% |
| Toole County, MT | 1,563 | 0.1% |
| Meade County, SD | 1,346 | 0.1% |
| McLean County, ND | 1,109 | 0.1% |
| Brown County, SD | 1,064 | 0.1% |
| Wibaux County, MT | 548 | 0.1% |
| Chouteau County, MT | 493 | 0.0% |
| Campbell County, SD | 210 | 0.0% |
| Faulk County, SD | 149 | 0.0% |
| Walworth County, SD | 106 | 0.0% |
| Liberty County, MT | 61 | 0.0% |
| McPherson County, SD | 51 | 0.0% |
| Spink County, SD | 11 | 0.0% |
| Divide County, ND | 4 | 0.0% |
| Kidder County, ND | 1 | 0.0% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Daglum acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 2.2% |
| Somewhat limited | 82.8% |
| Very limited | 15.0% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Daglum acres
- Depth to seasonal high water table
- About 4.3 feet (51 in) (median where reported).
- Flooding
- Mapped as flooding on <1% of acres (<1% occasional, 0% frequent).
- Slope
- Typically 1–7% (median 3%).
- 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 | 22.2% |
| Moderately well drained | 77.8% |
| 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 | 0.7% |
| C: slow infiltration | 26.1% |
| D: very slow infiltration (clayey, shallow or wet) | 73.2% |
| 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% |
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 Daglum (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 809,005 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Daglum components. The profile comes from the single largest Daglum component. Full methodology.