Soil series profile
Hesperia soil series
Hesperia is a well drained soil with a fine sandy loam surface, mapped on 163,237 acres in 7 counties in CA. Hydrologic group A.
- Drainage class
- Well drained 99% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- A 93% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 6.3 slightly acidic · range 6.3–7.9
- Mapped area
- 163k acres in 7 counties, 1 state
Typical Hesperia profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 in (A) | Fine sandy loam | 6.3 | 13% | 70% | 0.25% |
| 4–54 in (C2) | Fine sandy loam | 7.9 | 13% | 70% | 0% |
| 54–77 in (C3) | Sandy loam | 7.9 | 13% | 67% | 0% |
What this means
What Hesperia soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Hesperia soils is slightly acidic: pH 6.3 (most land between 6.3 and 7.9), the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.
Sandy topsoil covers 85% of mapped Hesperia acres. It drains fast and warms early in spring, but dries out and loses nutrients quickly: mulch, compost and steady watering help. The most common surface texture is loamy fine sand (42% of mapped Hesperia acres).
99% of mapped Hesperia acres is moderately well to excessively drained, which suits most garden plants.
For lawns and yards
93% of mapped acres is in hydrologic group A, where water soaks in fast. Lawns there dry out quickly; deeper, less frequent watering and organic matter help.
For a septic system
For conventional septic absorption fields, NRCS rates 0% of the acres in mapped Hesperia soils very limited, 11% somewhat limited and 88% not limited (1% not rated, such as urban land, pits or water).
Flooding is mapped on 11% of the acres (<1% occasional, 0% frequent).
Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.
Where Hesperia soil is found
Mapped acres
Hesperia is mapped in California.
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 136,003 | 2.4% |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 16,320 | 0.3% |
| Inyo County, CA | 3,939 | 0.2% |
| Mono County, CA | 2,901 | 0.3% |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 1,764 | 0.1% |
| Ventura County, CA | 1,764 | 0.3% |
| Fresno County, CA | 546 | 0.0% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Hesperia acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 87.5% |
| Somewhat limited | 11.2% |
| Very limited | 0.0% |
| Not rated | 1.3% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Hesperia acres
- Depth to seasonal high water table
- About 2.0 feet (24 in) (median where reported).
- Flooding
- Mapped as flooding on 11% of acres (<1% occasional, 0% frequent).
- Slope
- Typically 1–4% (median 1%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 0.2%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 98.7% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Very poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Not rated | 1.3% |
Hydrologic soil group
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) | 93.3% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 1.6% |
| C: slow infiltration | 0.0% |
| 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 | 5.0% |
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 Hesperia (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 163,237 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Hesperia components. The profile comes from the single largest Hesperia component. Full methodology.