Soil series profile
Keith soil series
Keith is a well drained soil with a silt loam surface, mapped on 2,743,416 acres in 76 counties across 5 states. Hydrologic group C.
- Drainage class
- Well drained 100% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- C 81% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 7.0 neutral · range 6.8–7.0
- Mapped area
- 2.7M acres in 76 counties, 5 states
Typical Keith profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–7 in (Ap) | Silt loam | 6.9 | 22% | 22% | 2.6% |
| 7–15 in (Bt1) | Silty clay loam | 7.6 | 28% | 17% | 1.3% |
| 15–22 in (Bt2) | Silt loam | 7.6 | 26% | 17% | 0.7% |
| 22–46 in (Bk) | Silt loam | 8.4 | 23% | 21% | 0.6% |
| 46–79 in (C) | Silt loam | 8.5 | 18% | 31% | 0.4% |
What this means
What Keith soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Keith soils is neutral: pH 7.0 (most land between 6.8 and 7.0), the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.
Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers 100% of mapped Keith acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is silt loam (87% of mapped Keith acres).
100% of mapped Keith acres is moderately well to excessively drained, which suits most garden plants.
For lawns and yards
On 81% 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 5% of the acres in mapped Keith soils very limited, 95% somewhat limited and <1% not limited.
Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.
Where Keith soil is found
Mapped acres
Keith is mapped in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming. The 60 counties with the most Keith acres:
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas County, KS | 380,515 | 55.3% |
| Sherman County, KS | 265,205 | 39.2% |
| Sheridan County, KS | 264,025 | 46.0% |
| Rawlins County, KS | 249,690 | 36.5% |
| Hitchcock County, NE | 148,974 | 32.8% |
| Logan County, KS | 147,667 | 21.5% |
| Gove County, KS | 98,280 | 14.3% |
| Oglala Lakota County, SD | 88,486 | 6.1% |
| Bennett County, SD | 87,267 | 11.5% |
| Cheyenne County, CO | 85,767 | 7.5% |
| Cheyenne County, NE | 81,133 | 10.6% |
| Red Willow County, NE | 77,098 | 16.8% |
| Wallace County, KS | 73,746 | 12.6% |
| Cheyenne County, KS | 56,407 | 8.6% |
| Jackson County, SD | 56,006 | 4.8% |
| Box Butte County, NE | 51,786 | 7.5% |
| Yuma County, CO | 51,072 | 3.5% |
| Kit Carson County, CO | 48,583 | 3.5% |
| Washington County, CO | 36,491 | 2.3% |
| Perkins County, NE | 31,652 | 5.6% |
| Garden County, NE | 31,115 | 2.8% |
| Dawes County, NE | 28,323 | 3.2% |
| Decatur County, KS | 28,084 | 4.9% |
| Keith County, NE | 23,308 | 3.4% |
| Sheridan County, NE | 22,126 | 1.4% |
| Scott County, KS | 18,949 | 4.1% |
| Hayes County, NE | 18,944 | 4.2% |
| Banner County, NE | 17,444 | 3.6% |
| Sedgwick County, CO | 16,606 | 4.9% |
| Lincoln County, CO | 15,374 | 0.9% |
| Logan County, CO | 13,813 | 1.2% |
| Morrill County, NE | 11,149 | 1.2% |
| Deuel County, NE | 10,894 | 3.9% |
| Greeley County, KS | 8,282 | 1.7% |
| Weld County, CO | 7,922 | 0.3% |
| Wichita County, KS | 6,361 | 1.4% |
| Finney County, KS | 5,590 | 0.7% |
| Dundy County, NE | 5,440 | 0.9% |
| El Paso County, CO | 5,279 | 0.4% |
| Larimer County, CO | 5,216 | 0.3% |
| Goshen County, WY | 5,159 | 0.4% |
| Lincoln County, NE | 5,059 | 0.3% |
| Meade County, SD | 4,914 | 0.2% |
| Todd County, SD | 4,803 | 0.5% |
| Butte County, SD | 4,744 | 0.3% |
| Stanton County, KS | 3,909 | 0.9% |
| Lane County, KS | 3,716 | 0.8% |
| Chase County, NE | 3,691 | 0.6% |
| Adams County, CO | 3,229 | 0.4% |
| Prowers County, CO | 2,948 | 0.3% |
| Kimball County, NE | 2,914 | 0.5% |
| Grant County, KS | 1,883 | 0.5% |
| Graham County, KS | 1,879 | 0.3% |
| Sioux County, NE | 1,717 | 0.1% |
| Elbert County, CO | 1,503 | 0.1% |
| Kiowa County, CO | 1,389 | 0.1% |
| Morgan County, CO | 1,237 | 0.2% |
| Kearny County, KS | 1,226 | 0.2% |
| Arapahoe County, CO | 1,083 | 0.2% |
| Haskell County, KS | 1,054 | 0.3% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Keith acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.4% |
| Somewhat limited | 94.9% |
| Very limited | 4.7% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Keith 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 1–4% (median 2%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 2%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 100.0% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.0% |
| 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) | 0.2% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 18.4% |
| C: slow infiltration | 81.4% |
| 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% |
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 Keith (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 2,743,416 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Keith components. The profile comes from the single largest Keith component. Full methodology.