Soil series profile
Lake soil series
Lake is a excessively drained soil with a fine sand surface, mapped on 105,777 acres in 8 counties in FL. Hydrologic group A.
- Drainage class
- Excessively drained 100% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- A 99% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 5.4 strongly acidic · range 5.0–5.4
- Mapped area
- 106k acres in 8 counties, 1 state
Typical Lake profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–9 in (A) | Fine sand | 5.4 | 3% | 95% | 2.08% |
| 9–80 in (C) | Fine sand | 4.9 | 4% | 94% | 0.32% |
What this means
What Lake soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Lake soils is strongly acidic: pH 5.4 (most land between 5.0 and 5.4). Most vegetables and lawn grasses do best around 6.0 to 7.0, so lime is often needed; blueberries, azaleas and rhododendrons like it as it is.
Sandy topsoil covers 99% of mapped Lake 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 fine sand (84% of mapped Lake acres).
100% of mapped Lake acres is excessively or somewhat excessively drained: water moves through fast, so gardens need more frequent watering in dry spells.
For lawns and yards
99% 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 100% of the acres in mapped Lake 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 Lake soil is found
Mapped acres
Lake is mapped in Florida.
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Citrus County, FL | 31,450 | 7.6% |
| Alachua County, FL | 21,878 | 3.8% |
| Pasco County, FL | 16,150 | 3.4% |
| Hillsborough County, FL | 12,024 | 1.8% |
| Lake County, FL | 11,906 | 2.0% |
| Sumter County, FL | 6,114 | 1.7% |
| Hernando County, FL | 5,455 | 1.7% |
| Orange County, FL | 802 | 0.1% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Lake 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 Lake 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 3–3% (median 3%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 2.1%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 100.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 0.0% |
| 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) | 98.9% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 0.0% |
| C: slow infiltration | 1.1% |
| 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 Lake (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 105,777 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Lake components. The profile comes from the single largest Lake component. Full methodology.