Soil series profile
Manter soil series
Manter is a well drained soil with a sandy loam surface, mapped on 612,396 acres in 49 counties across 6 states. Hydrologic group A.
- Drainage class
- Well drained 87% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- A 96% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 7.2 neutral · range 7.0–7.4
- Mapped area
- 612k acres in 49 counties, 6 states
Typical Manter profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–2 in (A) | Sandy loam | 7.4 | 10% | 67% | 1.5% |
| 2–9 in (Bt1) | Sandy loam | 7.4 | 16% | 65% | 1.5% |
| 9–14 in (Bt2) | Sandy loam | 7.4 | 15% | 65% | 0.75% |
| 14–28 in (Bk) | Sandy loam | 7.6 | 12% | 68% | 0.75% |
| 28–79 in (C) | Sandy loam | 7.6 | 10% | 67% | 0.25% |
What this means
What Manter soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Manter soils is neutral: pH 7.2 (most land between 7.0 and 7.4), the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.
Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers 66% of mapped Manter acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is fine sandy loam (46% of mapped Manter acres).
>99% of mapped Manter acres is moderately well to excessively drained, which suits most garden plants.
For lawns and yards
96% 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 3% of the acres in mapped Manter soils very limited, 6% somewhat limited and 89% not limited (1% not rated, such as urban land, pits or water).
Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.
Where Manter soil is found
Mapped acres
Manter is mapped in Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and New Mexico.
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Baca County, CO | 81,001 | 5.0% |
| Yuma County, CO | 72,540 | 4.9% |
| Goshen County, WY | 52,997 | 3.8% |
| Logan County, CO | 41,866 | 3.5% |
| Laramie County, WY | 35,956 | 2.1% |
| Kit Carson County, CO | 24,633 | 1.8% |
| Cheyenne County, KS | 23,836 | 3.6% |
| Gray County, KS | 22,358 | 4.0% |
| Finney County, KS | 20,814 | 2.5% |
| Stanton County, KS | 20,467 | 4.7% |
| Seward County, KS | 19,366 | 4.7% |
| Niobrara County, WY | 19,009 | 1.1% |
| Jackson County, SD | 18,351 | 1.6% |
| Grant County, KS | 18,186 | 4.9% |
| Washington County, CO | 15,367 | 1.0% |
| Meade County, KS | 15,299 | 2.4% |
| Oglala Lakota County, SD | 13,074 | 0.9% |
| Weld County, CO | 12,880 | 0.5% |
| Mellette County, SD | 10,214 | 1.2% |
| Hamilton County, KS | 10,078 | 1.6% |
| Cheyenne County, CO | 7,196 | 0.6% |
| Scott County, KS | 6,798 | 1.5% |
| Tripp County, SD | 6,624 | 0.6% |
| Morgan County, CO | 5,586 | 0.7% |
| Butte County, SD | 4,936 | 0.3% |
| Box Butte County, NE | 4,820 | 0.7% |
| Kearny County, KS | 4,515 | 0.8% |
| Haskell County, KS | 3,674 | 1.0% |
| Converse County, WY | 3,566 | 0.1% |
| Wallace County, KS | 3,230 | 0.6% |
| Boulder County, CO | 3,165 | 0.7% |
| Sedgwick County, CO | 1,968 | 0.6% |
| Logan County, KS | 1,841 | 0.3% |
| Todd County, SD | 1,560 | 0.2% |
| Adams County, CO | 1,057 | 0.1% |
| Elbert County, CO | 936 | 0.1% |
| Wichita County, KS | 788 | 0.2% |
| Lincoln County, CO | 646 | 0.0% |
| Johnson County, WY | 346 | 0.0% |
| Greeley County, KS | 329 | 0.1% |
| Phillips County, CO | 150 | 0.0% |
| Arapahoe County, CO | 106 | 0.0% |
| San Miguel County, NM | 74 | 0.0% |
| Pennington County, SD | 67 | 0.0% |
| Denver County, CO | 52 | 0.1% |
| Bennett County, SD | 21 | 0.0% |
| Ford County, KS | 10 | 0.0% |
| Meade County, SD | 8 | 0.0% |
| Sheridan County, WY | 1 | 0.0% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Manter acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 89.3% |
| Somewhat limited | 6.4% |
| Very limited | 3.3% |
| Not rated | 1.1% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Manter acres
- Depth to seasonal high water table
- About 3.9 feet (47 in) (median where reported).
- Flooding
- Not mapped as flooding on most acres.
- Slope
- Typically 2–8% (median 4%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 1.8%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 13.0% |
| Well drained | 86.5% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.3% |
| Somewhat poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Very poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Not rated | 0.2% |
Hydrologic soil group
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) | 96.2% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 2.8% |
| 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 | 1.1% |
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 Manter (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 612,396 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Manter components. The profile comes from the single largest Manter component. Full methodology.