Soil series profile
Manvel soil series
Manvel is a well drained soil with a silt loam surface, mapped on 691,091 acres in 28 counties across 4 states. Hydrologic group B.
- Drainage class
- Well drained >99% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- B 92% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 8.2 moderately alkaline · range 8.0–8.2
- Mapped area
- 691k acres in 28 counties, 4 states
Typical Manvel profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–7 in (A) | Silt loam | 8.2 | 22% | 11% | 1.25% |
| 7–25 in (Bk1) | Silt loam | 8.2 | 25% | 7% | 0.5% |
| 25–49 in (Bk2) | Silt loam | 8.2 | 22% | 11% | 0.5% |
| 49–79 in (Bk3) | Silt loam | 8.4 | 22% | 20% | 0.25% |
What this means
What Manvel soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Manvel soils is moderately alkaline: pH 8.2 (most land between 8.0 and 8.2). Acid-loving plants such as blueberries and azaleas struggle without amended beds, and some trees and shrubs show iron chlorosis (yellow leaves with green veins).
Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers 100% of mapped Manvel acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is silt loam (92% of mapped Manvel acres).
100% of mapped Manvel acres is moderately well to excessively drained, which suits most garden plants.
For lawns and yards
Most land is in hydrologic groups B and C, where rain soaks in at a moderate pace.
For a septic system
For conventional septic absorption fields, NRCS rates 9% of the acres in mapped Manvel soils very limited, 91% somewhat limited and 0% not limited.
Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.
Where Manvel soil is found
Mapped acres
Manvel is mapped in Colorado, Kansas, South Dakota and Nebraska.
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Pueblo County, CO | 250,253 | 16.6% |
| Otero County, CO | 133,161 | 16.5% |
| Bent County, CO | 114,672 | 11.7% |
| Gove County, KS | 39,588 | 5.8% |
| Las Animas County, CO | 36,189 | 1.2% |
| Prowers County, CO | 21,527 | 2.0% |
| Baca County, CO | 16,489 | 1.0% |
| Fremont County, CO | 16,307 | 1.7% |
| Meade County, SD | 10,977 | 0.5% |
| Huerfano County, CO | 8,254 | 0.8% |
| Logan County, KS | 7,507 | 1.1% |
| Kiowa County, CO | 7,285 | 0.6% |
| Custer County, SD | 6,492 | 0.7% |
| Butte County, SD | 4,754 | 0.3% |
| Oglala Lakota County, SD | 3,907 | 0.3% |
| Lane County, KS | 3,303 | 0.7% |
| El Paso County, CO | 2,330 | 0.2% |
| Boulder County, CO | 1,845 | 0.4% |
| Trego County, KS | 1,747 | 0.3% |
| Sheridan County, NE | 1,580 | 0.1% |
| Crowley County, CO | 1,400 | 0.3% |
| Pennington County, SD | 601 | 0.0% |
| Fall River County, SD | 491 | 0.0% |
| Scott County, KS | 187 | 0.0% |
| Custer County, CO | 113 | 0.0% |
| Ellis County, KS | 59 | 0.0% |
| Dawes County, NE | 47 | 0.0% |
| Sheridan County, KS | 25 | 0.0% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Manvel acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.0% |
| Somewhat limited | 91.3% |
| Very limited | 8.6% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Manvel acres
- Depth to seasonal high water table
- About 2.6 feet (31 in) (median where reported).
- Flooding
- Not mapped as flooding on most acres.
- Slope
- Typically 1–4% (median 4%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 1.5%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 99.7% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.3% |
| 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 | 91.6% |
| C: slow infiltration | 8.4% |
| 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 Manvel (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 691,091 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Manvel components. The profile comes from the single largest Manvel component. Full methodology.