Soil series profile
Menahga soil series
Menahga is a excessively drained soil with a sand surface, mapped on 734,201 acres in 38 counties across 2 states. Hydrologic group A.
- Drainage class
- Excessively drained 97% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- A >99% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 5.5 strongly acidic · range 5.0–5.5
- Mapped area
- 734k acres in 38 counties, 2 states
Typical Menahga profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–2 in (A) | Sand | 5.5 | 4% | 95% | 1.25% |
| 2–3 in (E) | Coarse sand | 5.5 | 1% | 91% | 0.75% |
| 3–7 in (Bw1) | Coarse sand | 5.5 | 1% | 91% | 0.75% |
| 7–14 in (Bw2) | Coarse sand | 5.5 | 1% | 91% | 0.75% |
| 14–25 in (BC) | Coarse sand | 5.5 | 1% | 91% | 0.75% |
| 25–60 in (C) | Coarse sand | 6.7 | 1% | 91% | 0.25% |
What this means
What Menahga soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Menahga soils is strongly acidic: pH 5.5 (most land between 5.0 and 5.5). 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 Menahga 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 sand (54% of mapped Menahga acres).
97% of mapped Menahga 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 98% of the acres in mapped Menahga soils very limited, 2% 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 Menahga soil is found
Mapped acres
Menahga is mapped in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Marinette County, WI | 152,882 | 17.1% |
| Cass County, MN | 97,544 | 7.6% |
| Itasca County, MN | 73,320 | 4.3% |
| Washburn County, WI | 54,524 | 10.6% |
| Burnett County, WI | 47,449 | 9.1% |
| Morrison County, MN | 41,291 | 5.7% |
| Oconto County, WI | 39,096 | 6.1% |
| Douglas County, WI | 33,233 | 4.0% |
| Polk County, WI | 32,088 | 5.5% |
| Chippewa County, WI | 30,681 | 4.8% |
| Wadena County, MN | 22,370 | 6.5% |
| Shawano County, WI | 21,527 | 3.8% |
| Beltrami County, MN | 19,480 | 1.2% |
| Barron County, WI | 16,193 | 2.9% |
| Todd County, MN | 13,955 | 2.3% |
| Aitkin County, MN | 9,955 | 0.9% |
| Hubbard County, MN | 9,477 | 1.6% |
| Becker County, MN | 5,023 | 0.6% |
| Rusk County, WI | 1,925 | 0.3% |
| Lake of the Woods County, MN | 1,802 | 0.2% |
| Dunn County, WI | 1,797 | 0.3% |
| St. Louis County, MN | 1,590 | 0.0% |
| Eau Claire County, WI | 1,532 | 0.4% |
| Clearwater County, MN | 1,481 | 0.2% |
| Sawyer County, WI | 1,439 | 0.2% |
| Clark County, WI | 953 | 0.1% |
| Mahnomen County, MN | 429 | 0.1% |
| Wood County, WI | 414 | 0.1% |
| Adams County, WI | 205 | 0.0% |
| Portage County, WI | 170 | 0.0% |
| Benton County, MN | 114 | 0.0% |
| Jackson County, WI | 95 | 0.0% |
| Roseau County, MN | 67 | 0.0% |
| Crow Wing County, MN | 43 | 0.0% |
| Juneau County, WI | 38 | 0.0% |
| Otter Tail County, MN | 11 | 0.0% |
| Columbia County, WI | 5 | 0.0% |
| Sauk County, WI | 2 | 0.0% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Menahga acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.0% |
| Somewhat limited | 1.5% |
| Very limited | 98.1% |
| Not rated | 0.4% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Menahga acres
- Depth to seasonal high water table
- About 5.8 feet (69 in) (median where reported).
- Flooding
- Not mapped as flooding on most acres.
- Slope
- Typically 3–21% (median 5%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 1.2%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 96.8% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 2.7% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Very poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Not rated | 0.4% |
Hydrologic soil group
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) | 99.1% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 0.5% |
| 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 | 0.4% |
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 Menahga (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 734,201 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Menahga components. The profile comes from the single largest Menahga component. Full methodology.