Soil series profile
Minvale soil series
Minvale is a well drained soil with a gravelly loam surface, mapped on 494,326 acres in 74 counties across 3 states. Hydrologic group B.
- Drainage class
- Well drained >99% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- B 99% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 5.0 very strongly acidic · range 5.0–5.5
- Mapped area
- 494k acres in 74 counties, 3 states
Typical Minvale profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–13 in (A) | Gravelly loam | 5.0 | 23% | 40% | 1.25% |
| 13–30 in (Bt1) | Gravelly silty clay loam | 5.0 | 28% | 20% | 0.25% |
| 30–72 in (Bt2) | Gravelly silty clay loam | 5.0 | 35% | 17% | 0.25% |
What this means
What Minvale soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Minvale soils is very strongly acidic: pH 5.0 (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.
Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers 97% of mapped Minvale acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is gravelly silt loam (54% of mapped Minvale acres).
>99% of mapped Minvale 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 49% of the acres in mapped Minvale soils very limited, 49% somewhat limited and 0% not limited (3% 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 Minvale soil is found
Mapped acres
Minvale is mapped in Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. The 60 counties with the most Minvale acres:
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| St. Clair County, AL | 63,334 | 18.4% |
| Cherokee County, AL | 39,505 | 12.9% |
| Etowah County, AL | 33,368 | 11.5% |
| Walker County, GA | 29,913 | 10.7% |
| Knox County, TN | 28,812 | 8.9% |
| Talladega County, AL | 26,409 | 6.4% |
| Bartow County, GA | 24,084 | 8.2% |
| Shelby County, AL | 20,813 | 4.8% |
| Marshall County, AL | 19,802 | 6.2% |
| Catoosa County, GA | 14,206 | 14.1% |
| Grainger County, TN | 13,185 | 7.3% |
| Whitfield County, GA | 10,918 | 6.2% |
| Dickson County, TN | 10,543 | 3.4% |
| Gordon County, GA | 9,892 | 5.4% |
| Anderson County, TN | 9,543 | 4.4% |
| Roane County, TN | 9,498 | 4.1% |
| Bradley County, TN | 8,587 | 4.1% |
| Cheatham County, TN | 8,585 | 4.5% |
| Hamilton County, TN | 8,167 | 2.4% |
| Lawrence County, TN | 7,901 | 2.0% |
| Bibb County, AL | 7,381 | 2.1% |
| Hawkins County, TN | 4,953 | 1.6% |
| Montgomery County, TN | 4,828 | 1.4% |
| Wayne County, TN | 4,787 | 1.0% |
| Hickman County, TN | 4,327 | 1.1% |
| DeKalb County, AL | 4,250 | 1.0% |
| Meigs County, TN | 4,200 | 3.4% |
| Polk County, TN | 4,133 | 1.5% |
| Hardin County, TN | 4,127 | 1.1% |
| Blount County, AL | 3,816 | 1.1% |
| Hancock County, TN | 3,714 | 2.6% |
| Perry County, TN | 3,432 | 1.3% |
| Loudon County, TN | 3,285 | 2.2% |
| Robertson County, TN | 3,038 | 1.0% |
| McMinn County, TN | 2,752 | 1.0% |
| Blount County, TN | 2,509 | 0.7% |
| Rhea County, TN | 2,332 | 1.2% |
| Jefferson County, TN | 2,150 | 1.2% |
| Overton County, TN | 1,917 | 0.7% |
| Marion County, TN | 1,793 | 0.6% |
| White County, TN | 1,655 | 0.7% |
| Franklin County, TN | 1,571 | 0.5% |
| Monroe County, TN | 1,460 | 0.4% |
| Sequatchie County, TN | 1,406 | 0.8% |
| Warren County, TN | 1,303 | 0.5% |
| Murray County, GA | 1,240 | 0.6% |
| Benton County, TN | 1,198 | 0.5% |
| Putnam County, TN | 1,139 | 0.5% |
| Campbell County, TN | 1,094 | 0.4% |
| Dade County, GA | 1,050 | 0.9% |
| Cocke County, TN | 868 | 0.3% |
| Sumner County, TN | 860 | 0.3% |
| Union County, TN | 852 | 0.6% |
| Bledsoe County, TN | 848 | 0.3% |
| Sevier County, TN | 829 | 0.2% |
| Houston County, TN | 726 | 0.6% |
| Macon County, TN | 630 | 0.3% |
| Lewis County, TN | 617 | 0.3% |
| Hamblen County, TN | 548 | 0.5% |
| Lincoln County, TN | 512 | 0.1% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Minvale acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.0% |
| Somewhat limited | 48.8% |
| Very limited | 48.6% |
| Not rated | 2.6% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Minvale 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 4–33% (median 13%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 1.2%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 99.8% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.0% |
| 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) | 0.0% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 98.6% |
| 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 | 1.4% |
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 Minvale (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 494,326 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Minvale components. The profile comes from the single largest Minvale component. Full methodology.