What's My Soil

A field guide to the soil under your feet

Soil series profile

Orelia soil series

Orelia is a well drained soil with a fine sandy loam surface, mapped on 227,949 acres in 10 counties in TX. Hydrologic group C.

#1543 by mapped area fine-loamy Typic Argiustolls (Mollisols)

Drainage class
Well drained
92% of mapped acres
Hydrologic group
C
91% of mapped acres
Typical topsoil pH
6.6
neutral · range 6.6–6.6
Mapped area
228k
acres in 10 counties, 1 state

Typical Orelia profile

Texture and pH by depth

Typical Orelia soil profile by depth 0 in 20 in 40 in 60 in 0–5 in · A · pH 6.6 · 8% clay Fine sandy loam 5–21 in · Bt1 · pH 6.7 · 31% clay Sandy clay loam 21–39 in · Bt2 · pH 7.2 · 28% clay Sandy clay loam 39–80 in · Btk · pH 7.5 · 26% clay Sandy clay loam
Depth to scale. More strongly shaded layers hold more clay. Horizon names are the soil survey's (A = topsoil, B = subsoil, C = parent material).
Show as a table
Typical Orelia horizons (representative values)
Depth Texture pH Clay Sand Organic matter
0–5 in (A) Fine sandy loam 6.6 8% 73% 1.3%
5–21 in (Bt1) Sandy clay loam 6.7 31% 50% 0.75%
21–39 in (Bt2) Sandy clay loam 7.2 28% 49% 0.75%
39–80 in (Btk) Sandy clay loam 7.5 26% 50% 0.3%

Representative values from the most extensive Orelia map unit (Orelia fine sandy loam, 0 to 1 percent slopes, survey area TX025). Other map units of this series vary within the series range.

Hands holding dark garden soil
Stock photo for illustration, not a sample of this soil series. Credit on the Sources & method page.

What this means

What Orelia soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems

For gardens

Typical topsoil in Orelia soils is neutral: pH 6.6, the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.

Sandy topsoil covers 91% of mapped Orelia 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 sandy loam (99% of mapped Orelia acres).

92% of mapped Orelia acres is moderately well to excessively drained, which suits most garden plants.

For lawns and yards

On 99% of mapped acres, rain soaks in slowly (hydrologic groups C and D, including dual groups that are D until drained). Expect runoff and puddles after heavy rain: core-aerate compacted lawns and keep ground sloping away from foundations.

For a septic system

For conventional septic absorption fields, NRCS rates 99% of the acres in mapped Orelia soils very limited, 0% somewhat limited and 0% not limited (1% not rated, such as urban land, pits or water).

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.

Generated from the mapped numbers above using fixed rules, not a site visit. See how these notes are written.

Where Orelia soil is found

Mapped acres

Orelia is mapped in Texas.

Counties with the most mapped Orelia soil
County Acres Share of county land
Bee County, TX 92,305 16.4%
Refugio County, TX 57,312 11.6%
Nueces County, TX 30,775 5.6%
San Patricio County, TX 11,984 2.7%
Kleberg County, TX 11,806 2.0%
DeWitt County, TX 9,891 1.7%
Wilson County, TX 9,319 1.8%
Goliad County, TX 2,547 0.5%
Jim Wells County, TX 1,371 0.2%
Aransas County, TX 639 0.4%

Septic absorption fields

NRCS rating, share of Orelia acres

Not limited 0%
Somewhat limited 0%
Very limited 99%
Not rated 1%
Septic tank absorption field rating across mapped Orelia acres. Scale 0 to 100% of mapped land.
Show as a table
Septic tank absorption field rating across mapped Orelia acres.
CategoryShare of acres
Not limited0.0%
Somewhat limited0.0%
Very limited98.8%
Not rated1.2%

Drainage, water table and flooding

Share of Orelia acres

Depth to seasonal high water table
About 8 inches (median where reported); within 18 inches on 8% of acres.
Flooding
Not mapped as flooding on most acres.
Slope
Typically 0–0% (median 0%).
Topsoil organic matter
Median 1.3%.

Drainage class

Excessively drained 0%
Somewhat excessively drained 0%
Well drained 92%
Moderately well drained 0%
Somewhat poorly drained 8%
Poorly drained 0%
Very poorly drained 0%
Drainage class across mapped Orelia acres. Scale 0 to 100% of mapped land.
Show as a table
Drainage class across mapped Orelia acres.
CategoryShare of acres
Excessively drained0.0%
Somewhat excessively drained0.0%
Well drained91.6%
Moderately well drained0.0%
Somewhat poorly drained8.4%
Poorly drained0.0%
Very poorly drained0.0%

Hydrologic soil group

A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) 0%
B: moderate infiltration 0%
C: slow infiltration 91%
D: very slow infiltration (clayey, shallow or wet) 8%
A/D: D as is, A if drained 0%
B/D: D as is, B if drained 0%
C/D: D as is, C if drained 0%
Not rated 1%
Hydrologic soil group across mapped Orelia acres. Scale 0 to 100% of mapped land.
Show as a table
Hydrologic soil group across mapped Orelia acres.
CategoryShare of acres
A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly)0.0%
B: moderate infiltration0.0%
C: slow infiltration90.6%
D: very slow infiltration (clayey, shallow or wet)8.2%
A/D: D as is, A if drained0.0%
B/D: D as is, B if drained0.0%
C/D: D as is, C if drained0.0%
Not rated1.2%

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 Orelia (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 227,949 acres.
Method
Shares are by mapped acres of Orelia components. The profile comes from the single largest Orelia component. Full methodology.

Independent reference site. No government affiliation or endorsement.

Full narrative description: USDA Official Soil Series Description for Orelia.