Soil series profile
Quincy soil series
Quincy is a excessively drained soil with a fine sand surface, mapped on 709,043 acres in 32 counties across 4 states. Hydrologic group A.
- Drainage class
- Excessively drained 68% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- A 99% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 7.3 neutral · range 7.3–7.9
- Mapped area
- 709k acres in 32 counties, 4 states
Typical Quincy profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–9 in (H1) | Fine sand | 7.3 | 4% | 96% | 0.75% |
| 9–60 in (H2) | Fine sand | 7.5 | 4% | 95% | 0.25% |
What this means
What Quincy soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Quincy soils is neutral: pH 7.3 (most land between 7.3 and 7.9), the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.
Sandy topsoil covers 99% of mapped Quincy 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 fine sand (51% of mapped Quincy acres).
99% of mapped Quincy 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 96% of the acres in mapped Quincy soils very limited, 3% 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.
Where Quincy soil is found
Mapped acres
Quincy is mapped in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California.
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Grant County, WA | 215,176 | 13.3% |
| Franklin County, WA | 142,012 | 19.1% |
| Morrow County, OR | 82,901 | 7.6% |
| Benton County, WA | 48,162 | 4.4% |
| Walla Walla County, WA | 44,492 | 5.4% |
| Umatilla County, OR | 38,580 | 2.3% |
| Bingham County, ID | 19,208 | 1.7% |
| Power County, ID | 16,274 | 2.2% |
| Douglas County, WA | 15,539 | 1.3% |
| Malheur County, OR | 11,622 | 0.2% |
| Okanogan County, WA | 11,378 | 0.3% |
| Owyhee County, ID | 10,571 | 0.3% |
| Yakima County, WA | 8,864 | 0.5% |
| Elmore County, ID | 8,736 | 0.7% |
| Minidoka County, ID | 4,312 | 1.0% |
| Blaine County, ID | 3,904 | 0.4% |
| Gilliam County, OR | 3,747 | 0.5% |
| Adams County, WA | 3,193 | 0.3% |
| Jerome County, ID | 2,803 | 0.8% |
| Lincoln County, ID | 2,522 | 0.4% |
| Klickitat County, WA | 2,380 | 0.2% |
| Gooding County, ID | 2,147 | 0.5% |
| Canyon County, ID | 2,083 | 0.6% |
| Ferry County, WA | 2,002 | 0.1% |
| Cassia County, ID | 886 | 0.1% |
| Chelan County, WA | 848 | 0.0% |
| Sherman County, OR | 822 | 0.2% |
| Sierra County, CA | 365 | 0.2% |
| Garfield County, WA | 289 | 0.0% |
| Bannock County, ID | 224 | 0.1% |
| Twin Falls County, ID | 219 | 0.0% |
| Ada County, ID | 160 | 0.0% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Quincy acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.0% |
| Somewhat limited | 2.8% |
| Very limited | 96.1% |
| Not rated | 1.1% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Quincy 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 4–15% (median 8%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 0.8%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 67.7% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 31.3% |
| Well drained | 0.0% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Very poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Not rated | 1.0% |
Hydrologic soil group
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) | 98.9% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 0.0% |
| 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 Quincy (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 709,043 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Quincy components. The profile comes from the single largest Quincy component. Full methodology.