Soil series profile
Svea soil series
Svea is a moderately well drained soil with a loam surface, mapped on 1,254,790 acres in 69 counties across 3 states. Hydrologic group B.
- Drainage class
- Moderately well drained >99% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- B 70% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 7.0 neutral · range 7.0–7.0
- Mapped area
- 1.3M acres in 69 counties, 3 states
Typical Svea profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–8 in (Ap) | Loam | 7.0 | 23% | 39% | 5.5% |
| 8–11 in (A) | Loam | 7.0 | 23% | 40% | 4% |
| 11–22 in (Bw) | Loam | 7.2 | 26% | 38% | 3% |
| 22–37 in (Bk) | Loam | 7.9 | 26% | 38% | 1.5% |
| 37–79 in (C) | Loam | 7.9 | 26% | 38% | 0.5% |
What this means
What Svea soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Svea soils is neutral: pH 7.0, the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.
Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers 100% of mapped Svea acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is loam (96% of mapped Svea acres).
100% of mapped Svea 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 30% of the acres in mapped Svea soils very limited, 70% 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 Svea soil is found
Mapped acres
Svea is mapped in North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota. The 60 counties with the most Svea acres:
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| LaMoure County, ND | 121,951 | 16.7% |
| Stutsman County, ND | 93,696 | 6.6% |
| Barnes County, ND | 87,079 | 9.1% |
| Cavalier County, ND | 86,080 | 8.9% |
| Dickey County, ND | 75,347 | 10.5% |
| Walsh County, ND | 50,881 | 6.2% |
| Nelson County, ND | 49,927 | 7.9% |
| Ramsey County, ND | 45,674 | 5.9% |
| Ransom County, ND | 39,330 | 7.2% |
| Towner County, ND | 38,346 | 5.8% |
| Benson County, ND | 38,241 | 4.3% |
| Steele County, ND | 36,545 | 8.0% |
| Clark County, SD | 35,401 | 5.7% |
| Brown County, SD | 33,522 | 3.1% |
| Cass County, ND | 28,463 | 2.5% |
| McHenry County, ND | 27,977 | 2.3% |
| Rolette County, ND | 23,278 | 4.0% |
| Murray County, MN | 21,250 | 4.7% |
| Deuel County, SD | 20,569 | 5.2% |
| Grand Forks County, ND | 20,260 | 2.2% |
| Lincoln County, MN | 19,818 | 5.8% |
| Wells County, ND | 19,447 | 2.4% |
| Griggs County, ND | 17,700 | 3.9% |
| Grant County, MN | 17,100 | 4.9% |
| Bottineau County, ND | 16,798 | 1.6% |
| Lyon County, MN | 15,063 | 3.3% |
| Foster County, ND | 14,453 | 3.5% |
| Becker County, MN | 12,664 | 1.5% |
| Otter Tail County, MN | 12,105 | 1.0% |
| Roberts County, SD | 11,882 | 1.7% |
| Codington County, SD | 9,978 | 2.3% |
| Renville County, ND | 9,536 | 1.7% |
| Pope County, MN | 9,177 | 2.1% |
| Grant County, SD | 8,604 | 2.0% |
| Stevens County, MN | 8,596 | 2.4% |
| Ward County, ND | 7,558 | 0.6% |
| Pierce County, ND | 7,493 | 1.1% |
| Brookings County, SD | 7,417 | 1.5% |
| Sargent County, ND | 6,181 | 1.1% |
| Clay County, MN | 4,962 | 0.7% |
| Pipestone County, MN | 4,499 | 1.5% |
| Sheridan County, ND | 4,045 | 0.6% |
| Big Stone County, MN | 4,036 | 1.3% |
| Douglas County, MN | 3,848 | 1.0% |
| Mahnomen County, MN | 3,210 | 0.9% |
| Swift County, MN | 2,478 | 0.5% |
| Eddy County, ND | 2,443 | 0.6% |
| Day County, SD | 2,430 | 0.4% |
| Lac qui Parle County, MN | 2,426 | 0.5% |
| Burke County, ND | 2,099 | 0.3% |
| Yellow Medicine County, MN | 1,966 | 0.4% |
| Traverse County, MN | 1,843 | 0.5% |
| Richland County, ND | 1,617 | 0.2% |
| Stearns County, MN | 1,350 | 0.2% |
| Norman County, MN | 1,172 | 0.2% |
| Spink County, SD | 1,134 | 0.1% |
| Wilkin County, MN | 945 | 0.2% |
| Hamlin County, SD | 763 | 0.2% |
| Kingsbury County, SD | 545 | 0.1% |
| Kandiyohi County, MN | 332 | 0.1% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Svea acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.0% |
| Somewhat limited | 70.4% |
| Very limited | 29.6% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Svea acres
- Depth to seasonal high water table
- About 3.9 feet (47 in) (median where reported).
- Flooding
- Not mapped as flooding on most acres.
- Slope
- Typically 1–4% (median 2%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 5.5%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 0.2% |
| Moderately well drained | 99.8% |
| 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 | 70.4% |
| C: slow infiltration | 27.3% |
| D: very slow infiltration (clayey, shallow or wet) | 0.0% |
| A/D: D as is, A if drained | 2.3% |
| 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 Svea (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 1,254,790 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Svea components. The profile comes from the single largest Svea component. Full methodology.