Soil series profile
Uly soil series
Uly is a well drained soil with a silt loam surface, mapped on 2,829,065 acres in 74 counties across 3 states. Hydrologic group B.
- Drainage class
- Well drained 100% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- B 100% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 6.6 neutral · range 6.6–6.8
- Mapped area
- 2.8M acres in 74 counties, 3 states
Typical Uly profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–9 in (A) | Silt loam | 6.8 | 25% | 24% | 3% |
| 9–25 in (Bw) | Silt loam | 7.5 | 25% | 24% | 0.75% |
| 25–79 in (C) | Silt loam | 8.4 | 20% | 25% | 0.5% |
What this means
What Uly soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Uly soils is neutral: pH 6.6 (most land between 6.6 and 6.8), the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.
Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers 100% of mapped Uly acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is silt loam (100% of mapped Uly acres).
100% of mapped Uly 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 26% of the acres in mapped Uly soils very limited, 74% 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 Uly soil is found
Mapped acres
Uly is mapped in Nebraska, Kansas and South Dakota. The 60 counties with the most Uly acres:
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Custer County, NE | 365,462 | 22.2% |
| Phillips County, KS | 233,000 | 40.8% |
| Norton County, KS | 189,480 | 33.6% |
| Sherman County, NE | 148,063 | 41.1% |
| Frontier County, NE | 121,916 | 19.6% |
| Graham County, KS | 120,902 | 21.0% |
| Ness County, KS | 119,884 | 17.4% |
| Dawson County, NE | 119,217 | 18.5% |
| Decatur County, KS | 118,458 | 20.7% |
| Greeley County, NE | 102,976 | 28.4% |
| Valley County, NE | 94,124 | 26.0% |
| Rooks County, KS | 82,373 | 14.4% |
| Buffalo County, NE | 71,098 | 11.6% |
| Furnas County, NE | 69,007 | 15.0% |
| Ford County, KS | 64,918 | 9.2% |
| Gosper County, NE | 62,593 | 21.4% |
| Lincoln County, NE | 59,950 | 3.7% |
| Rush County, KS | 56,669 | 12.3% |
| Harlan County, NE | 54,988 | 15.5% |
| Red Willow County, NE | 47,712 | 10.4% |
| Howard County, NE | 46,551 | 12.8% |
| Smith County, KS | 45,468 | 7.9% |
| Meade County, KS | 36,701 | 5.9% |
| Franklin County, NE | 35,951 | 9.8% |
| Nance County, NE | 30,205 | 10.7% |
| Clark County, KS | 29,282 | 4.7% |
| Trego County, KS | 26,846 | 4.7% |
| Pawnee County, KS | 25,736 | 5.4% |
| Gray County, KS | 24,097 | 4.3% |
| Brule County, SD | 20,346 | 2.5% |
| Buffalo County, SD | 20,346 | 2.5% |
| Nuckolls County, NE | 17,221 | 4.7% |
| Hodgeman County, KS | 15,037 | 2.7% |
| Hamilton County, NE | 12,228 | 3.5% |
| Boone County, NE | 11,955 | 2.7% |
| Barton County, KS | 10,873 | 1.9% |
| Sheridan County, KS | 9,943 | 1.7% |
| Kiowa County, KS | 9,603 | 2.1% |
| Garfield County, NE | 8,382 | 2.3% |
| Butler County, NE | 8,098 | 2.2% |
| Finney County, KS | 7,884 | 0.9% |
| Polk County, NE | 7,596 | 2.7% |
| Logan County, NE | 6,886 | 1.9% |
| Phelps County, NE | 6,415 | 1.9% |
| York County, NE | 6,252 | 1.7% |
| Jewell County, KS | 4,487 | 0.8% |
| Clay County, NE | 4,411 | 1.2% |
| Kearney County, NE | 3,958 | 1.2% |
| Edwards County, KS | 3,615 | 0.9% |
| Hall County, NE | 3,290 | 0.9% |
| Webster County, NE | 3,186 | 0.9% |
| Wheeler County, NE | 3,120 | 0.8% |
| Lane County, KS | 3,048 | 0.7% |
| Gregory County, SD | 2,567 | 0.4% |
| Thayer County, NE | 2,380 | 0.7% |
| Fillmore County, NE | 2,207 | 0.6% |
| Saline County, NE | 1,859 | 0.5% |
| Adams County, NE | 1,738 | 0.5% |
| Loup County, NE | 1,539 | 0.4% |
| Merrick County, NE | 1,460 | 0.5% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Uly acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.0% |
| Somewhat limited | 74.1% |
| Very limited | 25.9% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Uly 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 5–20% (median 10%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 2%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 100.0% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.0% |
| 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 | 100.0% |
| 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% |
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 Uly (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 2,829,065 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Uly components. The profile comes from the single largest Uly component. Full methodology.