Soil series profile
Ulysses soil series
Ulysses is a well drained soil with a silt loam surface, mapped on 2,813,044 acres in 57 counties across 6 states. Hydrologic group B.
- Drainage class
- Well drained 100% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- B 66% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 7.4 slightly alkaline · range 7.2–7.5
- Mapped area
- 2.8M acres in 57 counties, 6 states
Typical Ulysses profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–10 in (Ap) | Silt loam | 7.4 | 23% | 25% | 1.8% |
| 10–30 in (Bw) | Silt loam | 8.2 | 26% | 17% | 0.8% |
| 30–79 in (Bk) | Silt loam | 8.3 | 24% | 19% | 0.5% |
What this means
What Ulysses soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Ulysses soils is slightly alkaline: pH 7.4 (most land between 7.2 and 7.5). Acid-loving plants such as blueberries and azaleas struggle without amended beds, and some trees and shrubs show iron chlorosis (yellow leaves with green veins).
Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers 100% of mapped Ulysses acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is silt loam (91% of mapped Ulysses acres).
100% of mapped Ulysses 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 32% of the acres in mapped Ulysses soils very limited, 68% somewhat limited and <1% not limited.
Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.
Where Ulysses soil is found
Mapped acres
Ulysses is mapped in Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming.
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Logan County, KS | 265,531 | 38.7% |
| Wallace County, KS | 223,206 | 38.2% |
| Gove County, KS | 187,626 | 27.4% |
| Sherman County, KS | 173,971 | 25.7% |
| Texas County, OK | 162,132 | 12.4% |
| Stanton County, KS | 144,388 | 33.1% |
| Wichita County, KS | 133,781 | 29.1% |
| Greeley County, KS | 132,979 | 26.7% |
| Kearny County, KS | 132,428 | 23.9% |
| Finney County, KS | 131,222 | 15.8% |
| Scott County, KS | 121,504 | 26.5% |
| Grant County, KS | 116,880 | 31.8% |
| Thomas County, KS | 101,598 | 14.8% |
| Sheridan County, KS | 93,153 | 16.2% |
| Hamilton County, KS | 88,642 | 13.9% |
| Cheyenne County, KS | 79,713 | 12.2% |
| Haskell County, KS | 76,834 | 20.8% |
| Rawlins County, KS | 52,368 | 7.6% |
| Lane County, KS | 51,307 | 11.2% |
| Morton County, KS | 48,279 | 10.3% |
| Cheyenne County, CO | 32,062 | 2.8% |
| Prowers County, CO | 31,977 | 3.0% |
| Oglala Lakota County, SD | 25,955 | 1.8% |
| Hayes County, NE | 25,809 | 5.7% |
| Dundy County, NE | 18,639 | 3.2% |
| Seward County, KS | 17,981 | 4.4% |
| Hitchcock County, NE | 16,374 | 3.6% |
| Dawes County, NE | 15,954 | 1.8% |
| Baca County, CO | 15,594 | 1.0% |
| Jackson County, SD | 13,011 | 1.1% |
| Perkins County, NE | 11,744 | 2.1% |
| Bennett County, SD | 10,653 | 1.4% |
| Gray County, KS | 9,839 | 1.8% |
| Goshen County, WY | 7,830 | 0.6% |
| Logan County, CO | 6,059 | 0.5% |
| Washington County, CO | 4,162 | 0.3% |
| Stevens County, KS | 3,507 | 0.8% |
| Frontier County, NE | 3,258 | 0.5% |
| Trego County, KS | 3,246 | 0.6% |
| Chase County, NE | 3,047 | 0.5% |
| Decatur County, KS | 2,844 | 0.5% |
| Kiowa County, CO | 2,767 | 0.2% |
| Yuma County, CO | 2,601 | 0.2% |
| Cheyenne County, NE | 1,963 | 0.3% |
| Red Willow County, NE | 1,801 | 0.4% |
| Adams County, CO | 1,567 | 0.2% |
| Kit Carson County, CO | 1,558 | 0.1% |
| Hodgeman County, KS | 829 | 0.2% |
| Lincoln County, NE | 786 | 0.0% |
| Sheridan County, NE | 563 | 0.0% |
| Todd County, SD | 394 | 0.0% |
| Ness County, KS | 372 | 0.1% |
| Sedgwick County, CO | 357 | 0.1% |
| Graham County, KS | 255 | 0.0% |
| Arapahoe County, CO | 79 | 0.0% |
| Morgan County, CO | 45 | 0.0% |
| Ford County, KS | 18 | 0.0% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Ulysses acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.8% |
| Somewhat limited | 67.6% |
| Very limited | 31.5% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Ulysses 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 0–4% (median 2%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 1.8%.
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 | 66.3% |
| C: slow infiltration | 33.7% |
| 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 Ulysses (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 2,813,044 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Ulysses components. The profile comes from the single largest Ulysses component. Full methodology.