Soil series profile
Valentine soil series
Valentine is a excessively drained soil with a fine sand surface, mapped on 10,805,127 acres in 66 counties across 5 states. Hydrologic group A.
- Drainage class
- Excessively drained 100% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- A 100% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 6.5 slightly acidic · range 6.5–6.5
- Mapped area
- 10.8M acres in 66 counties, 5 states
Typical Valentine profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–5 in (A) | Fine sand | 6.5 | 3% | 94% | 0.75% |
| 5–12 in (AC) | Fine sand | 6.5 | 3% | 95% | 0.5% |
| 12–79 in (C) | Fine sand | 6.5 | 3% | 96% | 0.25% |
What this means
What Valentine soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Valentine soils is slightly acidic: pH 6.5, the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.
Sandy topsoil covers 100% of mapped Valentine 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 sand (94% of mapped Valentine acres).
100% of mapped Valentine acres is excessively or somewhat excessively drained: water moves through fast, so gardens need more frequent watering in dry spells.
For lawns and yards
100% 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 100% of the acres in mapped Valentine soils very limited, 0% somewhat limited and 0% not limited.
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 Valentine soil is found
Mapped acres
Valentine is mapped in Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, Montana and Texas. The 60 counties with the most Valentine acres:
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Cherry County, NE | 2,768,680 | 72.7% |
| Sheridan County, NE | 673,456 | 43.0% |
| Garden County, NE | 622,576 | 57.0% |
| Lincoln County, NE | 480,567 | 29.3% |
| Brown County, NE | 477,452 | 61.5% |
| McPherson County, NE | 474,124 | 86.2% |
| Hooker County, NE | 410,548 | 89.1% |
| Thomas County, NE | 410,290 | 90.0% |
| Arthur County, NE | 401,027 | 87.4% |
| Grant County, NE | 398,507 | 80.7% |
| Holt County, NE | 353,885 | 23.0% |
| Blaine County, NE | 341,197 | 75.0% |
| Rock County, NE | 315,746 | 49.1% |
| Loup County, NE | 259,557 | 71.9% |
| Logan County, NE | 258,216 | 70.7% |
| Custer County, NE | 256,936 | 15.6% |
| Keith County, NE | 239,128 | 35.4% |
| Morrill County, NE | 226,791 | 24.9% |
| Garfield County, NE | 216,227 | 59.3% |
| Wheeler County, NE | 202,598 | 55.1% |
| Bennett County, SD | 179,775 | 23.7% |
| Todd County, SD | 116,923 | 13.2% |
| Keya Paha County, NE | 100,817 | 20.5% |
| Greeley County, NE | 72,535 | 20.0% |
| Oglala Lakota County, SD | 65,350 | 4.5% |
| Antelope County, NE | 58,362 | 10.8% |
| Box Butte County, NE | 41,685 | 6.1% |
| Kearney County, NE | 36,803 | 11.1% |
| Tripp County, SD | 33,214 | 3.2% |
| Boone County, NE | 30,547 | 7.0% |
| Howard County, NE | 26,281 | 7.2% |
| Valley County, NE | 24,533 | 6.8% |
| Hall County, NE | 23,914 | 6.9% |
| Pierce County, NE | 22,848 | 6.2% |
| Merrick County, NE | 22,638 | 7.3% |
| Buffalo County, NE | 22,634 | 3.7% |
| Jackson County, SD | 19,613 | 1.7% |
| Phelps County, NE | 15,452 | 4.5% |
| Boyd County, NE | 11,618 | 3.4% |
| Adams County, NE | 10,447 | 2.9% |
| Platte County, NE | 9,836 | 2.3% |
| Stanton County, NE | 9,638 | 3.5% |
| Dawson County, NE | 7,992 | 1.2% |
| Mellette County, SD | 7,795 | 0.9% |
| Sherman County, NE | 7,096 | 2.0% |
| Knox County, NE | 6,848 | 1.0% |
| Cuming County, NE | 5,828 | 1.6% |
| Dickinson County, KS | 5,369 | 1.0% |
| Franklin County, NE | 5,193 | 1.4% |
| Madison County, NE | 4,461 | 1.2% |
| Nance County, NE | 3,824 | 1.4% |
| Gregory County, SD | 1,697 | 0.3% |
| Wibaux County, MT | 1,444 | 0.3% |
| Sherman County, TX | 907 | 0.2% |
| Lyman County, SD | 835 | 0.1% |
| Graham County, KS | 692 | 0.1% |
| Phillips County, KS | 628 | 0.1% |
| Sanborn County, SD | 471 | 0.1% |
| Geary County, KS | 378 | 0.2% |
| Wayne County, NE | 216 | 0.1% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Valentine acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.0% |
| Somewhat limited | 0.0% |
| Very limited | 100.0% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Valentine 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 6–42% (median 13%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 0.8%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 100.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 0.0% |
| 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) | 100.0% |
| 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% |
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 Valentine (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 10,805,127 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Valentine components. The profile comes from the single largest Valentine component. Full methodology.