USDA SSURGO COUNTY SOIL REFERENCE

Sussex County, Delaware Soil Summary

This page summarizes USDA SSURGO mapped soil information for Sussex County, Delaware.

Mapped Land Coverage
100%765,709.34 mapped acres of 765,710.26 Census land acres

Coverage measures mapped SSURGO intersection with Census land geometry. It does not mean that every parcel or point has complete soil information.

Soil at a Glance

Largest mapped soil unit
Water
Symbol: W9.16% of mapped area
Largest estimated component
Water
78,202.9 acres (10.21% of mapped area)
Mapped units & components
15 soil units • 15 component series
Distinct SSURGO map units & series
Dominant drainage class
Well drained
Highest acreage drainage class
Dominant hydrologic group
Group A
Runoff potential classification
Weighted average slope
6.18%
Terrain slope analysis
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County summaries provide regional context across mapped soil units. Address lookup combines available public datasets for the Census-matched location.

Mapped SSURGO Soil Units

Largest mapped soil units in Sussex County ranked by intersected vector acreage
SymbolMap Unit NameMapped Acres% of Mapped Area
WWater70,158.369.16%
MuAMullica-Berryland complex, 0 to 2 percent slopes23,713.233.1%
25BSlagle fine sandy loam, 2 to 6 percent slopes23,257.13.04%
PsAPepperbox-Rosedale complex, 0 to 2 percent slopes19,327.032.52%
25ASlagle fine sandy loam, 0 to 2 percent slopes18,217.682.38%
HuAHurlock loamy sand, 0 to 2 percent slopes17,733.562.32%
RoARosedale loamy sand, 0 to 2 percent slopes16,171.662.11%
7AChastain loam, 0 to 2 percent slopes, frequently flooded15,056.351.97%
NauCNassau-Manlius very channery silt loams, 8 to 15 percent slopes, rocky13,442.041.76%
HdxpBbHazen-Paulins Kill complex, 3 to 8 percent slopes, very stony13,318.191.74%
33AYemassee fine sandy loam, 0 to 2 percent slopes11,331.121.48%
RokDRockaway-Chatfield-Rock outcrop complex, 15 to 35 percent slopes11,183.441.46%
22ARoanoke loam, 0 to 2 percent slopes, frequently flooded10,972.051.43%
NauDNassau-Manlius very channery silt loams, 15 to 35 percent slopes, rocky10,211.051.33%
RnfDRock outcrop-Farmington-Galway complex, 15 to 35 percent slopes10,195.561.33%

Estimated Soil Components

Component acreage estimated from SSURGO component percentages
ComponentDrainage ClassHydrologic GroupEstimated Acres% of Mapped Area
WaterSubaqueousD78,202.910.21%
SlagleModerately well drainedC40,161.045.24%
RosedaleWell drainedA27,090.563.54%
HurlockPoorly drainedA/D23,279.283.04%
Rock outcropUnspecifiedD19,047.682.49%
PepperboxModerately well drainedA17,578.212.3%
SwartswoodWell drainedB16,279.022.13%
MullicaVery poorly drainedA/D16,237.312.12%
HammontonModerately well drainedB16,184.032.11%
NassauSomewhat excessively drainedD15,505.662.03%
ChastainPoorly drainedC/D15,179.581.98%
Fort MottWell drainedA14,869.521.94%
KlejSomewhat poorly drainedA/D14,060.851.84%
InglesideWell drainedA13,927.481.82%
RockawayWell drained, Moderately well drainedC13,519.361.77%
Component acreage is estimated from SSURGO map-unit component percentages. Component values are not independently mapped polygon boundaries.

Drainage Class Distribution

Well drained27.17%
208,080.59 acres
Moderately well drained17.17%
131,499.32 acres
Unknown / Unmapped15.27%
116,916.16 acres
Poorly drained11.53%
88,306.59 acres
Very poorly drained8.24%
63,089.15 acres
Somewhat poorly drained6.27%
48,005.99 acres
Somewhat excessively drained5.76%
44,109.27 acres
Excessively drained2.81%
21,553.21 acres
Subaqueous1.45%
11,099.48 acres

Hydrologic Soil Group Distribution

Group A20.91%
160,087.34 acres
Group C17.37%
132,979.5 acres
Group Unknown / Unmapped12.84%
98,326.21 acres
Group A/D10.53%
80,593.98 acres
Group D10.18%
77,977.7 acres
Group B9.96%
76,249.6 acres
Group B/D8.16%
62,492.03 acres
Group C/D5.74%
43,953.36 acres

Hydrologic soil groups are USDA/NRCS classifications related to runoff potential under specified soil conditions. They are not a property-level flood-risk rating.

Slope Characteristics

Weighted Average Slope: 6.18%
Nearly Level (0-2%)49.59%
379,727.22 acres
Gently Sloping (2-8%)16.53%
126,598.43 acres
Moderately Sloping (8-15%)5.86%
44,852.88 acres
Steep (15-30%)7.49%
57,339.68 acres
Very Steep (>30%)3.13%
23,964.52 acres
Unspecified Slope13.08%
100,177.01 acres

Sources & Methodology

USDA NRCS SSURGO

Mapped soil units, components, drainage classes, hydrologic groups, and slope ratings derived from official Soil Data Access REST services.

U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line

County land geometry used for county-level coverage calculation.

Coverage Method

Mapped acreage is calculated from true spatial vector intersection of county land geometry and SSURGO mapped soil polygons using NAD83 / CONUS Albers Equal Area projection (EPSG:5070).