Using the National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS) Web Soil Survey

Use the Area of Interest tab to define your area of interest. You can navigate to an area by zooming in on a map or by selecting from a Quick Navigation choice list. After you find the area, define it as the Area of Interest (AOI) by drawing a box around it using a map tool. You must complete this step before you can go on to the next two steps.

Click the Soil Map tab to view or print a map of the soils in your area and view a description of the soils, or click the Soil Data Explorer tab to access soil data for your area and determine the suitability of the soils for a particular use. The items you want saved in a report can be added to your shopping cart.

Click the Soil Data Explorer tab to access soil data for your area and determine the suitability of the soils for a particular use. The items you want saved in a report can be added to your shopping cart.

Use the Shopping Cart tab to get your custom report immediately or download it later.

View Web Soil Survey accessibility features through the following link: Accessibility Features.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is committed to making its electronic and information technologies accessible to individuals with disabilities by meeting or exceeding the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended in 1998. Section 508 is a federal law that requires agencies to provide individuals with disabilities equal access to electronic information and data comparable to those who do not have disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. The Section 508 standards are the technical requirements and criteria that are used to measure conformance within this law. More information on Section 508 and the technical standards can be found through the following link: Section 508 Information.

View some helpful tips and shortcuts through the following link: Tips & Shortcuts.

Throughout Web Soil Survey, context-specific help is available in a specific panel or dialog by clicking the following question mark icon: .

When you are done, always click the Logout link next to the Help link. Clicking the Logout link allows the application to release the resources used by your session immediately, instead of having to wait 40 minutes for your session to time out.