Oklahoma soils

The soil series under Oklahoma homes and what each means for a foundation.

• What is Abilene soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Abilene is a deep, well-drained terrace soil of southwest Oklahoma with a 35 to 50 percent clay subsoil that shrinks and swells with the seasons.
• What is Apperson soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Apperson is a smectite clay Vertisol over hard limestone 40 to 60 inches down that cracks and swells seasonally, so heave and settlement are both concerns.
• What is Bates soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?A well-drained, loamy eastern Oklahoma soil over soft sandstone at 20 to 40 inches. It swells less than nearby clays, so drainage, erosion and fill matter most.
• What is Bernow soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Bernow is a deep, well-drained loamy soil from Cretaceous sandstone with about 20 to 32 percent clay, so water, erosion and fill matter most.
• What is Bethany soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Bethany is a very deep central Oklahoma soil with a silty clay subsoil of 35 to 45 percent clay, with a subsoil rated moderate in shrink-swell, so homes can move seasonally.
• What is Chickasha soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Chickasha is a well-drained loamy soil over weakly cemented Permian sandstone at 40 to 60 inches; drainage, erosion and fill matter more than swelling.
• What is Choteau soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Choteau is a very deep, somewhat poorly drained clayey soil with a perched water table 2.5 to 3 feet down from December through April.
• What is Clarksville soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?A deep, cherty Ozark soil on steep slopes with fast-draining gravelly upper layers and clay 3 to 4.5 feet down; slope and runoff are the main concerns.
• What is Collinsville soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Collinsville is a shallow sandy loam over hard sandstone 4 to 20 inches down, with 5 to 20 percent clay, so rock depth and runoff matter more than swelling.
• What is Coweta soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Coweta is a shallow, well-drained loamy soil on eastern Oklahoma ridges over soft sandstone 10 to 20 inches down. Shallow rock and runoff are its main traits.
• What is Dale soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Dale is a very deep, well-drained silt loam to clay loam on central Oklahoma flood plains, so flood exposure and variable layering are the key questions.
• What is Dalhart soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Dalhart is a deep, well-drained Panhandle soil formed in wind-laid loamy sediment; wetting response and water management are the main foundation questions.
• What is Darnell soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?A shallow, sandy, rapidly drained soil over Permian sandstone 10 to 20 inches down; shallow rock, slopes and runoff matter more than clay swelling.
• What is Dennis soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Dennis is a deep, somewhat poorly drained clay soil with 28 to 50 percent clay and a perched water table 12 to 30 inches down in winter and spring.
• What is Dougherty soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Dougherty is a very deep central Oklahoma soil with 20 to 40 inches of loose fine sand over sandy clay loam, so erosion and water management are main concerns.
• What is Durant soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Durant is a very deep south-central Oklahoma clay, 40 to 60 percent smectitic, that cracks over 1 cm wide and 30 inches deep when dry, so it shrinks and swells.
• What is Eram soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Eram is a clayey soil over weathered shale 20 to 40 inches down with a 1 to 2 foot seasonal water table; wet saturation and dry shrinkage affect foundations.
• What is Foard soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?A sodium-affected smectitic clay of southwest Oklahoma with very slow drainage; seasonal shrink-swell and slow drainage drive foundation problems.
• What is Grant soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Grant is a deep, well-drained silty soil from Permian siltstone with about 22 to 28 percent clay in the subsoil and weathered rock 40 to 60 inches down.
• What is Hector soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Hector is a shallow, stony sandy loam over hard sandstone 14 to 20 inches down. Shallow bedrock, steep slopes and runoff are the main factors for houses.
• What is Hollister soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Hollister is a southwest Oklahoma clay Vertisol, 35 to 55 percent smectitic clay, with cracks deeper than 30 inches, so seasonal movement is the key concern.
• What is Kingfisher soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Kingfisher is a well-drained silty clay loam with 27 to 42 percent clay over weathered red-bed rock 20 to 40 inches down.
• What is Kiomatia soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?A deep, sandy Red River floodplain soil that floods often and has a seasonal water table at 42 to 60 inches; water, not clay swell, drives concerns.
• What is Kirkland soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Kirkland is a deep central Oklahoma terrace soil with a dense clay subsoil of 35 to 60 percent clay, so homes on it are exposed to seasonal shrink-swell movement.
• What is Konawa soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Konawa is a deep sandy terrace soil of the Cross Timbers with an 18-30% clay subsoil. Its foundation issues more often trace to water, drainage and fill.
• What is Lucien soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Lucien is a shallow loamy soil on central Oklahoma hilltops with weathered Permian sandstone 10 to 20 inches down; shallow rock and water flow matter most.
• What is Muskogee soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Muskogee is a deep terrace soil with silt loam over silty clay and firm clay; its slow permeability makes water management the central foundation issue.
• What is Niotaze soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?A somewhat poorly drained hillside soil with a smectitic clay subsoil over shale at 20 to 40 inches, so homes can face clay movement and wet soil.
• What is Nixa soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Nixa is a very gravelly, cherty Ozark soil with a dense fragipan 14 to 27 inches down that perches water and speeds runoff on slopes.
• What is Norge soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Norge is a deep, well-drained silt loam over reddish silty clay loam in central Oklahoma. It is less clayey than nearby soils, so drainage and fill matter.
• What is Okemah soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Okemah is a deep eastern Oklahoma prairie soil with a shrink-swell silty clay subsoil and a perched water table 2 to 3 feet down in winter and spring.
• What is Osage soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Osage is a poorly drained floodplain Vertisol with 40-65% clay and a water table 6-18 inches down in winter and spring, so clay movement and wetness combine.
• What is Parsons soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?A claypan soil with about a foot of silt loam on dense clay; water perches 6 to 18 inches down in winter and spring, and the clay can change volume.
• What is Pond Creek soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Pond Creek is a deep, well-drained silty soil partly formed in loess, with moderate clay, so water management and possible collapse are the main concerns.
• What is Port silt loam, Oklahoma's state soil, and does it flood?Port silt loam is Oklahoma's state soil, a deep floodplain soil on about one million acres in 33 counties that floods briefly between March and October.
• What is Pratt soil and is it found in Oklahoma?Pratt is a deep, sandy dune soil with thin clay bands, mapped mainly in south-central Kansas; its Oklahoma extent should be confirmed site by site.
• What is Pulaski soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Pulaski is a very deep, well-drained creek floodplain sandy loam; flooding, water movement and erosion, not clay swelling, are its foundation issues.
• What is Quinlan soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?A shallow loam over soft Permian sandstone at 10 to 20 inches in western Oklahoma; shallow rock, steep slopes and fast runoff matter more than clay swell.
• What is Renfrow soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Renfrow is a deep clay soil from Permian shale with seasonal cracks, slickensides and high linear extensibility, all signs of strong shrink-swell.
• What is Richfield soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Richfield is a deep Panhandle loess soil with a smectitic subsoil of 35 to 42 percent clay, so clay movement and collapse on wetting both matter.
• What is St. Paul soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?St. Paul is a deep, well-drained western Oklahoma terrace soil with a silty clay loam subsoil of 27-40% clay; moisture control is the main foundation issue.
• What is Stephenville soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?A moderately deep, well-drained sandy soil over soft sandstone at 20 to 40 inches; sandy texture, shallow rock and water handling matter more than swelling.
• What is Summit soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Summit is a deep shale-derived soil with a 40 to 70 percent smectitic clay subsoil, high to very high shrink-swell and a perched water table in winter and spring.
• What is Tabler soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Tabler is a very deep clay soil of north-central Oklahoma with a 35 to 50 percent clay subsoil that drains very slowly and moves with the seasons.
• What is Talihina soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Talihina is a shallow, poorly drained eastern Oklahoma clay over soft shale 10 to 20 inches down, so shallow shale, wet-season water and clay matter most.
• What is Taloka soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Taloka is a very deep soil with a silty surface that changes abruptly to dense clay, and a perched water table 12 to 24 inches down from late fall through spring.
• What is Teller soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?A very deep, well-drained terrace loam with about 18 to 30 percent clay in its subsoil; drainage, leaks, erosion and fill quality are checked first.
• What is Tillman soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Tillman is a deep red-bed clay in southwest Oklahoma with cracks over 48 inches deep and high shrink-swell, so seasonal wetting and drying drive movement.
• What is Tivoli soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Tivoli is very deep, excessively drained dune sand in northwestern Oklahoma with no clay subsoil, so loose sand, not shrink-swell, is the main concern.
• What is Ulysses soil and is it still mapped in Oklahoma?Ulysses is a deep, well-drained loess soil of the High Plains; Oklahoma was removed from its mapped extent in 2016, though older reports may name it.
• What is Verdigris soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Verdigris is a very deep, well-drained silty floodplain soil with 15-33% clay; flood exposure and soft water-laid layers are the main foundation concerns.
• What is Vernon soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?A red clay soil with 40 to 60 percent clay over dense claystone at 20 to 40 inches; clay movement with moisture and the shallow claystone drive behavior.
• What is Woodward soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Woodward is a well-drained silty soil with 8 to 18 percent clay over soft sandstone 20 to 40 inches down, so rock depth and runoff matter more than swell.
• What is Wynona soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Wynona is a very deep, somewhat poorly drained silty floodplain soil of eastern Oklahoma that floods occasionally and holds a perched water table near 2 feet.
• What is Zaneis soil and how does it affect Oklahoma foundations?Zaneis is a deep, well-drained loamy soil on central Oklahoma hills over Permian sandstone and shale at 40 to 60 inches; runoff and drainage matter most.
• Which soil series are found under Oklahoma homes?This index lists 55 Oklahoma soil series by region; find the soil under a house with the free Web Soil Survey map, then read the matching series page.