The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Web Soil Survey site provides secure public access to the national soils information system. This website is a simple yet powerful way to access and analyze soils data that contributes to every aspect of public and private land use and development.

The website has been designed with three easy to use features-Define, View and Explore, and operates much like internet sites that provide locator and directional information. When viewers visit the web soil survey, they are asked to “Define” a geographic area of interest by selecting a state and county or just by highlighting an area or areas.

You can also locate a site by address. Once a location has been defined and projected on the screen, the viewer has the choice to print the map and related information, save it to their hard drive, or download the data for use in a geographic information system (GIS).

The viewer also can “Explore” the designated location for specific soils data giving the viewer important information on soil suitability in relationship to usage. This flexibility provides the viewer an opportunity to build a customized report that addresses individual needs. Information can be delivered in a variety of formats including print, CD, DVD or other media.

One of the greatest advantages of this website over the other methods is the ability to generate soil customized reports drawn from the underlying soil survey tables for your specific area of interest. Another advantage is that, currently, the website will provides soil survey information for most of the country including Delaware County. To view the Web Soil Survey go to http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/.