U.S.D.A. Soil Surveys consists of historic Florida, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands soil surveys published by the the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Surveys are created by professional soil scientists who examine county soils in detail and classify them according to a national system of soil taxonomy. The location of each kind of soil is plotted on aerial photographs. Each soil is then interpreted or translated in regard to how it will respond when subjected to various uses and management.

Soil surveys contain:

1. A complete set of soil maps of the county printed on an up-to-date aerial photo base,
2. A colored soil association or general soil map for broad planning purposes,
3. Technical and popular descriptions of all the soils mapped in the county,
4. Soil interpretations for various agricultural and nonagricultural uses in narrative and table forms, and
5. Soil characterization data of the more important soils of the area, describing their physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties.

For additional information, please see “The Nature and Use of a Soil Survey, “ by R. E. Caldwell and R. B. Brown. Fact Sheet SL-11, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: January 1990. Revised: June 1996. Reviewed: September 2003. A complete listing of Florida surveys may be found at Published Soil Surveys for Florida.

The USDA makes contemporary soil survey's available at the Natural Resources Conservation Service web site.