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Nevada soil by county

Across Nevada's mapped land, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 12% and a shallow water table limits basements on 5%.

Highest clay shares: Washoe County (34%), Storey County (30%), Humboldt County (21%), Douglas County (20%), Elko County (19%). Highest water-table shares: Churchill County (11%), Humboldt County (9%), Douglas County (9%), Lyon County (8%), Eureka County (6%).

Data as of September 22, 2026 · 17 counties

Carson City: 11%Churchill County: 11%Clark County: 0%Douglas County: 20%Elko County: 19%Esmeralda County: 4%Eureka County: 14%Humboldt County: 21%Lander County: 11%Lincoln County: 6%Lyon County: 11%Mineral County: 5%Nye County: 3%Pershing County: 11%Storey County: 30%Washoe County: 34%White Pine County: 7%
Expansive clay: share of mapped land where shrink-swell clay limits houses without basementsunder 10%10-25%25-40%40-60%60%+
Carson City: 5%Churchill County: 11%Clark County: 0%Douglas County: 9%Elko County: 4%Esmeralda County: 4%Eureka County: 6%Humboldt County: 9%Lander County: 6%Lincoln County: 1%Lyon County: 8%Mineral County: 2%Nye County: 4%Pershing County: 4%Storey County: 0%Washoe County: 3%White Pine County: 4%
High water table: share of mapped land where a shallow water table limits basementsunder 10%10-25%25-40%40-60%60%+

Every county in Nevada

Select a column heading to sort.
Carson City 11% 5% 95% 9 1981
Churchill County 11% 11% 100% 3 1990
Clark County under 1% under 1% 100% 25 1998
Douglas County 20% 9% 25% 31 1990
Elko County 19% 4% 100% 16 1990
Esmeralda County 4% 4% 78% 0 1986
Eureka County 14% 6% 100% 0 1988
Humboldt County 21% 9% 100% 3 1991
Lander County 11% 6% 100% 0 1986
Lincoln County 6% 1% 100% 3 1982
Lyon County 11% 8% 36% 9 1998
Mineral County 5% 2% 47% 0 1971
Nye County 3% 4% 100% 72 1998
Pershing County 11% 4% 100% 0 1984
Storey County 30% under 1% 100% 0 1989
Washoe County 34% 3% 100% 146 1991
White Pine County 7% 4% 100% 2 1970

How these shares are counted

Shares are of mapped land in USDA's soil survey (SSURGO), weighted by each soil's share of every map unit. Drought is the US Drought Monitor's D1-or-worse share on the September 22, 2026 map. Flood losses are FEMA NFIP records since 2016. Sources and methods.