HomeSoil seriesAmarillo
Amarillo soil series
Amarillo soils cover 3,045,572 mapped acres, mostly in Texas and New Mexico. USDA rates shrink-swell a limit for houses without basements on 0% of that land, and a shallow water table a limit for basements on 0%.
It is the leading soil series by area in 32 of the counties and cities on this site, including Dawson County, TX; Cochran County, TX; Hockley County, TX.
SSURGO survey versions to August 5, 2026 · series description revised 2016-08
of its land: shrink-swell limits houses without basements
of its land: a shallow water table limits basements
median highest linear extensibility (6% and up is high)
median highest clay content in the top 150 cm
USDA's description
The Amarillo series consists of very deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils. These soils formed in loamy eolian deposits from the Blackwater Draw Formation of Pleistocene age. Amarillo soils are on nearly level to gently sloping plains and playa slopes. Slope ranges from 0 to 5 percent. Mean annual precipitation is 483 mm (19 in) and the mean annual air temperature is 16 degrees C (61 degrees F)
Source: USDA NRCS series description (OSD) for Amarillo, revised 2016-08. Read it.
Engineering properties
| Mapped area (SSURGO) | 3,045,572 acres |
| Shrink-swell limits houses without basements | 0.0% |
| Shallow water table limits basements | 0.0% |
| Very limited for septic absorption fields | 0.0% |
| Most common drainage class | Well drained |
| Most common hydrologic soil group | B |
| Taxonomic class | Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Aridic Paleustalfs |
| Type location | Lamb County, Texas |
Where Amarillo is mapped
| State | Mapped acres |
|---|---|
| Texas | 2,411,020 |
| New Mexico | 634,552 |
Places where Amarillo leads
Counties and cities where Amarillo covers more mapped land than any other series.
| Place | Share of mapped land |
|---|---|
| Los Ybanez, TX | 90% |
| Whiteface, TX | 89% |
| Amherst, TX | 87% |
| Sudan, TX | 86% |
| Lamesa, TX | 79% |
| Ropesville, TX | 77% |
| Morton, TX | 77% |
| New Home, TX | 69% |
| Tahoka, TX | 66% |
| Sundown, TX | 66% |
| Farwell, TX | 65% |
| Meadow, TX | 59% |
| Coahoma, TX | 55% |
| Stanton, TX | 55% |
| Littlefield, TX | 53% |
| Levelland, TX | 53% |
| Brownfield, TX | 49% |
| Dawson County, TX | 47% |
| Cochran County, TX | 43% |
| Hockley County, TX | 42% |
| Terry County, TX | 40% |
| Seagraves, TX | 39% |
| O'Donnell, TX | 37% |
| Martin County, TX | 36% |
| Lamb County, TX | 36% |
| Earth, TX | 34% |
| Slaton, TX | 34% |
| Midland, TX | 27% |
| Bailey County, TX | 25% |
| Lubbock, TX | 24% |
| Midland County, TX | 21% |
| Howard County, TX | 14% |
Sources
Shares and properties: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access, weighted by each component's share of its map units. Description: the USDA NRCS series description. How we count.