HomeSoil seriesBluford
Bluford soil series
Bluford soils cover 957,253 mapped acres, almost all of them in Illinois. USDA rates shrink-swell a limit for houses without basements on 21% of that land, and a shallow water table a limit for basements on 100%.
It is the leading soil series by area in 11 of the counties and cities on this site, including Wayne County, IL; Hamilton County, IL; Franklin County, IL.
SSURGO survey versions to August 5, 2026 · series description revised 2022-09
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 Bluford series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils on till plains. They formed in loess and the underlying pedisediment. Slope ranges from 0 to 7 percent. Mean annual temperature is about 12 degrees C (54 degrees F.), and mean annual precipitation is about 1067 millimeters (42 inches).
Source: USDA NRCS series description (OSD) for Bluford, revised 2022-09. Read it.
Engineering properties
| Mapped area (SSURGO) | 957,253 acres |
| Shrink-swell limits houses without basements | 21.0% |
| Shallow water table limits basements | 100.0% |
| Very limited for septic absorption fields | 100.0% |
| Most common drainage class | Somewhat poorly drained |
| Most common hydrologic soil group | C/D |
| Taxonomic class | Fine, smectitic, mesic Aeric Fragic Epiaqualfs |
| Type location | Crawford County, Illinois |
Where Bluford is mapped
| State | Mapped acres |
|---|---|
| Illinois | 957,253 |
Places where Bluford leads
Counties and cities where Bluford covers more mapped land than any other series.
| Place | Share of mapped land |
|---|---|
| Wayne County, IL | 30% |
| Hamilton County, IL | 24% |
| Franklin County, IL | 18% |
| Clay County, IL | 18% |
| Fayette County, IL | 17% |
| Jefferson County, IL | 16% |
| Edwards County, IL | 15% |
| Crawford County, IL | 13% |
| Lawrence County, IL | 12% |
| Washington County, IL | 10% |
| Perry County, IL | 9% |
Other places where Bluford is a main soil
Counties and cities where Bluford is among the six soil series covering the most mapped land, but not the first. Share of the place's mapped land.
Counties
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.