HomeSoil seriesCrete
Crete soil series
Crete soils cover 2,354,418 mapped acres, mostly in Kansas and Nebraska. USDA rates shrink-swell a limit for houses without basements on 100% of that land, and a shallow water table a limit for basements on under 1%.
It is the leading soil series by area in 11 of the counties and cities on this site, including Fillmore County, NE; Clay County, KS; Washington County, KS.
SSURGO survey versions to August 5, 2026 · series description revised 2020-07
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 Crete series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils formed in loess. Crete soils are on interfluves and hillslopes on loess uplands and loess-covered stream terraces on river valleys in Central Loess Plains, MLRA 75. Slopes range from 0 to 11 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 760 millimeters (30 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 12 degrees C (53 degrees F).
Vertic features, from the same description: "The presence of linear extensibility of 6.0 cm or more between 0 and 100 centimeters (0 to 40 inches). This was determined from lab data for Crete soils."
Source: USDA NRCS series description (OSD) for Crete, revised 2020-07. Read it.
Engineering properties
| Mapped area (SSURGO) | 2,354,418 acres |
| Shrink-swell limits houses without basements | 100.0% |
| Shallow water table limits basements | 0.2% |
| Very limited for septic absorption fields | 100.0% |
| Most common drainage class | Moderately well drained |
| Most common hydrologic soil group | C |
| Taxonomic class | Fine, smectitic, mesic Pachic Udertic Argiustolls |
| Type location | Saline County, Nebraska |
Where Crete is mapped
| State | Mapped acres |
|---|---|
| Kansas | 1,523,340 |
| Nebraska | 831,077 |
Places where Crete leads
Counties and cities where Crete covers more mapped land than any other series.
| Place | Share of mapped land |
|---|---|
| Fillmore County, NE | 48% |
| Clay County, KS | 48% |
| Washington County, KS | 44% |
| Saline County, NE | 40% |
| Jefferson County, NE | 36% |
| Republic County, KS | 34% |
| McPherson County, KS | 31% |
| Cloud County, KS | 26% |
| Thayer County, NE | 25% |
| Rice County, KS | 23% |
| Ottawa County, KS | 22% |
Other places where Crete is a main soil
Counties and cities where Crete 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.