HomeSoil seriesGlenelg
Glenelg soil series
Glenelg soils cover 740,118 mapped acres, mostly in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. 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 12 of the counties and cities on this site, including Floyd County, VA; Galax city, VA; Howard County, MD.
SSURGO survey versions to August 5, 2026 · series description revised 2008-02
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 Glenelg series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in residuum weathered from micaceous schist on uplands of the Blue Ridge and the Northern Piedmont. Slopes range from 0 to 55 percent. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high in the subsoil and moderately high to high in the substratum. Mean annual temperature is 53 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is 40 inches.
Source: USDA NRCS series description (OSD) for Glenelg, revised 2008-02. Read it.
Engineering properties
| Mapped area (SSURGO) | 740,118 acres |
| Shrink-swell limits houses without basements | 0.0% |
| Shallow water table limits basements | 0.0% |
| Very limited for septic absorption fields | 56.5% |
| Most common drainage class | Well drained |
| Most common hydrologic soil group | B |
| Taxonomic class | Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludults |
| Type location | Howard County, Maryland. 0.5 miles south of Route 144 on St. Michaels Road and 0.25 miles southeast of the intersection of St. Michaels Road and Hardy Road in Howard County. Lat. 39 degrees, 20 minutes, 09 seconds and Long. 77 degrees, 6 minutes, 12 seconds. |
Where Glenelg is mapped
| State | Mapped acres |
|---|---|
| Maryland | 311,553 |
| Pennsylvania | 209,629 |
| Virginia | 202,993 |
| Delaware | 15,211 |
| District of Columbia | 733 |
Places where Glenelg leads
Counties and cities where Glenelg covers more mapped land than any other series.
| Place | Share of mapped land |
|---|---|
| Floyd County, VA | 31% |
| Galax city, VA | 26% |
| Howard County, MD | 25% |
| Carroll County, MD | 24% |
| Delaware County, PA | 20% |
| Montgomery County, MD | 20% |
| Fairfax County, VA | 18% |
| Baltimore County, MD | 16% |
| Chester County, PA | 16% |
| Arlington County, VA | 15% |
| Harford County, MD | 14% |
| Cecil County, MD | 10% |
Other places where Glenelg is a main soil
Counties and cities where Glenelg 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.