HomeSoil seriesGoss
Goss soil series
Goss soils cover 1,474,102 mapped acres, almost all of them in Missouri. USDA rates shrink-swell a limit for houses without basements on 1% of that land, and a shallow water table a limit for basements on 0%.
It is the leading soil series by area in 7 of the counties and cities on this site, including Morgan County, MO; Dade County, MO; Ste. Genevieve County, MO.
SSURGO survey versions to August 5, 2026 · series description revised 2004-09
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 Goss series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in colluvium and residuum weathered from cherty limestone or cherty dolomite and some interbedded shale. These soils are on uplands. Slopes range from 1 to 70 percent. Mean annual temperature is 53 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation is 39 inches.
Source: USDA NRCS series description (OSD) for Goss, revised 2004-09. Read it.
Engineering properties
| Mapped area (SSURGO) | 1,474,102 acres |
| Shrink-swell limits houses without basements | 1.3% |
| Shallow water table limits basements | 0.0% |
| Very limited for septic absorption fields | 96.7% |
| Most common drainage class | Well drained |
| Most common hydrologic soil group | C |
| Taxonomic class | Clayey-skeletal, mixed, active, mesic Typic Paleudalfs |
| Type location | Monroe County, Missouri |
Where Goss is mapped
| State | Mapped acres |
|---|---|
| Missouri | 1,428,445 |
| Illinois | 42,733 |
| Iowa | 2,664 |
| Arkansas | 260 |
Places where Goss leads
Counties and cities where Goss covers more mapped land than any other series.
| Place | Share of mapped land |
|---|---|
| Morgan County, MO | 22% |
| Dade County, MO | 21% |
| Ste. Genevieve County, MO | 18% |
| Greene County, MO | 17% |
| Washington County, MO | 14% |
| Pike County, MO | 13% |
| St. Clair County, MO | 13% |
Other places where Goss is a main soil
Counties and cities where Goss is among the six soil series covering the most mapped land, but not the first. Share of the place's mapped land.
Counties
- Christian County, MO 15%
- Benton County, MO 14%
- Ralls County, MO 12%
- Callaway County, MO 12%
- Cedar County, MO 11%
- Polk County, MO 11%
- St. Francois County, MO 11%
- Warren County, MO 10%
- Perry County, MO 10%
- Iron County, MO 9%
- Cooper County, MO 9%
- Hickory County, MO 9%
- Franklin County, MO 8%
- Lincoln County, MO 8%
- McDonald County, MO 8%
- Marion County, MO 8%
- Dallas County, MO 7%
- Crawford County, MO 7%
- St. Charles County, MO 6%
- Jersey County, IL 4%
- Calhoun County, IL 4%
- St. Louis County, MO 4%
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.