HomeSoil seriesLake Charles
Lake Charles soil series
Lake Charles soils cover 657,410 mapped acres, almost all of them in Texas. USDA rates shrink-swell a limit for houses without basements on 97% of that land, and a shallow water table a limit for basements on under 1%.
It is the leading soil series by area in 35 of the counties and cities on this site, including Brazoria County, TX; Fort Bend County, TX; Wharton County, TX.
SSURGO survey versions to August 5, 2026 · series description revised 2016-03
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 Lake Charles series consists of very deep, moderately well drained, very slowly permeable soils that formed in clayey sediments. These soils are on broad coastal prairies. Slopes are mainly less than 1 percent, but range from 0 to 8 percent.
Source: USDA NRCS series description (OSD) for Lake Charles, revised 2016-03. Read it.
Engineering properties
| Mapped area (SSURGO) | 657,410 acres |
| Shrink-swell limits houses without basements | 97.1% |
| Shallow water table limits basements | 0.1% |
| Very limited for septic absorption fields | 97.1% |
| Most common drainage class | Moderately well drained |
| Most common hydrologic soil group | D |
| Taxonomic class | Fine, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Hapluderts |
| Type location | Fort Bend County, Texas |
Where Lake Charles is mapped
| State | Mapped acres |
|---|---|
| Texas | 657,410 |
Places where Lake Charles leads
Counties and cities where Lake Charles covers more mapped land than any other series.
| Place | Share of mapped land |
|---|---|
| South Frydek, TX | 85% |
| Meadows Place, TX | 73% |
| Arcola, TX | 72% |
| Iowa Colony, TX | 70% |
| Bonney, TX | 67% |
| Liverpool, TX | 63% |
| Pearland, TX | 60% |
| Sandy Point, TX | 58% |
| Stafford, TX | 53% |
| South Houston, TX | 52% |
| Manvel, TX | 51% |
| Alvin, TX | 48% |
| Beasley, TX | 46% |
| Friendswood, TX | 44% |
| Jacinto City, TX | 43% |
| Brookside Village, TX | 43% |
| Webster, TX | 42% |
| Pleak, TX | 40% |
| Fairchilds, TX | 39% |
| La Porte, TX | 38% |
| Kendleton, TX | 38% |
| El Campo, TX | 34% |
| Angleton, TX | 33% |
| Pasadena, TX | 31% |
| Richmond, TX | 30% |
| La Marque, TX | 26% |
| Brazoria County, TX | 25% |
| East Bernard, TX | 23% |
| Fort Bend County, TX | 22% |
| Wharton County, TX | 21% |
| Missouri City, TX | 21% |
| Bellaire, TX | 20% |
| Houston, TX | 14% |
| Harris County, TX | 8% |
| Texas City, TX | 6% |
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.