HomeSoil seriesNorfolk

Norfolk soil series

Norfolk soils cover 1,606,422 mapped acres, mostly in North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina. 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 63%.

It is the leading soil series by area in 9 of the counties and cities on this site, including Nash County, NC; Wilson County, NC; Greene County, NC.

SSURGO survey versions to August 5, 2026 · series description revised 2005-11

0%

of its land: shrink-swell limits houses without basements

63%

of its land: a shallow water table limits basements

1.5%

median highest linear extensibility (6% and up is high)

27%

median highest clay content in the top 150 cm

USDA's description

Depth classVery deep
PermeabilityModerate (Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately high)
LandscapeLower, middle, or upper coastal plain
LandformUplands or marine terraces
Parent materialMarine deposits or fluviomarine deposits
Slope0 to 10 percent

Source: USDA NRCS series description (OSD) for Norfolk, revised 2005-11. Read it.

Engineering properties

Mapped area (SSURGO)1,606,422 acres
Shrink-swell limits houses without basements0.0%
Shallow water table limits basements63.3%
Very limited for septic absorption fields7.4%
Most common drainage classWell drained
Most common hydrologic soil groupB
Taxonomic classFine-loamy, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kandiudults
Type locationRobeson County, North Carolina

Where Norfolk is mapped

StateMapped acres
North Carolina821,312
Georgia306,372
South Carolina301,574
Alabama68,960
Florida45,110
Arkansas39,577
Virginia23,516

Places where Norfolk leads

Counties and cities where Norfolk covers more mapped land than any other series.

PlaceShare of mapped land
Nash County, NC22%
Wilson County, NC20%
Greene County, NC15%
Sampson County, NC14%
Lenoir County, NC14%
Edgecombe County, NC14%
Wayne County, NC13%
Johnston County, NC11%
Harnett County, NC11%

Other places where Norfolk is a main soil

Counties and cities where Norfolk 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.