HomeSoil seriesPelham
Pelham soil series
Pelham soils cover 1,926,735 mapped acres, mostly in Georgia, Florida 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 100%.
It is the leading soil series by area in 15 of the counties and cities on this site, including Bradford County, FL; Bacon County, GA; Union County, FL.
SSURGO survey versions to August 5, 2026 · series description revised 2007-04
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 Pelham series consists of very deep, poorly drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in unconsolidated Coastal Plain sediments. These soils are on nearly level broad flats, toe slopes, depressions and drainageways. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent.
Source: USDA NRCS series description (OSD) for Pelham, revised 2007-04. Read it.
Engineering properties
| Mapped area (SSURGO) | 1,926,735 acres |
| Shrink-swell limits houses without basements | 0.0% |
| Shallow water table limits basements | 100.0% |
| Very limited for septic absorption fields | 100.0% |
| Most common drainage class | Poorly drained |
| Most common hydrologic soil group | B/D |
| Taxonomic class | Loamy, siliceous, subactive, thermic Arenic Paleaquults |
| Type location | Wilcox County, Georgia |
Where Pelham is mapped
| State | Mapped acres |
|---|---|
| Georgia | 1,451,588 |
| Florida | 369,930 |
| South Carolina | 79,484 |
| Alabama | 25,733 |
Places where Pelham leads
Counties and cities where Pelham covers more mapped land than any other series.
| Place | Share of mapped land |
|---|---|
| Bradford County, FL | 33% |
| Bacon County, GA | 28% |
| Union County, FL | 28% |
| Jeff Davis County, GA | 27% |
| Ware County, GA | 24% |
| Evans County, GA | 23% |
| Appling County, GA | 22% |
| Coffee County, GA | 18% |
| Pierce County, GA | 17% |
| Bulloch County, GA | 17% |
| Brantley County, GA | 16% |
| Wheeler County, GA | 16% |
| Effingham County, GA | 14% |
| Gulf County, FL | 11% |
| Long County, GA | 10% |
Other places where Pelham is a main soil
Counties and cities where Pelham is among the six soil series covering the most mapped land, but not the first. Share of the place's mapped land.
Counties
- Worth County, GA 21%
- Candler County, GA 17%
- Atkinson County, GA 16%
- Toombs County, GA 15%
- Tattnall County, GA 14%
- Wilcox County, GA 14%
- Lanier County, GA 13%
- Telfair County, GA 12%
- Clinch County, GA 12%
- Lowndes County, GA 12%
- Montgomery County, GA 12%
- Baker County, FL 12%
- Charlton County, GA 12%
- Camden County, GA 10%
- Berrien County, GA 9%
- Duval County, FL 9%
- Emanuel County, GA 8%
- Bryan County, GA 8%
- Pulaski County, GA 7%
- Glynn County, GA 6%
- Liberty County, GA 6%
- Echols County, GA 6%
- Colleton County, SC 6%
- Screven County, GA 6%
- Tift County, GA 4%
- Colquitt County, GA 4%
- Chatham County, GA 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.