Montana Soils Data 

This web page represents a joint effort by the Montana Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Natural Resource Information System of the Montana State Library.  Its purpose is to provide access to the available SSURGO soils data for Montana.  Spatial data is provided in UTM and State Plane Coordinates. Use of the attribute data requires Microsoft ©Access.

Soil map unit polygons in the spatial data are  linked to attributes in the MS Access database by the unique identifier 'MUKEY'. Downloading the Microsoft ©Access database that accompanies the spatial data is necessary to view soil attributes and interpretations. Users should refer to the SSURGO database documentation  for a diagram of the SSURGO database design and descriptions of the SSURGO tables and fields.

DATA

Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Data:  These are the soil map unit polygons for each soil survey area.  Soil survey's are typically conducted by County, however soil survey areas do not always coincide with county boundaries. The GIS data for a survey area may also include point and line features, each with their own set of attributes. The publication "How To Use a Soil Survey?" provides basic instructions.

SSURGO Attribute Data:  These are Microsoft ©Access 2003 database files containing the soil map unit attribute data and interpretations for soil properties. Check the metadata for the database version.

APPLICATIONS

The WEB Soil Survey   This mapping application is updated and maintained online by the NRCS as the single authoritative source of soil survey information.