SSURGO/STATSGO2 Structural Metadata and Documentation

Exports from the Soil Data Mart are delivered in what is referred to as Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO) format. The following documents, diagrams, and reports describe the SSURGO standard and STATSGO2, as well as the tools and procedures that are necessary to effectively use this data.

• What is SSURGO? (Includes description, ordering information, and recommended data citation)
• What is STATSGO2?
• SSURGO Soil Map Coverage versus the U.S. General Soil Map Coverage (SSURGO versus STATSGO2)

PDF files require Acrobat Reader.

SSURGO Data Packaging and Use (PDF; 117 KB): This document describes the format of a SSURGO export file, and discusses some of the applications available for using this data.

SSURGO Data Model Diagram – Part 1 (PDF; 31 KB): This diagram shows the soil tabular and spatial data tables in the SSURGO standard, and how those tables are related. Only primary and foreign key columns are included in this diagram. See the report titled “SSURGO Metadata – Table Columns” for a complete listing of all columns in each table. The information in this diagram is also available in non-graphical format in the report titled “SSURGO Metadata – Relationships”.

SSURGO Data Model Diagram – Part 2 (PDF; 18 KB): This diagram shows the static metadata and Soil Data Viewer related tables in the SSURGO standard, and how those tables are related. Only primary and foreign key columns are included in this diagram. See the report titled “SSURGO Metadata – Table Columns” for a complete listing of all columns in each table. The information in this diagram is also available in non-graphical format in the report titled “SSURGO Metadata – Relationships”.

SSURGO Metadata – Tables and Columns Report (PDF; 234 KB):

This report includes table attributes―
Table Physical Name
Table Label
Table Description

This report includes column attributes―
Default Sequence
Column Physical Name
Column Label
Logical Data Type
Physical Data Type
Not Null?
Field Size, if any
Precision, if any
Minimum Allowable Value, if any
Maximum Allowable Value, if any
Units of Measure, if any
Corresponding Domain Name, if any

SSURGO Metadata – Table Column Descriptions Report (PDF; 285 KB):

This report includes table attributes―
Table Physical Name
Table Label

This report includes column attributes―
Column Physical Name
Column Label
Column Description

SSURGO Metadata – Domains Report (PDF; 852 KB):

The report includes domain attribute―
Domain Name

This report includes domain member attributes―
Sequence (used to sequence the members of the corresponding domain)
Obsolete? (Is this domain member considered to be obsolete?)
Choice ID (an integer number that uniquely identifies the corresponding domain member)
Choice Data Entry Text (the shorter, typically lower case string that uniquely identifies the corresponding domain member)
Choice Label (the longer, typically mixed case straing that uniquely identifies the corresponding domain member)
Choice Description

SSURGO Metadata – Unique Constraints Report (PDF; 22 KB): This report includes all unique constraints in a SSURGO database, i.e. primary keys and alternate unique constraints. This report includes table attributes Table Physical Name and Table Label, the physical name of the corresponding unique constraint and the physical name of the columns participating in that unique constraint.

SSURGO Metadata – Relationships Report (PDF; 22 KB): This report includes all relationships in a SSURGO database. For each table, the relationships for which that table is the parent table are listed first, followed by the relationships for which that table is the child table. This makes it easier to find all relationships in which a given table participates, but results in each relationship being listed twice. For each relationship, the physical names of the join columns are included for both tables.