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Source Material Required for SSURGO Digitizing or SSURGO Review

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   Source Material Required for SSURGO Digitizing and SSURGO Review  (PDF, 90 KB)

SSURGO Digitizing

The following materials are required for SSURGO Digitzing:

  1. Approved soil classification and correlation document and amendments.
  2. Map index to soil maps and USGS topographic quadrangles or orthophotoquadrangles. Include at least one set of latitude/longitude coordinates on the index map.
  3. Published soil survey if available, or field sheets with a field sheet index.
  4. Certification of Map Compilation from MLRA Office.
  5. County boundary
    1. All survey boundaries are required to form a polygon. It is essential for boundaries extending into water bodies (including oceans) to be closed.
    2. An accurate ARC Interchange file is the preferred format for a statewide county boundary. A single coverage is the best way to facilitate county to county joins. However, the county boundary may be drawn on the soil overlay as a solid line with the same qualities as the soil lines.
    3. Digitizing the boundary from paper or stable base topoquadrangles is an alternative. Please provide the appropriate materials if you choose this method.
  6. Name, phone number, fax number, and email address, of the contact person for your state.
  7. Soil maps
    The preferred method is two separate overlays: a soil sheet, and a sheet with labels and special features. In these cases, please draw the special features in blue. In cases where there are more than 25 special features per sheet please put them on a separate overlay and draw them in black. Be consistent by placing all special features on separate overlays, or incorporated into the label overlays.
    1. Soil line overlays showing only soil boundaries and water boundaries serving as soils boundaries.

      Each soil overlay should:

      1. Be drawn on a stable base material (minimum 4 mil mylar).
      2. Be registered to a stable base orthophotoquadrangle or topoquadrangle.
      3. Be labeled with the quadrangle name, state, sheet number, datum and scale.
      4. Have four corner tics, inked and transferred exactly from the stable base orthophotoquadrangle or topoquadrangle, using the correct datum (NAD27 for NAD27 source material and NAD83 for NAD83 source material).
      5. Have the SW corner tic with the correct latitude/longitude coordinates in the margin.
      6. Have soil lines drawn uniformly without skips or overshoots, using a black pen. See attachment: "Recommended Compilation Tools"
      7. Be free of tape, paper clips, and debris, ready for scanning.
      8. Have soil lines that join all surrounding layers.
      9. Not separated into individual envelopes.
      10. Not have a neatline on this layer.
      11. Not use blue for water boundaries.

       

    2. Label and special features overlays showing all soil map unit symbols and special feature symbols in their appropriate locations.

      Each label and special features overlay should:

      1. contain legible soil map unit symbols of scannable quality. (The map unit symbols may be drawn on the soil overlays in red, a non-scannable color, instead of a separate overlay. However, labels that are scannable are preferred).
      2. contain map unit symbols approved in the correlation document.
      3. contain map unit symbols that join across quadrangles.
      4. special Features approved on the 37A in the correlation document. (If there are more than 25 symbols on any sheet, please place all special features on overlays separate from the label overlays. In this case, draw special features in black.)
      5. contain the 37A point symbol or single dots representing the 37A point symbol with the appropriate three-character label. (see Printable version PDF for example)
      6. contain the 37A line symbol or single lines representing the 37A line symbol with the appropriate three-character label. (see Printable version PDF for example)
      7. be registered to a stable base orthophotoquadrangle or topoquadrangle.
      8. have four corner tics, inked and transferred exactly from the stable base orthophotoquadrangle or topoquadrangle, using the correct datum (NAD27 for NAD27 source material and NAD83 for NAD83 source material).
      9. be labeled with the quadrangle name, state, sheet number, datum and scale.
SSURGO Review

The following materials are required for a SSURGO Review:

  1. Approved soil classification and correlation document and amendments.
  2. Map index-An index to soil maps and USGS topographic quadrangles or orthophotoquadrangles.
  3. DLG-3 and attribute files (NSSH, 647-18) with correct naming convention (NSSH, 647-22), ARC/Info coverages, or Arcview shapefiles.
  4. Attribute data from the National Soils Information System database (NASIS). (Refer to letter from Horace Smith, SUBJECT: SOI-Operations-Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Databases, TO: State Conservationists and Directors, Caribbean and Pacific Basin Areas, File Code: 430-14, Date: 05/25/01.)
  5. Metadata file (NSSH, 647-22 and Exhibit 647-11). (The Missouri Digitizing Unit will fill in the process steps performed at the Missouri Digitizing Unit). There is a metadata template available from NCG. Refer to the NSSH, 647.07, Digitizing Specifications, for a more detailed explanation.
  6. Published Soil Survey, if available.


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