North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Eddie Earles" <jas39a@earthlink.net>]

Mark--here's the text of a reply that I sent to Alan.  It might be of some use to you. Note the remark about the "soil properties and qualities" tab.  EHE

 

Alan--You won't be able to get a map for all of New York State.  The maps are scale-dependent, and you will be able to view, at most, a map of several hundred acres.

 

I suggest typing in the full address of the parcel you wish to view.  Once your screen shows an aerial photo of the spot, look at the scale bar down in the lower left corner of the photo.  You'll have best results if the scale is somewhere between 1" = 1000 feet, and 1" = 2000 feet.  You can zoom in a little closer, but if you get much farther out, the soil map won't display.

 

Once you have selected an appropriate scale, look at the icons above the photo.  On the upper right, you'll see two icons that have the letters "AOI".  These letters are an abbreviation for "Area of Interest".  You'll need to use one of these tools to select the area for which you wish to make a soil map.  The left most icon draws a simple rectangle over the area; just grab it with your cursor, and drag it diagonally over the area in question.  The rightmost icon, which shows an irregular polygon over the "AOI" letters, allows you to click on property corners, and draw a polygon that matches the parcel precisely.  Use whichever one suits you.

 

Once you have drawn your polygon of interest, you'll see a polygon outlined in blue, and cross-lined, over the area.  You are now ready to make a soil map.

 

Look at the tabs at the top of the screen.  Click on the one labelled "Soil Map".

 

A soil map will overlay the photo.  On the left, you'll see a map legend, which will display the soil map unit symbols, the soil map unit names, the acres of each soil withing the area of interest, and the percent of the AOI occupied by each soil map unit.

 

The map unit names are clickable links.  Clicking one will bring up a general description of the map unit.

 

Up at the top of the screen, you will see a tab marked "Soil Data Explorer".  Clicking that will open a box that allows you to explore the Suitabilities and Limitations ratings for the soils shown on the map.  For example, you can click on "Land Classifications", then "Farmland Classification", then "view rating", and get a map showing "prime farmland", "farmland of statewide importance", etc.  It's pretty much self-explanatory in the Soil Data Explorer.

 

There is much to view on this site.  You might want to click on the "Soil Properties and Qualities" tab, and then explore the Soil Chemical Properties.

 

Finally, be aware that each soil map was designed to fit a certain standard of accuracy at a certain scale.  Usually, publication scales are in the range of 1" = 1000 feet to 1" = 2000 feet.  As you zoom in closer than this, the soil map becomes progressively less accurate.  For small parcels, an on-site inspection is almost always necessary to provide valid soil interpretive information.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Eddie Earles