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Official State soils

Official soils listed by state. (List by state or year)
StateList by state Name Designated as Year
Alabama Bama soil series Official state soil for Alabama 1997
Alaska [ None ]    
Arizona [ None ]    
Arkansas Stuttgart soil series Official Arkansas state soil 1997
California San Joaquin soil Official soil of California 1997
Colorado [ None ]    
Connecticut [ None ]    
Delaware Greenwich loam Official soil of the state 2000
Florida Myakka fine sand Official Florida state soil 1989
Georgia [ None ]    
Hawaii [ None ]    
Idaho [ None ]    
Illinois Drummer silty clay loam Official state soil 2001
Indiana [ None ]    
Iowa [ None ]    
Kansas Harney silt loam Official soil 1990
Kentucky Crider soil series State soil 1990
Louisiana [ None ]    
Maine Chesuncook soil series Official state soil 1999
Maryland [ None ]    
Massachusetts Paxton soil series Official soil 1990
Michigan Kalkaska soil series Official soil 1990
Minnesota Lester Official soil 2012
Mississippi Natchez silt loam Official state soil 2003
Missouri [ None ]    
Montana [ None ]    
Nebraska Holdrege series Official state soil 1979
Nevada Orovada series Official state soil 2001
New Hampshire [ None ]    
New Jersey [ None ]    
New Mexico [ None ]    
New York [ None ]    
North Carolina [ None ]    
North Dakota [ None ]    
Ohio [ None ]    
Oklahoma Port silt loam Official state soil 1987
Oregon Jory soil Official soil 2011
Pennsylvania [ None ]    
Rhode Island [ None ]    
South Carolina [ None ]    
South Dakota Houdek soil Official state soil 1990
Tennessee [ None ]    
Texas [ None ]    
Utah [ None ]    
Vermont Tunbridge soil series State soil 1985
Virginia [ None ]    
Washington [ None ]    
West Virginia Monongahela silt loam Official state soil 1997
Wisconsin Antigo silt loam State soil 1983
Wyoming [ None ]    
A Handful of Dirt

A Handful of Dirt, by Raymond Bial. 32 pages. Publisher: Walker Childrens (May 15, 2000) Reading level: Ages 7+.

Soil may not be alive, but amazingly, multitudes of microscopic creatures live there, battling it out in an eat-or-be-eaten world. These tiny creatures, invisible to our eyes, provide food for the insects that in turn feed the reptiles and mammals that live in and above the soil.

You'll never look at the ground you walk on in the same way after Raymond Bial, an award-winning photo essayist, takes you on this eye-opening, down-and-dirty tour of one of the earth's most precious resources.
Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth

Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, by William Bryant Logan. 224 pages. Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (January 17, 2007)

John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Saint Phocas, Darwin, and Virgil parade through this thought-provoking work, taking their place next to the dung beetle, the compost heap, dowsing, historical farming, and the microscopic biota that till the soil. With fresh eyes and heartfelt reverence, William Bryant Logan variously observes, "There is glamour to the study of rock"; "The most mysterious place on Earth is right beneath our feet"; and "Dirt is the gift of each to all."