Colorado Soil Drainage Rankings

Colorado

How well does the soil drain across Colorado? We ranked every USDA survey area by the percentage of land classified as "well drained." Areas at the top of the list have soils where water moves through at a healthy rate — favorable for building, septic, and gardening. Areas at the bottom have more waterlogged or slowly-draining soils that may require engineered solutions.

The best-drained survey area is Uncompahgre National Forest Area, Colorado, Parts of Mesa, Montrose, Ouray, and San Miguel Counties at 100% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, Parts of Boulder, Grand, and Larimer Counties at 10%.

#Survey AreaWell DrainedPoorly DrainedDominant Class
1 Uncompahgre National Forest Area, Colorado, Parts of Mesa, Montrose, Ouray, and San Miguel Counties 100% 0% Well drained
2 Denver County Area, Colorado 99% 0% Well drained
3 Sangre de Cristo Area, Colorado, Parts of Alamosa, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, and Saguache Counties 99% 0% Well drained
4 San Miguel Area, Colorado, Parts of Dolores, Montrose, and San Miguel Counties 98% 0% Well drained
5 Ute Mountain Area, Colorado and New Mexico 98% 0% Well drained
6 Douglas-Plateau Area, Colorado, Parts of Garfield and Mesa Counties 98% 0% Well drained
7 Las Animas County Area, Colorado, Parts of Huerfano and Las Animas Counties 97% 0% Well drained
8 Rio Blanco County Area, Colorado 97% 0% Well drained
9 Paonia Area, Colorado, Parts of Delta, Gunnison, and Montrose Counties 97% 2% Well drained
10 Aspen-Gypsum Area, Colorado, Parts of Eagle, Garfield, and Pitkin Counties 97% 2% Well drained
11 Rifle Area, Colorado, Parts of Garfield and Mesa Counties 97% 0% Well drained
12 Archuleta County Area, Colorado 97% 2% Well drained
13 Cortez Area, Colorado, Parts of Dolores and Montezuma Counties 96% 1% Well drained
14 Kit Carson County, Colorado 95% 0% Well drained
15 Weld County, Colorado, Northern Part 95% 0% Well drained
16 Arapahoe County, Colorado 94% 0% Well drained
17 Mesa County Area, Colorado 94% 0% Well drained
18 La Plata County Area, Colorado 94% 4% Well drained
19 Ridgway Area, Colorado, Parts of Delta, Gunnison, Montrose, and Ouray Counties 94% 5% Well drained
20 Elbert County, Colorado, Eastern Part 94% 0% Well drained
21 Summit County Area, Colorado 93% 6% Well drained
22 Animas-Dolores Area, Colorado, Parts of Archuleta, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Montezuma, San Juan, and San Miguel Counties 93% 2% Well drained
23 Grand Mesa - West Elk Area, Colorado, Parts of Delta, Garfield, Gunnison, Mesa, and Montrose Counties 93% 2% Well drained
24 Larimer County Area, Colorado 93% 4% Well drained
25 Fremont County Area, Colorado 93% 0% Well drained
26 Elbert County, Colorado, Western Part 93% 0% Well drained
27 Rio Grande NF Area, Colorado, West Part, Parts of Archuleta, Conejos, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache, and San Juan Counties 93% 5% Well drained
28 Piedra Area, Colorado, Parts of Archuleta, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, and Rio Grande Counties 93% 6% Well drained
29 Gunnison Area, Colorado, Parts of Gunnison, Hinsdale, and Saguache Counties 93% 6% Well drained
30 Adams County Area, Parts of Adams and Denver Counties, Colorado 92% 1% Well drained
31 Huerfano County Area, Colorado 92% 0% Well drained
32 Willow Creek Pass Area, Colorado, Parts of Grand and Jackson Counties 92% 1% Well drained
33 Routt Area, Colorado, Parts of Rio Blanco and Routt Counties 91% 6% Well drained
34 Flat Tops Area, Colorado, Parts of Eagle, Garfield, Moffat, Rio Blanco, and Routt Counties 90% 0% Well drained
35 Custer County Area, Colorado 90% 9% Well drained
36 Phillips County, Colorado 88% 0% Well drained
37 Otero County, Colorado 87% 0% Well drained
38 Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah 87% 0% Well drained
39 Ouray Area, Colorado, Parts of Gunnison, Hinsdale, Ouray, San Juan, and San Miguel Counties 86% 1% Well drained
40 Bent County, Colorado 86% 3% Well drained
41 Castle Rock Area, Colorado 86% 1% Well drained
42 Kiowa County, Colorado 85% 1% Well drained
43 Pueblo Area, Colorado, Parts of Pueblo and Custer Counties 85% 1% Well drained
44 Costilla County Area, Colorado 84% 5% Well drained
45 Golden Area, Colorado, Parts of Denver, Douglas, Jefferson, and Park Counties 84% 2% Well drained
46 Washington County, Colorado 83% 0% Well drained
47 Teller-Park Area, Colorado, Parts of Park and Teller Counties 83% 5% Well drained
48 Grand County Area, Colorado 83% 6% Well drained
49 Routt National Forest Area, Colorado, Parts of Grand, Jackson, Moffat, and Routt Counties 81% 5% Well drained
50 Prowers County, Colorado 81% 1% Well drained
51 Cochetopa Area, Colorado, Parts of Gunnison, Hinsdale, and Saguache Counties 81% 0% Well drained
52 Cheyenne County, Colorado 79% 0% Well drained
53 Taylor River Area, Colorado, Northeastern Part of Gunnison County 78% 7% Well drained
54 Lincoln County, Colorado 77% 0% Well drained
55 Jackson County Area, Colorado 77% 15% Well drained
56 Wet Mountains and Spanish Peaks Area, Colorado, Parts of Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, Las Animas, and Pueblo Counties 76% 2% Well drained
57 Moffat County Area, Colorado 76% 0% Well drained
58 Georgetown Area, Colorado, Parts of Clear Creek, Gilpin, and Park Counties 76% 1% Well drained
59 Sedgwick County, Colorado 74% 6% Well drained
60 Baca County, Colorado 73% 0% Well drained
61 Logan County, Colorado 73% 6% Well drained
62 Boulder County Area, Colorado 72% 8% Well drained
63 Morgan County, Colorado 70% 1% Well drained
64 Weld County, Colorado, Southern Part 70% 5% Well drained
65 Crowley County, Colorado 70% 1% Well drained
66 El Paso County Area, Colorado 69% 0% Well drained
67 Conejos County Area, Colorado 65% 24% Well drained
68 Yuma County, Colorado 61% 0% Well drained
69 Chaffee-Lake Area, Colorado, Parts of Chaffee and Lake Counties 58% 10% Well drained
70 Saguache County Area, Colorado 58% 21% Well drained
71 Rio Grande County Area, Colorado 49% 19% Well drained
72 Holy Cross Area, Colorado, Parts of Eagle, Garfield, Mesa, Pitkin, and Summit Counties 45% 1% Somewhat excessively drained
73 Estes Park Area, Colorado, Parts of Boulder and Larimer Counties 45% 6% Somewhat excessively drained
74 Alamosa Area, Colorado 30% 35% Well drained
75 Pike and San Isabel NF, Colorado, Northern Part, Parts of Chaffee, Clear Creek, Fremont, Jefferson, Lake, Park, and Saguache Counties 30% 0% Somewhat excessively drained
76 Pike National Forest, Eastern Part, Colorado, Parts of Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, and Teller Counties 19% 2% Somewhat excessively drained
77 Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest Area, Colorado, Parts of Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Grand, Park and Larimer Counties 12% 5% Somewhat excessively drained
78 Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, Parts of Boulder, Grand, and Larimer Counties 10% 6% Somewhat excessively drained

See also: national drainage rankings | Colorado gardening soil rankings | all Colorado survey areas