Nevada Soil Drainage Rankings

Nevada

How well does the soil drain across Nevada? 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 Desert National Wildlife Refuge Area, Nevada, South Part at 100% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Fallon-Fernley Area, Nevada, Parts of Churchill, Lyon, Storey and Washoe Counties at 27%. With 45% poorly-drained soils, properties in Fallon-Fernley Area, Nevada, Parts of Churchill, Lyon, Storey and Washoe Counties should budget for drainage engineering, alternative septic designs, or raised-bed gardening.

#	Survey Area	Well Drained	Poorly Drained	Dominant Class
1	Desert National Wildlife Refuge Area, Nevada, South Part	100%	0%	Well drained
2	Snake Range Area, Nevada, Part of White Pine County	99%	0%	Well drained
3	Humboldt National Forest, Nevada, South Part, Parts of Lincoln, Nye and White Pine Counties	99%	0%	Well drained
4	Storey County Area, Nevada	99%	0%	Well drained
5	Meadow Valley Area, Nevada, Part of Lincoln County	98%	0%	Well drained
6	Lincoln County, Nevada, South Part	98%	0%	Well drained
7	Toiyabe National Forest, Nevada, Central Part, Parts of Eureka, Lander and Nye Counties	97%	0%	Well drained
8	Lincoln County, Nevada, North Part	97%	0%	Well drained
9	Humboldt National Forest Area, Nevada, North Part, Parts of Elko and White Pine Counties	97%	0%	Well drained
10	Northwest Elko County Area, Nevada, Part of Elko and Eureka Counties	97%	2%	Well drained
11	Sheldon Antelope Refuge Area, Nevada, Parts of Humboldt and Washoe Counties	96%	1%	Well drained
12	Great Basin National Park, Nevada	94%	0%	Well drained
13	Elko County, Nevada, Northeast Part	94%	3%	Well drained
14	Elko County, Nevada, Central Part	92%	5%	Well drained
15	Nye County, Nevada, Northeast Part	92%	5%	Well drained
16	White Pine County, Nevada, East Part	90%	1%	Well drained
17	Western White Pine County Area, Nevada, Parts of White Pine and Eureka Counties	90%	5%	Well drained
18	Eureka County Area, Nevada	90%	7%	Well drained
19	Washoe County, Nevada, North Part	88%	3%	Well drained
20	Nye County, Nevada, Southwest Part	88%	3%	Well drained
21	Nye County, Nevada, Northwest Part	88%	0%	Well drained
22	Elko County, Nevada, Southeast Part	88%	5%	Well drained
23	Lander County, Nevada, South Part	87%	7%	Well drained
24	Tuscarora Mountain Area, Nevada, Parts of Elko, Eureka and Lander Counties	86%	11%	Well drained
25	Pershing County, Nevada, East Part	86%	8%	Well drained
26	Lander County, Nevada, North Part	86%	8%	Well drained
27	Las Vegas Valley Area, Nevada, Part of Clark County	84%	2%	Well drained
28	Clark County Area, Nevada	83%	0%	Well drained
29	Pershing County, Nevada, West Part	82%	9%	Well drained
30	Virgin River Area, Nevada and Arizona	82%	2%	Well drained
31	Douglas County Area, Nevada	81%	9%	Well drained
32	Humboldt County, Nevada, East Part	80%	9%	Well drained
33	Esmeralda County Area, Nevada	79%	2%	Well drained
34	Lyon County Area, Nevada	78%	10%	Well drained
35	Mineral County Area, Nevada	78%	2%	Well drained
36	Pahranagat-Penoyer Area, Nevada, Parts of Lincoln and Nye Counties	77%	1%	Well drained
37	Washoe County, Nevada, Central Part	76%	14%	Well drained
38	Humboldt County, Nevada, West Part	76%	10%	Well drained
39	Diamond Valley Area, Nevada, Parts of Elko, Eureka and White Pine Counties	75%	17%	Well drained
40	Washoe County, Nevada, South Part	75%	4%	Well drained
41	Churchill County Area, Nevada, Parts of Churchill and Lyon Counties	74%	12%	Well drained
42	Carson City Area, Nevada	68%	6%	Well drained
43	Big Smoky Valley Area, Nevada, Part of Nye County	65%	13%	Well drained
44	Hawthorne Ammunition Plant, Nevada, Part of Mineral County	60%	0%	Well drained
45	Lovelock Area, Nevada, Parts of Pershing and Churchill Counties	32%	58%	Somewhat poorly drained
46	Fallon-Fernley Area, Nevada, Parts of Churchill, Lyon, Storey and Washoe Counties	27%	45%	Well drained