U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service 20070904 Fort Worth, Texas U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service nc027 withheld caldwell_vector.CALDWELL.soils vector digital data This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The information was prepared by digitizing maps, by compiling information onto a planimetric correct base and digitizing, or by revising digitized maps using remotely sensed and other information. This data set consists of georeferenced digital map data and computerized attribute data. The map data are in a soil survey area extent format and include a detailed, field verified inventory of soils and miscellaneous areas that normally occur in a repeatable pattern on the landscape and that can be cartographically shown at the scale mapped. A special soil features layer (point and line features) is optional. This layer displays the location of features too small to delineate at the mapping scale, but they are large enough and contrasting enough to significantly influence use and management. The soil map units are linked to attributes in the National Soil Information System relational database, which gives the proportionate extent of the component soils and their properties. SSURGO depicts information about the kinds and distribution of soils on the landscape. The soil map and data used in the SSURGO product were prepared by soil scientists as part of the National Cooperative Soil Survey. Digital versions of hydrography, cultural features, and other associated layers that are not part of the SSURGO data set may be available from the primary organization listed in the Point of Contact. en 20070904 20070904 REQUIRED: The year (and optionally month, or month and day) for which the data set corresponds to the ground. publication date Complete As needed -81.814818 -81.321500 36.129506 35.748118 356227.055298 399686.924091 225230.561612 266436.234267 None soil survey soils Soil Survey Geographic SSURGO USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) North Carolina Caldwell County Bethlehem Quadrangle Boomer Quadrangle Buffalo Cove Quadrangle Chestnut Mountain Quadrangle Collettsville Quadrangle Drexel Quadrangle Ellendale Quadrangle Globe Quadrangle Grandfather Mountain Quadrangle Grandin Quadrangle Granite Falls Quadrangle Kings Creek Quadrangle Lenoir Quadrangle Morganton North Quadrangle None The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, should be acknowledged as the data source in products derived from these data. This data set is not designed for use as a primary regulatory tool in permitting or citing decisions, but may be used as a reference source. This is public information and may be interpreted by organizations, agencies, units of government, or others based on needs; however, they are responsible for the appropriate application. Federal, State, or local regulatory bodies are not to reassign to the Natural Resources Conservation Service any authority for the decisions that they make. The Natural Resources Conservation Service will not perform any evaluations of these maps for purposes related solely to State or local regulatory programs. Photographic or digital enlargement of these maps to scales greater than at which they were originally mapped can cause misinterpretation of the data. If enlarged, maps do not show the small areas of contrasting soils that could have been shown at a larger scale. The depicted soil boundaries, interpretations, and analysis derived from them do not eliminate the need for onsite sampling, testing, and detailed study of specific sites for intensive uses. Thus, these data and their interpretations are intended for planning purposes only. Digital data files are periodically updated. Files are dated, and users are responsible for obtaining the latest version of the data. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service State Soil Scientist mailing address

USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service

North Carolina State Office

4405 Bland Road, Suite 205

Raleigh NC 27609-6293 919-873-2141 (202) 720-2600 roy.vick@nc.usda.gov ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.0.1770 Feature Class Attribute accuracy is tested by manual comparison of the source with hard copy plots and/or symbolized display of the map data on an interactive computer graphic system. Selected attributes that cannot be visually verified on plots or on screen are interactively queried and verified on screen. In addition, the attributes are tested against a master set of valid attributes. All attribute data conform to the attribute codes in the signed classification and correlation document and amendment(s). Certain node/geometry and topology GT- polygon/chain relationships are collected or generated to satisfy topological requirements (the GT-polygon corresponds to the soil delineation). Some of these requirements include: chains must begin and end at nodes, chains must connect to each other at nodes, chains do not extend through nodes, left and right GT-polygons are defined for each chain element and are consistent throughout, and the chains representing the limits of the file are free of gaps. The tests of logical consistency are performed using vendor software. All internal polygons are tested for closure with vendor software and are checked on hard copy plots. All data are checked for common soil lines (i.e., adjacent polygons with the same label). Edge locations generally do not deviate from centerline to centerline by more than 0.01 inch. The Soil Survey of Caldwell County, North Carolina is edge matched to the adjacent North Carolina Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) databases of Catawba County, Burke County, Avery County, Wilkes County and Alexander County. The Catawba River separates Caldwell County from Catawba County. The feature edges (mapping unit boundaries) and the soil labels (map unit symbols) for this soil survey do not match the feature edges and the soil labels for the adjacent soil surveys. The soil survey boundary for Caldwell County matches the soil survey boundary for the adjacent certified soil surveys. A map unit is a collection of areas defined and named in terms of their soil components or miscellaneous areas or both. Each map unit differs in some respect from all others in a survey area and each map unit has a symbol that uniquely identifies the map unit on a soil map. Each individual area, point, or line so identified on the map is a delineation. Soil Scientists identify small areas of soils or miscellaneous areas that have properties and behavior significantly different than the named soils in the surrounding map unit. These minor components may be indicated as special features. If they have a minimal effect on use and management, or could not be precisely located, they may not be indicated on the map. A map unit has specified kinds of soils or miscellaneous areas (map unit components), each with a designated range in proportionate extent. Map units include one or more kinds of soil or miscellaneous area. Miscellaneous areas are areas that have little or no recognizable soil. Specific National Cooperative Soil Survey standards and procedures were used in the classification of soils, design and name of map units, and location of special soil features. These standards are outlined in Agricultural Handbook 18, Soil Survey Manual, 1993, USDA, NRCS; Agricultural Handbook 436, Soil Taxonomy, 1995, USDA, NRCS; and all Amendments; Keys to Soil Taxonomy, (current issue) USDA, NRCS; National Soil Survey Handbook, title 430-VI,(current issue) USDA, NRCS. The actual composition and interpretive purity of the map unit delineations were based on data collected by scientists during the course of preparing the soil maps. Adherence to National Cooperative Soil Survey standards and procedures is based on peer review, quality control, and quality assurance. Quality control is outlined in the memorandum of understanding for the soil survey area and in documents that reside with the Natural Resources Conservation Service state soil scientist. Four kinds of map units are used in soil surveys: consociations, complexes, associations, and undifferentiated groups. Consociations - Consociations are named for the dominant soil. In a consociation, delineated areas use a single name from the dominant component in the map unit. Dissimilar components are minor in extent. The soil component in a consociation may be identified at any taxonomic level. Soil series is the lowest taxonomic level. A consociation that is named as a miscellaneous area is dominantly that kind of area and minor components do not significantly affect the use of the map unit. The total amount of dissimilar inclusions of other components in a map unit generally does not exceed about 15 percent if limiting and 25 percent if nonlimiting. A single component of a dissimilar limiting inclusion generally does not exceed 10 percent if very contrasting. Complexes and associations - Complexes and associations consist of two or more dissimilar components that occur in a regularly repeating pattern. The total amount of other dissimilar components is minor extent. The following arbitrary rule determines whether complex or association is used in the name. The major components of an association can be separated at the scale of mapping. In either case, because the major components are sufficiently different in morphology or behavior, the map unit cannot be called a consociation. In each delineation of a complex or an association, each major component is normally present though their proportions may vary appreciably from one delineation to another. The total amount of inclusions in a map unit that are dissimilar to any of the major components does not exceed 15 percent if limiting and 25 percent if nonlimiting. A single kind of dissimilar limiting inclusion usually does not exceed 10 percent. Undifferentiated groups - Undifferentiated groups consist of two or more components that are not consistently associated geographically and, therefore, do not always occur together in the same map delineation. These components are included in the same named map unit because their use and management are the same or very similar for common uses. Generally they are grouped together because some common feature, such as steepness, stoniness, or flooding, determines their use and management. If two or more additional map units would serve no useful purpose, they may be included in the same unit. Each delineation has at least one of the major components, and some may have all of them. The same principles regarding the proportion of minor components that apply to consociations also apply to undifferentiated groups. The same principles regarding proportion of inclusion apply to undifferentiated groups as to consociations. Minimum documentation consists of three complete soil profile descriptions that are collected for each soil added to the legend, one additional per 3,000 acres mapped; three 10 observation transects for each map unit, one additional 10 point transect per 3,000 acres. A defined standard or level of confidence in the interpretive purity of the map unit delineations is attained by adjusting the kind and intensity of field investigations. Field investigations and data collection are carried out in sufficient detail to name map units and to identify accurately and consistently areas of about 5 acres. The accuracy of these digital data is based upon their compilation to base maps that meet National Map Accuracy Standards at a scale of 1 inch equals 1,000 feet. The difference in positional accuracy between the soil boundaries and special soil features locations in the field and their digitized map locations is unknown. The locational accuracy of soil delineations on the ground varies with the transition between map units. For example, on long gently sloping landscapes the transition occurs gradually over many feet. Where landscapes change abruptly from steep to level, the transition will be very narrow. Soil delineation boundaries and special soil features generally were digitized within 0.01 inch of their locations on the digitizing source. The digital map elements are edge matched between data sets. The data along each quadrangle edge are matched against the data for the adjacent quadrangle. Edge locations generally do not deviate from centerline to centerline by more than 0.01 inch. US Geological Survey 1976 remote sensing image Reston, Virginia US Geological Survey Published map series 24000 Mylar 1976 publication date USGS1 photographic base map for published soil survey U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service 1989 atlas Washington D.C. U.S. Government Printing Office 24000 paper 1989 publication date SCS1 basic reference material about soils and landscapes U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service unpublished material map 24000 stable-based material 1989 publication date SCS2 source of soil delineations for scanning North Carolina, Department of Transportation, Engineering and Automation Unit unpublished material map 24000 digital TIF file 1989 publication date NCDOT1 source of soil delineations for digitizing State of North Carolina, Center for Geographic Information and Analysis unpublished material vector digital data 24000 CD-ROM 1998 date of digitizing CGIA1 source for soil survey edits U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998 remote sensing image Ft. Worth, Texas U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Cartography and Geospatial Center 12000 CD-ROM (BSQ format) 1998 date of imagery NRCS1 imagery used for compilation base maps U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service unpublished material map 24000 CD-ROM 1984 2000 publication date of USGS topographic quadrangles NRCS2 reference for soil map unit delineations in digital editing U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service 2007 tabular digital data Fort Collins, Colorado U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Information Technology Center online 2007 distribution generation date NRCS3 tabular soil property data linked to spatial soil data U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service 2007 tabular digital data Fort Collins, Colorado U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service database 2007 2007 publication date NASIS attribute (tabular) information Field procedures for the second order soil survey included plotting of soil boundaries determined by field observation in conjunction with aerial photo interpretation. Boundaries were verified at closely spaced intervals, and the soils in each delineation were identified by traversing and transecting the landscape. Soil scientists described and analyzed the data. The field mapping for Caldwell County, North Carolina was completed in 1982. Analog orthophotographs from the USGS 7.5 minute series were used as the base map for the published soil survey. The soil scientists compiled the soil features from the field maps onto an overlay registered to the analog orthophotographs. The soil names and descriptions were approved in 1983. The Soil Survey of Caldwell County, North Carolina was published in 1989 at a scale of 1:24000. withheld 1989 The staff at the North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCCGIA) reviewed the mylar overlays to determine which base maps needed to be scanned. If the original source maps were not scannable, then NCCGIA had a soils scientist, under the supervision of the NRCS, recompile the soils lines onto a mylar overlay. Once a suitable base for scanning was available, then the stable bases were scanned. The NCDOT, Engineering and Automation Unit scanned the mylar stable bases or recompiled mylar overlays using a flatbed raster scanner. The resulting .tif images were downloaded to tape or online transferred to the NCCGIA. withheld 1997 The USGS, Water Resources Division in Raleigh, NC, received the TIF format raster scans in quadrangle format from NCCGIA. The ARCSCAN software was used to import the scan files and vectorize the soil boundaries. Four control points corresponding to the four corner tic marks of the quadrangle were used for registration during data collection. These files were edited for gross scanning errors and supplied as ARC/INFO export files to NCCGIA. withheld 1997 The staff at the NCCGIA imported the ARC/INFO e00 files into coverages. The linework was edited and plotted onto paper. These check plots were overlain on the originals and checked for accuracy on a light table. The coverages were then labeled and the label plots overlain onto the base maps to check consistency. The individual base maps were map-joined and the neatlines dissolved. Base map errors in linework and labels were resolved by NRCS. The county boundaries was digitized off the mylar bases, and the county coverage was clipped to its extent. The "A" and "B" hydric types were also added. NRCS also determined the proper course of action in reference to discrepancies found in the creating of a countywide digital file. These corrections were returned to NCCGIA for inclusion into the final digital product, and include things like; label corrections, adding labels, deleting labels, and correction of hydric soil types. The Caldwell County Soil Survey geodatabase was added to the NCCGIA data archive. withheld 1998 The staff at the NRCS Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) Project Office in Raleigh, North Carolina sent the NCCGIA data for Caldwell County to the Michigan Digitizing Unit (MIDU) in East Lansing, Michigan. The MIDU staff used the ARCGIS Spatial Adjustment command to rectify the soil survey to the 1998 Digital Orthophotographic Quadrangles (DOQs). The boundaries of streams and water bodies were evaluated and adjusted to match the 1998 DOQs. The limit of the soil survey was adjusted to match the USGS Topographic Quadrangle Digital Raster Graphic (DRG). A ten percent check of the digital data was done by the MLRA Project Office in Raleigh, North Carolina. Once the review was completed, the seamless county geodatabases for the soils was converted to ARC/INFO coverages and exported from ARCGIS Version 9.1 as ARC interchange files. withheld 2007 The National Soil Information System (NASIS) database was developed by NRCS soil scientists according to national standards. The soil scientists used the map unit acreages from the digital soil survey as a guide to populate the NASIS database. The MLRA Project Office removed the special features from the soil survey. withheld 2007 The MIDU staff checked the soil survey coverages with a set of ARC Macro Language (AML) programs developed by NCGC. The soil survey coverages were processed using the January 2006 SSURGO Certification AML programs for seamless projects. These ARC/INFO programs identified areas within the coverages that needed revision. The data were edited. The North Carolina NRCS soil scientists supplied the SSURGO download from NASIS. The minor codes in the soils coverages were replaced with the map unit key codes to link the map units in the spatial data to the NASIS database. Upon successful completion of the SSURGO Evaluation, the area symbol was added to each feature in the soil survey coverages with the att_check.aml program. The county coverages and the metadata were electronically transferred to the NRCS Staging Server to be joined with the tabular data. withheld 2007 The Natural Resources Conservation Service State Soil Scientist or delegate, upon completion of data quality verification, determined that the tabular data should be released for official use. A selected set of map units and components in the soil survey legend was copied to a staging database, and rating values for selected interpretations were generated. The list of selected interpretations is stored in the database table named sainterp. withheld 20070904 The Natural Resources Conservation Service State Soil Scientist or delegate verified that the labels on the digitized soil map units link to map units in the tabular database, and certified the joined data sets for release to the Soil Data Warehouse. A system assigned version number and date stamp were added and the data were copied to the data warehouse. The tabular data for the map units and components were extracted from the data warehouse and reformatted into the soil data delivery data model, then stored in the Soil Data Mart. The spatial data were copied to the Soil Data Mart without change. withheld 20070904 The tabular data were extracted from the data mart without change. The spatial data's coordinate system was transformed to State Plane North Carolina (NAD83, meters) using ESRI ArcObjects 8.3 "ConvertFeatureClass" and exported to an ESRI shapefile. withheld 20070910 Metadata imported. withheld 20070911 09191500 Dataset copied. withheld 20081113 14144300 Vector Simple Polygon FALSE 0 TRUE FALSE G-polygon 0 coordinate pair survey feet 0.000328 0.000328 Lambert Conformal Conic 34.333333 36.166667 -79.000000 33.750000 2000000.002617 0.000000 North American Datum of 1983 Geodetic Reference System 80 6378137.000000 298.257222 GCS_North_American_1983 NAD_1983_StatePlane_North_Carolina_FIPS_3200_Feet Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates 1.000000 caldwell_vector.CALDWELL.soils Special Soil Features represent soil, miscellaneous area, or landform features that are too small to be digitized as soil delineations (area features). Agricultural Handbook 18, Soil Survey Manual, 1993, USDA, SCS. Feature Class 0 OBJECTID OBJECTID OID 4 10 0 Internal feature number. ESRI Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. Shape Shape Geometry 4 0 0 Feature geometry. ESRI Coordinates defining the features. AREASYMBOL AREASYMBOL String 20 0 0 SPATIALVER SPATIALVER Double 8 10 0 MUSYM MUSYM String 6 0 0 MUKEY MUKEY String 30 0 0 Shape.area Shape.area Double 0 0 0 Shape.len Shape.len Double 0 0 0 Map Unit Delineations are closed polygons that may be dominated by a single soil or miscellaneous area component plus allowable similar or dissimilar soils, or they can be geographic mixtures of groups of soils or soils and miscellaneous areas. The map unit symbol uniquely identifies each closed map unit delineation. Each symbol corresponds to a map unit name. The map unit key is used to link to information in the National Soil Information System tables. Map Unit Delineations are described by the National Soil Information System database. This attribute database gives the proportionate extent of the component soils and the properties for each soil. The database contains both estimated and measured data on the physical and chemical soil properties and soil interpretations for engineering, water management, recreation, agronomic, woodland, range, and wildlife uses of the soil. The National Soil Information System database contains static metadata. It documents the data structure and includes such information as what tables, columns, indexes, and relationships are defined as well as a variety of attributes of each of these database objects. Attributes include table and column descriptions and detailed domain information. The National Soil Information System database also contains a distribution metadata. It records the criteria used for selecting map units and components for inclusion in the set of distributed data. Special features are described in the feature table. It includes an area symbol, feature label, feature name, and feature description for each special and ad hoc feature in the survey area. Soil Taxonomy: A basic system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys. Agricultural Handbook 436, 1999, USDA, SCS. Keys to Soil Taxonomy (current issue), USDA, SCS. National Soil Survey Handbook, Title 430-VI, part 647 (current issue), USDA, NRCS. Agricultural Handbook 18, Soil Survey Manual, 1993, USDA, SCS. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Cartography and Geospatial Center mailing and physical address

501 West Felix Street, Building 23, P.O. Box 6567

Fort Worth Texas 76115 800 672 5559 202 720 2600 817 509 3469 Caldwell County, North Carolina SSURGO Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the Agency regarding the utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will warrant the delivery of this product in computer readable format, and will offer appropriate adjustment of credit when the product is determined unreadable by correctly adjusted computer input peripherals, or when the physical medium is delivered in damaged condition. Request for adjustment of credit must be made within 90 days from the date of this shipment from the ordering site. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor any of its agencies are liable for misuse of the data, for damage, for transmission of viruses, or for computer contamination through the distribution of these data sets. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) ArcView shapefile spatial WinZip or equivalent 11.5 10.846 withheld Select desired survey area at above Internet Web site. An email address is required for receipt of instructions on retrieval via anonymous FTP. Anticipate a delay between submission of request at Web site and receipt of email message. ARC/INFO coverage spatial WinZip or equivalent 11.5 10.846 withheld Select desired survey area at above Internet Web site. An email address is required for receipt of instructions on retrieval via anonymous FTP. Anticipate a delay between submission of request at Web site and receipt of email message. ARC/INFO interchange file spatial WinZip or equivalent 11.5 10.846 withheld Select desired survey area at above Internet Web site. An email address is required for receipt of instructions on retrieval via anonymous FTP. Anticipate a delay between submission of request at Web site and receipt of email message. ASCII keys and attributes WinZip or equivalent 7.6 10.846 withheld Select desired survey area at above Internet Web site. An email address is required for receipt of instructions on retrieval via anonymous FTP. Anticipate a delay between submission of request at Web site and receipt of email message. There is currently no direct charge for requesting data or for retrieval via FTP. Visit the above mentioned Internet Web Site, select state or territory, then select individual soil survey area of interest. Spatial line data and locations of special feature symbols are in ESRI ArcGIS (ArcView,ArcInfo) shapefile, coverage and interchange (i.e., export) formats. The National Soil Information System attribute soil data are available in variable length, pipe delimited, ASCII file format. Typically within four hours 20081112 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service REQUIRED: The person responsible for the metadata information. State Soil Scientist mailing address

USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service

North Carolina State Office

4405 Bland Road, Suite 205

Raleigh NC 27609-6293 919-873-2141 (202) 720-2600 roy.vick@nc.usda.gov FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001-1998 en local time http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html ESRI Metadata Profile 20081113 14144300 FALSE 20081112 16555400 20081112 16555400 {A9E52682-D295-4ED2-9AF9-5033ECC80CB3} ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.0.1770 caldwell_vector.CALDWELL.soils 356227.055298 399686.924091 266436.234267 225230.561612 1 -81.814818 -81.3215 36.129506 35.748118 1 ISO 19115 Geographic Information - Metadata DIS_ESRI1.0 dataset 002 withheld Local Area Network 10.846 Feature Class NAD_1983_StatePlane_North_Carolina_FIPS_3200_Feet 0 20081112