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Soil Survey of Scotland 1:63 360 scanned maps

Contents

Scanned copies of many of the original Soil Survey of Scotland maps at 1:63 360 scale can be viewed online. 
 

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Soil Survey of Scotland 1:63 360 scanned maps (1950s-80s)

View images of the 1:63 360 scanned maps

The 1:63 360 soil maps, which mainly cover the cultivated agricultural areas of Scotland and some of the adjacent uplands, have been scanned. Most of these maps can be viewed on the National Library of Scotland website.

How was the map created?

The 1:63 360 soil maps were created by the Soil Survey of Scotland based at the Macaulay Institute (now The James Hutton Institute). The maps were based on data collected from soil surveys carried out between 1947 and 1987.

Map legend and soil classification

The soil classification information presented in these maps has evolved over time. The classification mostly follows the pre-2013 soil classification for Scotland, however there are some discrepancies depending on the date of publication.

The Soil Mapping Units are generally named after the first place they were found. Many of the map units show individual soil types but, in some areas, the pattern of the landscape was such that individual soils could not be shown at this scale. These map units are called soil complexes.

Technical and reference material