This polygon shapefile depicts land capability classifications for the suitability of non-irrigated soils for most kinds of field crops in the County of Santa Clara, California. Crops that require special management are excluded. The soils are grouped according to their limitations for field crops, the risk of damage if they are used for crops, and the way they respond to management. The criteria used in grouping the soils do not include major and generally expensive landforming that would change slope, depth or other characteristics of the soils, nor do they include possible but unlikely major reclamation projects. Land Capability Classification is not a substitute for interpretations that show suitability and limitations of groups of soils for rangeland, for woodland or for engineering purposes. In the capability system, soils are generally grouped at three levels-capability class, subclass and unit. Only class are included in this data set. Capability classes, the broadest groups, are designated by the numbers 1 through 8. The numbers indicate progressively greater limitations and narrower choices for practical use. These data was compiled from the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service Web Soil Survey in the Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database. Santa Clara County is divided into two soil surveys; a western part (CA 641, last updated: Tabular: Version 3, Sept 18, 2014. Spatial: Version 2, Dec 13, 2013) and an eastern part (CA 646, last updated Tabular: Version 9, Sept 25, 2014, Spatial: ersion 4, Sept 19, 2014). This dataset combines those two surveys into one, easier to use dataset that covers the entire county. This layer is part of a collection of GIS data for Santa Clara County, California.The Santa Clara County Planning Office is part of the Department of Planning and Development. Their primary function is to plan and regulate land use and development within the unincorporated portions of Santa Clara County. Other responsibilities include policy analysis, GIS services, research and technical assistance relating to land use, housing, environmental protection, historic preservation and demographics. The Geographic Information Services Department has taken on all those activities related to GIS data and GIS process and procedures that cross organizational boundaries. Santa Clara County encompasses 15 cities and approximately 1.7 million people. This coverage can be used for basic applications such as viewing, querying, and map output production, or to provide a basemap to support graphical overlays and analyses of geospatial data.