This on-line soil database will allow you learn much about the soil of any location in the US and give you an idea of how to size footings and what type of foundation would be best for a cabin or home.
A very good Soil Calculator from the USDA (Agriculture Dept.). Open this link in another window and then follow the directions below to learn how to use it.
First, use Quick Navigation (left hand panel) to locate your land by address or by browsing via city & state. Then use the +magnifier to draw and enlarge areas as you drill down. The hand icon will help uncover sections outside the window.
Once you are over the land you want to explore use the AOI icon (red rectangle on the map toolbar) to draw a rectangle over the target area. It should then turn into a hatched area. Now, click the "Soil Map" tab on the upper part of the window.
It should redraw the map and come up with soil symbol and soil description that will be a blue link to further data. There may be more than one type of soil for complex areas. Click the link for specific soil data.
Here is what I got for our property.
There is helpful information here on climate, precipitation and the growing season. Under Typical Profile you will see the designated soil type that would be expected to be found and different levels. These are from data that might be 50 or even 100 years old when the area was first surveyed. I have old soil maps from the 1950's that have this same general information but those were difficult to find.
This data is very useful when looking for land as it will alert you to poor draining soils that might be difficult for a septic system installation as well as adding extra expense for footings, site drainage and possible flood insurance.
If you find considerable clay in the soil you can expect to have extra problems. Doing this research before you buy land can save you from an expensive mistake. Good drainage was one of my "must have" requirements when buying my current property. This was after living with the mucky problems of heavy clay soils at my previous house!
The article below is from Bob Vila's website where he does a good job of explaining the importance of soil properties for the owner-builder and property buyer.
Bob Vila article on soils
So, what can this soil information tell use about what type and size of foundation to build?
Soil Bearing Chart from CABO
Here is a useful chart of soil bearing ratings for different types of soils. Short of doing expensive engineering studies you will have to make an educated guess as how much weight your soil can bear. The soil types from the USDA database can be compared to this chart for an approximate capacity for your soil, and from that, your footing design. When in doubt use a lower bearing capacity and build larger footings. This will spread out the weight of your structure over a larger more supportive area.
Let's do an example problem. A standard footing under a pier in a foundation plan might call out a 16" diameter by 8" deep footing. That footing covers an area of 1.4 sf (1.7 sf if a 16" square footing). If you use the standard 2000 psf soil bearing that most building departments assume you can carry 2800 to 3400 pounds on the pier above it. If, on the other hand, you have "Gravelly sand" at footing depth you might easily be able to support 5000 psf on such soil. That would let me safely double the weight that pier could support with the same size footing.