Soil maps of Catalonia (north-east Spain, 33 000 km2) have been available on the Internet since the beginning of 2007 in the form of orthophotomaps, at the web site of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC) (www.iec.cat). This site provides soil information that is useful for protecting soils and planning land use and agricultural activities, and which constitutes a valuable teaching tool for soil science studies.

A detailed soil survey of Catalonia was undertaken in 1984 according to the following criteria: (a) surveying the areas of greatest agricultural interest, (b) working at a scale of 1: 25 000, (c) using the Soil Taxonomy System at series level. More than 500 soil series have been established in Catalonia, with the criteria used to define them being: parent material, effective depth, drainage class, textural class, gypsum and carbonate content and horizon thickness. The dominant soil Orders in Catalonia are: Alfisols, Aridisols, Entisols, Inceptisols and Mollisols. Small areas of Andisols and Spodosols are also present. The Soil Survey was undertaken by the Departament d'Agricultura, Alimentació i Acció Rural (DAR) of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

The IEC soil web site has been established with a view to providing general information on soil functions, sustainability criteria, soil degradation processes, soil quality indicators and soil maps. It also provides specific information concerning criteria to define soil series, descriptions of each soil series, and graphic soil information. 1:25 000 soil maps are available in pdf, each with its accompanying technical sheet. Historical soil maps of Catalonia, links with other web sites and other interesting information (about congresses, pdf books, etc.) are also available. Access to the web site is free and soil maps, at a scale of 1:25 000, can be printed off.