Sinkhole risk in Antelope County, NE: No soluble rock mapped

The next step for one property

No soluble bedrock is mapped here, so natural sinkholes are unlikely. Collapses from broken pipes or old mines are a separate risk.

That works out to roughly 3 of Antelope County's 857 square miles on soluble rock. With about 6,358 residents (7 per square mile), much of the land is open, and the mapped rock may sit far from where people actually live. The figures come from 399 map points about 1.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Antelope County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Knox County, NE, about 32 miles north, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

• Pierce County, NE 24 mi east · 0% at surface
• Wheeler County, NE 30 mi southwest · 0% at surface
• Madison County, NE 30 mi southeast · 4% at surface
• Knox County, NE 32 mi north · 22% at surface
• Boone County, NE 33 mi south · 0% at surface
• Holt County, NE 42 mi northwest · 15% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Pierre Shale (shale), Late Cretaceous in age, covering about under 1% of the county.

Against the rest of Nebraska

Antelope County ranks 35 of 93 in Nebraska for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.

• Hamilton County 80%
• Adams County 79%
• Merrick County 79%
• Webster County 78%
• Franklin County 78%