Sinkhole risk in Aroostook County, ME: Mostly deep or small

Mostly deep or small

Some soluble rock, mostly deeply buried or in a small share of the county.

On soluble rock: 13%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 13%

The next step for one property

Sinkholes are uncommon here; watch for new depressions after heavy rain or leaking pipes.

That works out to roughly 881 of Aroostook County's 6,671 square miles on soluble rock. With about 66,776 residents (10 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 501 map points about 3.6 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: why the 13% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Aroostook County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Union County, PA, about 578 miles southwest. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Piscataquis County, ME 60 mi southwest · under 1% at surface
Penobscot County, ME 90 mi south · 0% at surface
Somerset County, ME 105 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Washington County, ME 130 mi south · 0% at surface
Franklin County, ME 148 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Hancock County, ME 149 mi south · 0% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Silurian - Ordovician Carys Mills Formation (limestone), Silurian - Ordovician in age, covering about 10% of the county. Next is the Silurian Spragueville Formation at 1%.

Against the rest of Maine

Aroostook County ranks 5 of 16 in Maine for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.