Sinkhole risk in Atchison County, KS: 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: 14%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 14%

What this means before you buy

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

That works out to roughly 59 of Atchison County's 431 square miles on soluble rock. With about 16,249 residents (38 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 332 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Atchison County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Johnson County, KS, about 52 miles southeast. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Doniphan County, KS 20 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Jefferson County, KS 21 mi south · 0% at surface
Brown County, KS 24 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Jackson County, KS 27 mi west · 0% at surface
Leavenworth County, KS 28 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Buchanan County, MO 28 mi east · 0% at surface

What Atchison County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Shawnee Group (limestone), Late Pennsylvanian- Virgilian in age, covering about 14% of the county.

Against the rest of Kansas

Atchison County ranks 94 of 105 in Kansas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.