Sinkhole risk in Barnstable County, MA: No soluble rock mapped

No soluble rock mapped

No soluble bedrock mapped.

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

What this means before you buy

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

Across 394 square miles, under one square mile of Barnstable County maps onto soluble rock. With about 232,570 residents (590 per square mile), most of the county is built up, so a mapped unit is likely to sit under somebody's street. The figures come from 340 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Barnstable County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Union County, PA, about 361 miles west. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Nantucket County, MA 29 mi south · 0% at surface
Plymouth County, MA 35 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Dukes County, MA 36 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Bristol County, MA 48 mi west · 0% at surface
Bristol County, RI 58 mi west · 0% at surface
Newport County, RI 59 mi west · 0% at surface

Against the rest of Massachusetts

Barnstable County ranks 1 of 14 in Massachusetts for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.