Sinkhole risk in Barren County, KY: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

Soluble rock at or near the surface across much of the county.

On soluble rock: 67%
At or near the surface: 67%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Barren County

Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.

That works out to roughly 327 of Barren County's 487 square miles on soluble rock, 327 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 45,609 residents (94 per square mile), homes are spread across towns and farmland, and a mapped unit may or may not reach the developed parts. The figures come from 277 map points about 1.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Barren County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Daviess County, KY, about 83 miles northwest. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Metcalfe County, KY 17 mi east · 57% at surface
Allen County, KY 21 mi southwest · 51% at surface
Monroe County, KY 21 mi southeast · 48% at surface
Hart County, KY 24 mi north · 89% at surface
Edmonson County, KY 24 mi northwest · 50% at surface
Warren County, KY 27 mi west · 89% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis Limestones, undivided (limestone), Mississippian in age, covering about 41% of the county. Next is the Salem, Warsaw, and Harrodsburg Limestones, undivided at 24%.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Barren County ranks 23 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 92% of US counties on that measure.