Sinkhole risk in Bedford County, PA: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

Soluble rock at the surface or under thin cover in part of the county.

On soluble rock: 26%
At or near the surface: 26%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

Check the parcel against your state survey sinkhole map, and ask for an inspection if cracks, depressions or sticking doors show up.

That works out to roughly 261 of Bedford County's 1,012 square miles on soluble rock, 261 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 47,643 residents (47 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 275 map points about 1.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Bedford County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Washington County, MD, about 45 miles southeast. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Fulton County, PA 21 mi east · 19% at surface
Somerset County, PA 28 mi west · 5% at surface
Allegany County, MD 29 mi southwest · 24% at surface
Morgan County, WV 33 mi southeast · 7% at surface
Blair County, PA 36 mi north · 36% at surface
Cambria County, PA 37 mi north · 2% at surface

What Bedford County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Keyser and Tonoloway Formations, undivided (limestone), Devonian and Silurian in age, covering about 6% of the county. Next is the Onondaga and Old Port Formations, undivided at 6%.

Against the rest of Pennsylvania

Bedford County ranks 22 of 67 in Pennsylvania for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 78% of US counties on that measure.