Sinkhole risk in Bell County, KY: 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: 3%
At or near the surface: 3%
Buried under cover: 0%

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 9 of Bell County's 359 square miles on soluble rock, 9 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 23,051 residents (64 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 543 map points about 0.8 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 Bell County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Claiborne County, TN, about 16 miles south, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Knox County, KY 15 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Claiborne County, TN 16 mi south · 75% at surface
Whitley County, KY 26 mi west · under 1% at surface
Harlan County, KY 27 mi east · 4% at surface
Hancock County, TN 29 mi southeast · 65% at surface
Leslie County, KY 30 mi northeast · 0% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Pennington Formation, Newman Limestone, Fort Payne Chert, Grainger Formation, Sunbury Shale, Berea Sandstone, and Bedford Shale, undivided; Pennington Formation locally includes sandstone tongue of Lee Formation (limestone), Devonian to Pennsylvanian in age, covering about 2% of the county. Next is the Mississippian Formations Undivided at under 1%.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Bell County ranks 85 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 59% of US counties on that measure.