Sinkhole risk in Bennington County, VT: 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: 27%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 27%

The next step for one property

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

That works out to roughly 179 of Bennington County's 674 square miles on soluble rock. With about 37,039 residents (55 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 287 map points about 1.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Bennington County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Union County, PA, about 248 miles southwest. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Windham County, VT 20 mi east · 0% at surface
Washington County, NY 25 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Rensselaer County, NY 30 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Saratoga County, NY 38 mi west · under 1% at surface
Rutland County, VT 40 mi north · under 1% at surface
Franklin County, MA 41 mi southeast · 0% at surface

What Bennington County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Bascom Formation, and undifferentiated Luke Hill, Naylor Ledge and Hastings Creek Limestones (dolostone (dolomite)), Ordovician in age, covering about 7% of the county. Next is the Dunham Dolomite at 5%.

Against the rest of Vermont

Bennington County ranks 6 of 14 in Vermont for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.