SinkholeOdds

Sinkhole risk in Benzie County, MI: 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
30%
At or near the surface
0%
Buried under cover
30%

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 95 of Benzie County's 320 square miles on soluble rock. With about 18,520 residents (58 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 358 map points about 0.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why gypsum and salt move faster than limestone, and why the 30% under cover still counts.

Counties around Benzie County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Wexford County, MI, about 39 miles southeast, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Traverse Group (limestone), Middle Devonian in age, covering about 30% of the county.

The county also lies over the Michigan Basin; Ohio Basin; Appalachian Basin, a deep salt or gypsum basin. Deep beds rarely cause surface collapse on their own, but wells and mining into them have.

Against the rest of Michigan

Benzie County ranks 20 of 83 in Michigan for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.