Sinkhole risk in Bonner County, ID: 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: 1%
At or near the surface: 1%
Buried under cover: 0%

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 21 of Bonner County's 1,733 square miles on soluble rock, 21 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 53,955 residents (31 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 243 map points about 2.7 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Bonner County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Emery County, UT, about 708 miles southeast. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Boundary County, ID 31 mi north · 0% at surface
Pend Oreille County, WA 32 mi northwest · 2% at surface
Kootenai County, ID 45 mi south · 0% at surface
Lincoln County, MT 56 mi east · 29% at surface
Stevens County, WA 57 mi west · 3% at surface
Spokane County, WA 60 mi southwest · 0% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Limestone, arenite, and shale; Cambrian marine continental-shelf deposits; northern Idaho (limestone), Middle Cambrian in age, covering about 1% of the county.

Against the rest of Idaho

Bonner County ranks 20 of 44 in Idaho for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 56% of US counties on that measure.