Sinkhole risk in Bottineau County, ND: No soluble rock mapped

The next step for one property

No soluble bedrock is mapped here, so natural sinkholes are unlikely. Collapses from broken pipes or old mines are a separate risk.

Across 1,669 square miles, under one square mile of Bottineau County maps onto soluble rock. With about 6,391 residents (4 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 365 map points about 2.1 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 how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Bottineau County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Fall River County, SD, about 406 miles south. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

• Renville County, ND 38 mi west · 0% at surface
• McHenry County, ND 40 mi south · 0% at surface
• Rolette County, ND 45 mi east · 0% at surface
• Ward County, ND 51 mi southwest · 0% at surface
• Pierce County, ND 55 mi southeast · 0% at surface
• Towner County, ND 73 mi east · 0% at surface

Against the rest of North Dakota

Bottineau County ranks 10 of 53 in North Dakota for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.

• Cavalier County 2%
• Ransom County under 1%
• Dunn County under 1%
• Barnes County under 1%
• Slope County under 1%