Sinkhole risk in Bourbon County, KY: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

Soluble rock at or near the surface across much of the county.

On soluble rock: 89%
At or near the surface: 89%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.

That works out to roughly 259 of Bourbon County's 290 square miles on soluble rock, 259 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 20,333 residents (70 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 555 map points about 0.7 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Bourbon County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Wolfe County, KY, about 50 miles southeast. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Nicholas County, KY 14 mi northeast · 38% at surface
Clark County, KY 16 mi south · 64% at surface
Fayette County, KY 18 mi southwest · 95% at surface
Harrison County, KY 18 mi north · 44% at surface
Montgomery County, KY 20 mi southeast · 40% at surface
Scott County, KY 21 mi west · 57% at surface

What Bourbon County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Lexington Limestone (limestone), Ordovician in age, covering about 89% of the county.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Bourbon County ranks 8 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 97% of US counties on that measure.