Sinkhole risk in Boyle County, KY: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

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

On soluble rock: 54%
At or near the surface: 54%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Boyle County

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

That works out to roughly 98 of Boyle County's 180 square miles on soluble rock, 98 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 31,394 residents (174 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 287 map points about 0.8 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Boyle County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Laurel County, KY, about 54 miles southeast. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Mercer County, KY 13 mi north · 47% at surface
Lincoln County, KY 16 mi southeast · 42% at surface
Garrard County, KY 18 mi east · 51% at surface
Washington County, KY 19 mi northwest · 42% at surface
Casey County, KY 21 mi south · 24% at surface
Marion County, KY 22 mi west · 45% at surface

What Boyle County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Lexington Limestone (limestone), Ordovician in age, covering about 38% of the county. Next is the High Bridge Group at 5%.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Boyle County ranks 36 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 88% of US counties on that measure.