Sinkhole risk in Caldwell County, MO: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

Soluble rock at the surface or under thin cover in part of the county.

On soluble rock: 83%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 83%

What this means before you buy

Check the parcel against your state survey sinkhole map, and ask for an inspection if cracks, depressions or sticking doors show up.

That works out to roughly 355 of Caldwell County's 426 square miles on soluble rock. With about 9,000 residents (21 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 390 map points about 1.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Caldwell County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Jackson County, MO, about 49 miles southwest. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Daviess County, MO 21 mi north · 0% at surface
Clinton County, MO 22 mi west · 0% at surface
Ray County, MO 24 mi south · 0% at surface
Livingston County, MO 24 mi east · 0% at surface
DeKalb County, MO 28 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Carroll County, MO 30 mi southeast · 0% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Kansas City Group (limestone), Late Pennsylvanian-Upper Series-Missourian Stage in age, covering about 80% of the county. Next is the Lansing Group at 4%.

Against the rest of Missouri

Caldwell County ranks 81 of 115 in Missouri for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.