Sinkhole risk in Cambria County, PA: 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: 2%
At or near the surface: 2%
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 16 of Cambria County's 688 square miles on soluble rock, 16 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 130,108 residents (189 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 567 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Cambria County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Washington County, MD, about 79 miles southeast. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Blair County, PA 21 mi east · 36% at surface
Indiana County, PA 22 mi northwest · 16% at surface
Clearfield County, PA 36 mi north · under 1% at surface
Bedford County, PA 37 mi south · 26% at surface
Huntingdon County, PA 39 mi east · 35% at surface
Somerset County, PA 40 mi southwest · 5% at surface

What Cambria County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Mauch Chunk Formation (shale), Mississippian in age, covering about 2% of the county. Next is the Allegheny Formation at under 1%.

Against the rest of Pennsylvania

Cambria County ranks 42 of 67 in Pennsylvania for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 58% of US counties on that measure.