Sinkhole risk in Carroll County, KY: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 23%
At or near the surface: 19%
Buried under cover: 4%

The next step for one property

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 30 of Carroll County's 129 square miles on soluble rock, 25 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 11,111 residents (86 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 0.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Carroll County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Oldham County, KY, about 26 miles southwest, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Switzerland County, IN 12 mi northeast · 13% at surface
Trimble County, KY 13 mi west · 16% at surface
Henry County, KY 15 mi south · 48% at surface
Gallatin County, KY 15 mi northeast · 22% at surface
Jefferson County, IN 19 mi northwest · 16% at surface
Owen County, KY 19 mi southeast · 33% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Ashlock Formation, Grant Lake and Calloway Creek Limestones, and Fairview Formation, undivided (limestone), Ordovician in age, covering about 19% of the county. Next is the Bull Fork Formation at 2%.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Carroll County ranks 69 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 74% of US counties on that measure.