Sinkhole risk in Carver County, MN: 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: 10%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 10%

What this means before you buy

Sinkholes are uncommon here; watch for new depressions after heavy rain or leaking pipes.

That works out to roughly 34 of Carver County's 354 square miles on soluble rock. With about 112,628 residents (318 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 268 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: why the 10% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Carver County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Vernon County, WI, about 170 miles southeast. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Scott County, MN 18 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Hennepin County, MN 20 mi northeast · 0% at surface
McLeod County, MN 23 mi west · 0% at surface
Wright County, MN 26 mi north · 0% at surface
Sibley County, MN 27 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Le Sueur County, MN 31 mi south · 0% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Lower Ordovician rocks, undivided (dolostone (dolomite)), Lower Ordovician in age, covering about 10% of the county.

Against the rest of Minnesota

Carver County ranks 17 of 87 in Minnesota for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.