Sinkhole risk in Chariton County, MO: 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: 3%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 3%

What to do about a house in Chariton County

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

That works out to roughly 25 of Chariton County's 751 square miles on soluble rock. With about 7,397 residents (10 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 299 map points about 1.6 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Chariton County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Cooper County, MO, about 47 miles south. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Linn County, MO 25 mi north · 0% at surface
Randolph County, MO 26 mi east · 0% at surface
Carroll County, MO 29 mi west · 0% at surface
Saline County, MO 29 mi southwest · 10% at surface
Howard County, MO 30 mi southeast · 5% at surface
Macon County, MO 30 mi northeast · 0% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Marmaton Group (limestone), Middle Pennsylvanian-Middle Series-Desmonian Stage in age, covering about 3% of the county.

Against the rest of Missouri

Chariton County ranks 83 of 115 in Missouri for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.