Sinkhole risk in Chautauqua County, KS: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 38%
At or near the surface: 38%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Chautauqua County

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 243 of Chautauqua County's 639 square miles on soluble rock, 243 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 3,339 residents (5 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 405 map points about 1.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Chautauqua County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Montgomery County, KS, about 28 miles east, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Elk County, KS 21 mi north · 53% at surface
Montgomery County, KS 28 mi east · 72% at surface
Cowley County, KS 33 mi west · 74% at surface
Washington County, OK 36 mi southeast · 9% at surface
Osage County, OK 38 mi south · 39% at surface
Wilson County, KS 39 mi northeast · 54% at surface

What Chautauqua County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Shawnee Group (limestone), Late Pennsylvanian- Virgilian in age, covering about 37% of the county. Next is the Admire Group at 1%.

Against the rest of Kansas

Chautauqua County ranks 38 of 105 in Kansas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 83% of US counties on that measure.