Sinkhole risk in Chippewa County, MI: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 54%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 54%

What to do about a house in Chippewa 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 846 of Chippewa County's 1,559 square miles on soluble rock. With about 36,253 residents (23 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 370 map points about 2.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Chippewa County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Emmet County, MI, about 55 miles southwest. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Mackinac County, MI 39 mi west · under 1% at surface
Luce County, MI 49 mi west · under 1% at surface
Emmet County, MI 55 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Cheboygan County, MI 58 mi south · 1% at surface
Charlevoix County, MI 69 mi southwest · 11% at surface
Schoolcraft County, MI 83 mi west · 1% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Black River Limestone (limestone), Upper Ordovician in age, covering about 10% of the county. Next is the Trenton Limestone at 8%.

Against the rest of Michigan

Chippewa County ranks 25 of 83 in Michigan for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.