Sinkhole risk in Colfax County, NM: 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: 6%
At or near the surface: 6%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Colfax County

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

That works out to roughly 210 of Colfax County's 3,758 square miles on soluble rock, 210 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 12,307 residents (3 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 375 map points about 3.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Colfax County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Briscoe County, TX, about 241 miles southeast. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Mora County, NM 46 mi south · 19% at surface
Taos County, NM 55 mi west · 19% at surface
Las Animas County, CO 59 mi northeast · 29% at surface
Costilla County, CO 63 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Union County, NM 65 mi east · 14% at surface
Harding County, NM 68 mi southeast · 12% at surface

What Colfax County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Permain and Pennsylvanian rocks, undivided (medium-grained mixed clastic), Permain and Pennsylvanian in age, covering about 2% of the county. Next is the Fort Hayes Limestone Member of Niobrara Formation at 2%.

Against the rest of New Mexico

Colfax County ranks 23 of 33 in New Mexico for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 63% of US counties on that measure.