Sinkhole risk in Douglas County, NE: 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
- 35%
- At or near the surface
- 0%
- Buried under cover
- 35%
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 115 of Douglas County's 327 square miles on soluble rock. With about 601,158 residents (1,841 per square mile), most of the county is built up, so a mapped unit is likely to sit under somebody's street. The figures come from 333 map points about 1.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.
Read next: why the 35% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.
Counties around Douglas County
The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Knox County, NE, about 128 miles northwest. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.
- Sarpy County, NE 13 mi south · 0% at surface
- Washington County, NE 17 mi north · 0% at surface
- Saunders County, NE 26 mi west · 0% at surface
- Cass County, NE 27 mi south · 0% at surface
- Pottawattamie County, IA 32 mi east · 0% at surface
- Harrison County, IA 32 mi northeast · 0% at surface
The rock underneath
The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Kansas City Group (limestone), Late Pennsylvanian- Missouria in age, covering about 29% of the county. Next is the Kansas City Group at 3%.
Against the rest of Nebraska
Douglas County ranks 56 of 93 in Nebraska for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.
- Hamilton County 80%
- Adams County 79%
- Merrick County 79%
- Webster County 78%
- Franklin County 78%