Sinkhole risk in Edwards County, KS: 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: 2%
At or near the surface: 2%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Edwards County

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

That works out to roughly 15 of Edwards County's 622 square miles on soluble rock, 15 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 2,731 residents (4 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 340 map points about 1.4 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Edwards County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Comanche County, KS, about 49 miles south. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Pawnee County, KS 21 mi north · 19% at surface
Kiowa County, KS 22 mi south · 2% at surface
Stafford County, KS 34 mi east · 0% at surface
Ford County, KS 34 mi southwest · 3% at surface
Pratt County, KS 35 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Hodgeman County, KS 35 mi northwest · 42% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Ogallala Formation (arkose), Miocene in age, covering about 2% of the county.

The county also lies over the Permian Basin, Anadarko Basin,Dalhart Basin, Palo Duro Basin, a deep salt or gypsum basin. Deep beds rarely cause surface collapse on their own, but wells and mining into them have.

Against the rest of Kansas

Edwards County ranks 86 of 105 in Kansas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 59% of US counties on that measure.