Sinkhole risk in Essex County, MA: No soluble rock mapped

No soluble rock mapped

No soluble bedrock mapped.

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

The next step for one property

No soluble bedrock is mapped here, so natural sinkholes are unlikely. Collapses from broken pipes or old mines are a separate risk.

Across 493 square miles, under one square mile of Essex County maps onto soluble rock. With about 823,938 residents (1,673 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 514 map points about 1.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Essex County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Union County, PA, about 339 miles west. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Suffolk County, MA 22 mi south · 0% at surface
Rockingham County, NH 27 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Middlesex County, MA 29 mi west · 0% at surface
Norfolk County, MA 36 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Plymouth County, MA 46 mi south · 0% at surface
Strafford County, NH 46 mi north · 0% at surface

Against the rest of Massachusetts

Essex County ranks 5 of 14 in Massachusetts for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.