Sinkhole risk in Fillmore 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: 8%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 8%

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 48 of Fillmore County's 575 square miles on soluble rock. With about 5,512 residents (10 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 391 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: why the 8% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Fillmore County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Kearney County, NE, about 71 miles west. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Clay County, NE 24 mi west · 60% at surface
York County, NE 24 mi north · 0% at surface
Thayer County, NE 24 mi south · 2% at surface
Saline County, NE 24 mi east · 0% at surface
Hamilton County, NE 33 mi northwest · 80% at surface
Nuckolls County, NE 34 mi southwest · 52% at surface

What Fillmore County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Carlile Shale (shale), Late Cretaceous in age, covering about 5% of the county. Next is the Niobrara Formation at 4%.

Against the rest of Nebraska

Fillmore County ranks 57 of 93 in Nebraska for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.