Sinkhole risk in Franklin County, KS: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

Soluble rock at the surface or under thin cover in part of the county.

On soluble rock: 33%
At or near the surface: 33%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Franklin County

Check the parcel against your state survey sinkhole map, and ask for an inspection if cracks, depressions or sticking doors show up.

That works out to roughly 190 of Franklin County's 572 square miles on soluble rock, 190 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 26,273 residents (46 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 398 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Franklin County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Anderson County, KS, about 24 miles south, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Douglas County, KS 23 mi north · 23% at surface
Anderson County, KS 24 mi south · 55% at surface
Osage County, KS 24 mi west · 41% at surface
Miami County, KS 24 mi east · 87% at surface
Coffey County, KS 33 mi southwest · 53% at surface
Linn County, KS 33 mi southeast · 69% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Shawnee Group (limestone), Late Pennsylvanian- Virgilian in age, covering about 17% of the county. Next is the Lansing Group at 9%.

Against the rest of Kansas

Franklin County ranks 44 of 105 in Kansas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 81% of US counties on that measure.