Sinkhole risk in Gallatin County, KY: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 28%
At or near the surface: 22%
Buried under cover: 6%

The next step for one property

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 27 of Gallatin County's 98 square miles on soluble rock, 21 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 8,805 residents (90 per square mile), homes are spread across towns and farmland, and a mapped unit may or may not reach the developed parts. The figures come from 408 map points about 0.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Gallatin County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Kenton County, KY, about 22 miles northeast, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Switzerland County, IN 10 mi northwest · 13% at surface
Ohio County, IN 14 mi northwest · 12% at surface
Grant County, KY 15 mi southeast · 23% at surface
Carroll County, KY 15 mi southwest · 19% at surface
Boone County, KY 16 mi northeast · 16% at surface
Owen County, KY 18 mi south · 33% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Ashlock Formation, Grant Lake and Calloway Creek Limestones, and Fairview Formation, undivided (limestone), Ordovician in age, covering about 28% of the county.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Gallatin County ranks 66 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 75% of US counties on that measure.