Sinkhole risk in Garrard County, KY: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

Soluble rock at or near the surface across much of the county.

On soluble rock: 51%
At or near the surface: 51%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.

That works out to roughly 117 of Garrard County's 230 square miles on soluble rock, 117 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 18,040 residents (78 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 450 map points about 0.7 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Garrard County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Laurel County, KY, about 43 miles southeast. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Lincoln County, KY 13 mi southwest · 42% at surface
Madison County, KY 16 mi northeast · 46% at surface
Jessamine County, KY 17 mi north · 93% at surface
Boyle County, KY 18 mi west · 54% at surface
Mercer County, KY 22 mi northwest · 47% at surface
Rockcastle County, KY 23 mi southeast · 39% at surface

The rock underneath

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 30% of the county. Next is the Lexington Limestone at 10%.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Garrard County ranks 39 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 88% of US counties on that measure.