Sinkhole risk in Golden Valley County, MT: 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: 4%
At or near the surface: 4%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

Sinkholes are uncommon here; watch for new depressions after heavy rain or leaking pipes.

That works out to roughly 49 of Golden Valley County's 1,174 square miles on soluble rock, 49 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 863 residents (1 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 595 map points about 1.4 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 Golden Valley County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Fall River County, SD, about 353 miles southeast. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Wheatland County, MT 34 mi west · 6% at surface
Musselshell County, MT 36 mi east · 0% at surface
Stillwater County, MT 51 mi south · under 1% at surface
Yellowstone County, MT 53 mi southeast · under 1% at surface
Sweet Grass County, MT 54 mi southwest · 3% at surface
Fergus County, MT 58 mi north · 12% at surface

What Golden Valley County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Mississippian, undifferentiated (carbonate), Mississippian in age, covering about 3% of the county. Next is the Jurassic, undifferentiated at under 1%.

Against the rest of Montana

Golden Valley County ranks 29 of 56 in Montana for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 62% of US counties on that measure.