Sinkhole risk in Grant 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: 23%
At or near the surface: 23%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

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 60 of Grant County's 258 square miles on soluble rock, 60 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 25,722 residents (100 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 274 map points about 1.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Grant County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Kenton County, KY, about 20 miles north, 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.

Gallatin County, KY 15 mi northwest · 22% at surface
Pendleton County, KY 15 mi east · 9% at surface
Owen County, KY 16 mi southwest · 33% at surface
Kenton County, KY 20 mi north · 59% at surface
Harrison County, KY 21 mi southeast · 44% at surface
Boone County, KY 22 mi north · 16% 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 20% of the county. Next is the Lexington Limestone at 3%.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Grant County ranks 65 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 76% of US counties on that measure.