Sinkhole risk in Gunnison County, CO: 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: 2%
At or near the surface: 2%
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 62 of Gunnison County's 3,239 square miles on soluble rock, 62 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 17,310 residents (5 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 591 map points about 2.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Gunnison County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Emery County, UT, about 199 miles west. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Pitkin County, CO 39 mi north · 5% at surface
Chaffee County, CO 41 mi east · 4% at surface
Delta County, CO 45 mi west · 0% at surface
Lake County, CO 53 mi northeast · 5% at surface
Ouray County, CO 53 mi southwest · under 1% at surface
Hinsdale County, CO 62 mi south · under 1% at surface

What Gunnison County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Leadville Limestone, Williams Canyon Limestone , Manitou Limestone, and Sawatch Quartzite (limestone), Mississippian-Cambrian in age, covering about 2% of the county. Next is the Leadville Limestone, Williams Canyon Limestone, and one or more of: Fremont Limestone, Harding Sandstone, and Manitou Limestone at under 1%.

Against the rest of Colorado

Gunnison County ranks 25 of 64 in Colorado for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 57% of US counties on that measure.