Sinkhole risk in Harney County, OR: Not karst, but voids possible
Not karst, but voids possible
No soluble bedrock; some pseudokarst (piping or lava-tube ground).
- On soluble rock
- 0%
- At or near the surface
- 0%
- Buried under cover
- 0%
What to do about a house in Harney County
Not true karst, but soil piping or lava tubes can still open voids - mention it to an inspector.
Across 10,134 square miles, under one square mile of Harney County maps onto soluble rock. With about 7,402 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 330 map points about 5.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.
Read next: how ground with no limestone still opens up, and how these percentages are measured.
Counties around Harney County
The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Emery County, UT, about 514 miles southeast. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.
- Malheur County, OR 70 mi east · under 1% at surface
- Lake County, OR 73 mi west · 0% at surface
- Grant County, OR 99 mi north · 4% at surface
- Crook County, OR 103 mi northwest · 0% at surface
- Canyon County, ID 121 mi east · 0% at surface
- Humboldt County, NV 123 mi south · 8% at surface
Against the rest of Oregon
Harney County ranks 21 of 36 in Oregon for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.
- Baker County 14%
- Josephine County 9%
- Grant County 4%
- Polk County 3%
- Jackson County 2%