Sinkhole risk in Harrison 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: 44%
At or near the surface: 44%
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 136 of Harrison County's 306 square miles on soluble rock, 136 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 19,525 residents (64 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 607 map points about 0.7 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 Harrison County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Scott County, KY, about 17 miles southwest, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Robertson County, KY 15 mi east · 39% at surface
Scott County, KY 17 mi southwest · 57% at surface
Pendleton County, KY 17 mi north · 9% at surface
Bourbon County, KY 18 mi south · 89% at surface
Nicholas County, KY 18 mi southeast · 38% at surface
Bracken County, KY 20 mi northeast · 33% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Lexington Limestone (limestone), Ordovician in age, covering about 44% of the county.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Harrison County ranks 48 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 85% of US counties on that measure.