Sinkhole risk in Highland County, OH: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

Soluble rock at the surface or under thin cover in part of the county.

On soluble rock: 96%
At or near the surface: 3%
Buried under cover: 93%

The next step for one property

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 529 of Highland County's 553 square miles on soluble rock, 15 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 43,785 residents (79 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 328 map points about 1.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Highland County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Mason County, KY, about 43 miles south. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Clinton County, OH 19 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Brown County, OH 23 mi southwest · 9% at surface
Adams County, OH 25 mi south · 35% at surface
Fayette County, OH 27 mi north · 0% at surface
Pike County, OH 30 mi east · under 1% at surface
Ross County, OH 31 mi east · 0% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Peebles Dolomite, Lilley and Bisher Formations, Undivided (dolostone (dolomite)), Silurian in age, covering about 38% of the county. Next is the Estill Shale at 21%.

Against the rest of Ohio

Highland County ranks 7 of 88 in Ohio for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 59% of US counties on that measure.