SinkholeOdds

Sinkhole risk in Ionia County, MI: 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
14%
At or near the surface
0%
Buried under cover
14%

What this means before you buy

Sinkholes are uncommon here; watch for new depressions after heavy rain or leaking pipes.

That works out to roughly 81 of Ionia County's 571 square miles on soluble rock. With about 66,250 residents (116 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 391 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: why gypsum and salt move faster than limestone, and why the 14% under cover still counts.

Counties around Ionia County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Kent County, MI, about 25 miles west, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Michigan Formation (black shale), Mississippian in age, covering about 9% of the county. Next is the Bayport Limestone at 5%.

9% of the county sits on gypsum or salt, which dissolves in years rather than millennia. That share matters more than its size suggests.

The county also lies over the Michigan Basin; Ohio Basin; Appalachian Basin, a deep salt or gypsum basin. Deep beds rarely cause surface collapse on their own, but wells and mining into them have.

Against the rest of Michigan

Ionia County ranks 42 of 83 in Michigan for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.