Sinkhole risk in Jasper County, MO: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

Soluble rock at or near the surface across much of the county.

On soluble rock: 85%
At or near the surface: 85%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.

That works out to roughly 540 of Jasper County's 639 square miles on soluble rock, 540 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 126,479 residents (198 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 386 map points about 1.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Jasper County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Crawford County, AR, about 112 miles south. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Barton County, MO 20 mi north · 11% at surface
Newton County, MO 21 mi south · 99% at surface
Cherokee County, KS 28 mi west · 6% at surface
Lawrence County, MO 29 mi east · 96% at surface
Dade County, MO 31 mi northeast · 73% at surface
Crawford County, KS 35 mi northwest · 56% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Meramecian Series (limestone), Late Mississippian-Meramecian Series in age, covering about 78% of the county. Next is the Kinderhookian Series at 4%.

Against the rest of Missouri

Jasper County ranks 43 of 115 in Missouri for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 95% of US counties on that measure.