Sinkhole risk in Jefferson County, KS: 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: 32%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 32%

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 170 of Jefferson County's 533 square miles on soluble rock. With about 18,332 residents (34 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 381 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: why the 32% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Jefferson County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Johnson County, KS, about 39 miles southeast, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Leavenworth County, KS 18 mi east · 0% at surface
Atchison County, KS 21 mi north · 0% at surface
Douglas County, KS 24 mi south · 23% at surface
Shawnee County, KS 25 mi southwest · 4% at surface
Jackson County, KS 25 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Wyandotte County, KS 34 mi east · 7% at surface

What Jefferson County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Shawnee Group (limestone), Late Pennsylvanian- Virgilian in age, covering about 32% of the county.

Against the rest of Kansas

Jefferson County ranks 100 of 105 in Kansas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.