Sinkhole risk in Jessamine County, KY: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

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

On soluble rock: 93%
At or near the surface: 93%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

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

That works out to roughly 159 of Jessamine County's 172 square miles on soluble rock, 159 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 56,495 residents (328 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 241 map points about 0.8 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Jessamine County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Owsley County, KY, about 58 miles southeast. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Fayette County, KY 13 mi northeast · 95% at surface
Woodford County, KY 15 mi northwest · 99% at surface
Mercer County, KY 17 mi west · 47% at surface
Garrard County, KY 17 mi south · 51% at surface
Madison County, KY 20 mi southeast · 46% at surface
Boyle County, KY 24 mi southwest · 54% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Lexington Limestone (limestone), Ordovician in age, covering about 75% of the county. Next is the High Bridge Group at 16%.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Jessamine County ranks 5 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 97% of US counties on that measure.