Sinkhole risk in Juniata County, PA: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 45%
At or near the surface: 45%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

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 177 of Juniata County's 391 square miles on soluble rock, 177 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 23,395 residents (60 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 298 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Juniata County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Union County, PA, about 35 miles northeast, 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.

Perry County, PA 12 mi southeast · 34% at surface
Mifflin County, PA 14 mi west · 45% at surface
Snyder County, PA 23 mi northeast · 38% at surface
Cumberland County, PA 26 mi south · 48% at surface
Huntingdon County, PA 31 mi west · 35% at surface
Dauphin County, PA 33 mi east · 8% at surface

What Juniata County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Hamilton Group (shale), Devonian in age, covering about 17% of the county. Next is the Clinton Group at 14%.

Against the rest of Pennsylvania

Juniata County ranks 4 of 67 in Pennsylvania for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 86% of US counties on that measure.