Sinkhole risk in Kent County, RI: No soluble rock mapped

What this means before you buy

No soluble bedrock is mapped here, so natural sinkholes are unlikely. Collapses from broken pipes or old mines are a separate risk.

Across 169 square miles, under one square mile of Kent County maps onto soluble rock. With about 172,450 residents (1,023 per square mile), most of the county is built up, so a mapped unit is likely to sit under somebody's street. The figures come from 279 map points about 0.8 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Kent County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Union County, PA, about 288 miles west. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

• Providence County, RI 13 mi north · 0% at surface
• Bristol County, RI 15 mi east · 0% at surface
• Washington County, RI 19 mi south · 0% at surface
• Newport County, RI 20 mi southeast · 0% at surface
• Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT 23 mi northwest · 0% at surface
• Bristol County, MA 26 mi east · 0% at surface

Against the rest of Rhode Island

Kent County ranks 2 of 5 in Rhode Island for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.

• Bristol County 0%
• Newport County 0%
• Providence County 0%
• Washington County 0%