Sinkhole risk in Kingsbury County, SD: 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: 2%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 2%

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 12 of Kingsbury County's 832 square miles on soluble rock. With about 5,261 residents (6 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 406 map points about 1.4 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Kingsbury County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Boyd County, NE, about 120 miles southwest. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Miner County, SD 24 mi south · 0% at surface
Hamlin County, SD 27 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Lake County, SD 30 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Brookings County, SD 35 mi east · 0% at surface
Clark County, SD 36 mi north · 0% at surface
Sanborn County, SD 38 mi southwest · 0% at surface

What Kingsbury County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Niobrara Formation (limestone), Late Cretaceous in age, covering about 2% of the county.

Against the rest of South Dakota

Kingsbury County ranks 43 of 66 in South Dakota for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.