Sinkhole risk in Knox County, MO: 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: 81%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 81%

The next step for one property

Sinkholes are uncommon here; watch for new depressions after heavy rain or leaking pipes.

That works out to roughly 406 of Knox County's 504 square miles on soluble rock. With about 3,740 residents (7 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 399 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Knox County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Cooper County, MO, about 96 miles south. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Scotland County, MO 21 mi north · 0% at surface
Lewis County, MO 22 mi east · 0% at surface
Shelby County, MO 24 mi south · 0% at surface
Adair County, MO 24 mi west · 0% at surface
Clark County, MO 29 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Schuyler County, MO 30 mi northwest · 0% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Meramecian Series (limestone), Late Mississippian-Meramecian Series in age, covering about 45% of the county. Next is the Osagean Series at 36%.

Against the rest of Missouri

Knox County ranks 94 of 115 in Missouri for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.