SinkholeOdds

Sinkhole risk in Lancaster County, NE: 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%

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 14 of Lancaster County's 838 square miles on soluble rock. With about 332,857 residents (397 per square mile), homes are spread across towns and farmland, and a mapped unit may or may not reach the developed parts. The figures come from 418 map points about 1.4 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Lancaster County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Kearney County, NE, about 120 miles west. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Shawnee Group (limestone), Late Pennsylvanian- Virgilian in age, covering about 2% of the county.

Against the rest of Nebraska

Lancaster County ranks 67 of 93 in Nebraska for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.