Sinkhole risk in Le Sueur County, MN: 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: 64%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 64%

What to do about a house in Le Sueur County

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

That works out to roughly 287 of Le Sueur County's 449 square miles on soluble rock. With about 29,458 residents (66 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 331 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why the 64% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Le Sueur County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Vernon County, WI, about 154 miles east. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Rice County, MN 21 mi east · 0% at surface
Scott County, MN 22 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Nicollet County, MN 25 mi west · 0% at surface
Waseca County, MN 25 mi south · 0% at surface
Sibley County, MN 28 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Blue Earth County, MN 29 mi southwest · 0% at surface

What Le Sueur County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Lower Ordovician rocks, undivided (dolostone (dolomite)), Lower Ordovician in age, covering about 51% of the county. Next is the Middle Ordovician rocks, undivided at 13%.

Against the rest of Minnesota

Le Sueur County ranks 44 of 87 in Minnesota for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.