SinkholeOdds

Sinkhole risk in Lee County, KY: 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
6%
At or near the surface
6%
Buried under cover
0%

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 12 of Lee County's 209 square miles on soluble rock, 12 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 7,313 residents (35 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 255 map points about 0.9 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 Lee County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Clark County, KY, about 34 miles northwest, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Pennington Formation and Newman Limestone (limestone), Mississippian in age, covering about 6% of the county.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Lee County ranks 78 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 64% of US counties on that measure.