Sinkhole risk in Lincoln County, KY: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

Soluble rock at the surface or under thin cover in part of the county.

On soluble rock: 42%
At or near the surface: 42%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Lincoln County

Check the parcel against your state survey sinkhole map, and ask for an inspection if cracks, depressions or sticking doors show up.

That works out to roughly 139 of Lincoln County's 333 square miles on soluble rock, 139 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 24,910 residents (75 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 556 map points about 0.8 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Lincoln County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Garrard County, KY, about 13 miles northeast, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Garrard County, KY 13 mi northeast · 51% at surface
Boyle County, KY 16 mi northwest · 54% at surface
Casey County, KY 18 mi southwest · 24% at surface
Rockcastle County, KY 20 mi east · 39% at surface
Pulaski County, KY 25 mi south · 60% at surface
Mercer County, KY 27 mi northwest · 47% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Ashlock Formation, Grant Lake and Calloway Creek Limestones, and Fairview Formation, undivided (limestone), Ordovician in age, covering about 23% of the county. Next is the Salem, Warsaw, and Harrodsburg Limestones, undivided at 12%.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Lincoln County ranks 51 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 85% of US counties on that measure.