Sinkhole risk in Lincoln County, ME: 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: 27%
At or near the surface: 1%
Buried under cover: 26%

What to do about a house in Lincoln County

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

That works out to roughly 125 of Lincoln County's 456 square miles on soluble rock, 5 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 36,491 residents (80 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 576 map points about 0.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: why the 26% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Lincoln County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Union County, PA, about 437 miles southwest. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Sagadahoc County, ME 17 mi west · 0% at surface
Knox County, ME 24 mi east · under 1% at surface
Kennebec County, ME 32 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Androscoggin County, ME 36 mi west · 0% at surface
Waldo County, ME 39 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Cumberland County, ME 43 mi west · 0% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Devonian - Ordovician Bucksport Formation (sandstone), Devonian - Ordovician in age, covering about 27% of the county.

Against the rest of Maine

Lincoln County ranks 1 of 16 in Maine for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 56% of US counties on that measure.