Sinkhole risk in Luce County, MI: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 57%
At or near the surface: under 1%
Buried under cover: 56%

What this means before you buy

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 511 of Luce County's 899 square miles on soluble rock, 7 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 6,328 residents (7 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 354 map points about 1.6 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: why the 56% under cover still counts, and the signs to look for and how an inspection works.

Counties around Luce County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Emmet County, MI, about 69 miles south. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Mackinac County, MI 26 mi southeast · under 1% at surface
Schoolcraft County, MI 47 mi southwest · 1% at surface
Chippewa County, MI 49 mi east · 0% at surface
Alger County, MI 54 mi west · 0% at surface
Charlevoix County, MI 62 mi south · 11% at surface
Emmet County, MI 69 mi south · 0% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Trenton Limestone (limestone), Upper Ordovician in age, covering about 9% of the county. Next is the Stonington Formation at 9%.

Against the rest of Michigan

Luce County ranks 5 of 83 in Michigan for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 54% of US counties on that measure.