Sinkhole risk in McCreary 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: 7%
At or near the surface: 7%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

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

That works out to roughly 30 of McCreary County's 427 square miles on soluble rock, 30 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 16,824 residents (39 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 574 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 McCreary County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Wayne County, KY, about 19 miles west, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. None of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so McCreary County stands out from its surroundings.

Wayne County, KY 19 mi west · 75% at surface
Whitley County, KY 19 mi east · under 1% at surface
Scott County, TN 21 mi south · 0% at surface
Pulaski County, KY 26 mi north · 60% at surface
Campbell County, TN 29 mi southeast · 28% at surface
Laurel County, KY 33 mi northeast · under 1% at surface

What McCreary County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Pennington Formation (Paragon Formation), Bangor Limestone, Hartselle Formation, and Kidder Limestone Member of Monteagle Limestone, undivided (limestone), Mississippian in age, covering about 7% of the county.

Against the rest of Kentucky

McCreary County ranks 77 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 65% of US counties on that measure.