Sinkhole risk in Menominee 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: 88%
At or near the surface: under 1%
Buried under cover: 88%

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 915 of Menominee County's 1,044 square miles on soluble rock, 2 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 23,050 residents (22 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 599 map points about 1.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Menominee County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Emmet County, MI, about 122 miles east. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Marinette County, WI 27 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Delta County, MI 34 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Dickinson County, MI 37 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Door County, WI 38 mi southeast · under 1% at surface
Florence County, WI 49 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Oconto County, WI 51 mi southwest · under 1% at surface

What Menominee County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Prairie du Chien Group (shale), Lower Ordovician in age, covering about 26% of the county. Next is the Trenton Limestone at 25%.

Against the rest of Michigan

Menominee County ranks 10 of 83 in Michigan for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 50% of US counties on that measure.