Sinkhole risk in Metcalfe County, KY: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

Soluble rock at or near the surface across much of the county.

On soluble rock: 57%
At or near the surface: 57%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Metcalfe County

Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.

That works out to roughly 166 of Metcalfe County's 290 square miles on soluble rock, 166 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 10,558 residents (36 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 246 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Metcalfe County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Scott County, TN, about 74 miles southeast. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Barren County, KY 17 mi west · 67% at surface
Monroe County, KY 20 mi south · 48% at surface
Cumberland County, KY 20 mi southeast · 36% at surface
Green County, KY 20 mi north · 88% at surface
Adair County, KY 21 mi east · 39% at surface
Hart County, KY 26 mi northwest · 89% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis Limestones, undivided (limestone), Mississippian in age, covering about 33% of the county. Next is the Salem, Warsaw, and Harrodsburg Limestones, undivided at 21%.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Metcalfe County ranks 32 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 89% of US counties on that measure.