Sinkhole risk in Moniteau County, MO: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

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

On soluble rock: 95%
At or near the surface: 95%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Moniteau County

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

That works out to roughly 395 of Moniteau County's 415 square miles on soluble rock, 395 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 15,294 residents (37 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 513 map points about 0.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Moniteau County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Schuyler County, MO, about 127 miles north. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Cole County, MO 19 mi southeast · 94% at surface
Cooper County, MO 19 mi northwest · 83% at surface
Morgan County, MO 22 mi southwest · 100% at surface
Boone County, MO 29 mi northeast · 27% at surface
Miller County, MO 30 mi south · 100% at surface
Howard County, MO 36 mi north · 5% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Smithville Dolomite, Powell Dolomite, Cotter Dolomite, Jefferson City Dolomite (dolostone (dolomite)), Early Ordovician-Ibexian Series in age, covering about 72% of the county. Next is the Osagean Series at 12%.

Against the rest of Missouri

Moniteau County ranks 35 of 115 in Missouri for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 98% of US counties on that measure.