Sinkhole risk in Morgan County, IN: 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: 5%
At or near the surface: 2%
Buried under cover: 2%

The next step for one property

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

That works out to roughly 18 of Morgan County's 404 square miles on soluble rock, 10 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 73,825 residents (183 per square mile), homes are spread across towns and farmland, and a mapped unit may or may not reach the developed parts. The figures come from 337 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Morgan County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Monroe County, IN, about 23 miles south, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Johnson County, IN 19 mi east · 0% at surface
Hendricks County, IN 20 mi north · 0% at surface
Monroe County, IN 23 mi south · 54% at surface
Brown County, IN 23 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Owen County, IN 24 mi southwest · 16% at surface
Putnam County, IN 25 mi northwest · under 1% at surface

What Morgan County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Sanders Group (limestone), Mississippian in age, covering about 5% of the county.

The county also lies over the Illinois Basin, a deep salt or gypsum basin. Deep beds rarely cause surface collapse on their own, but wells and mining into them have.

Against the rest of Indiana

Morgan County ranks 21 of 92 in Indiana for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 59% of US counties on that measure.