Sinkhole risk in Muscatine County, IA: 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: 91%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 91%

What to do about a house in Muscatine County

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

That works out to roughly 396 of Muscatine County's 437 square miles on soluble rock. With about 42,132 residents (96 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 315 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Muscatine County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Jo Daviess County, IL, about 77 miles northeast. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Louisa County, IA 20 mi south · 0% at surface
Cedar County, IA 20 mi north · 0% at surface
Mercer County, IL 27 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Johnson County, IA 28 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Scott County, IA 28 mi northeast · under 1% at surface
Rock Island County, IL 28 mi east · 0% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Cedar Valley Limestone (limestone), Middle Dovonian in age, covering about 58% of the county. Next is the Wapsipinicon Formation at 11%.

Against the rest of Iowa

Muscatine County ranks 72 of 99 in Iowa for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.