Sinkhole risk in Nobles County, MN: No soluble rock mapped

No soluble rock mapped

No soluble bedrock mapped.

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

What this means before you buy

No soluble bedrock is mapped here, so natural sinkholes are unlikely. Collapses from broken pipes or old mines are a separate risk.

Across 715 square miles, under one square mile of Nobles County maps onto soluble rock. With about 21,969 residents (31 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 390 map points about 1.4 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Nobles County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Knox County, NE, about 129 miles southwest. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Osceola County, IA 22 mi south · 0% at surface
Murray County, MN 23 mi north · 0% at surface
Rock County, MN 25 mi west · 0% at surface
Lyon County, IA 30 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Jackson County, MN 31 mi east · 0% at surface
Pipestone County, MN 34 mi northwest · 0% at surface

Against the rest of Minnesota

Nobles County ranks 57 of 87 in Minnesota for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.