Sinkhole risk in Nowata County, OK: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

Soluble rock at the surface or under thin cover in part of the county.

On soluble rock: 34%
At or near the surface: 34%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Check the parcel against your state survey sinkhole map, and ask for an inspection if cracks, depressions or sticking doors show up.

That works out to roughly 192 of Nowata County's 566 square miles on soluble rock, 192 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 9,561 residents (17 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 379 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Nowata County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Montgomery County, KS, about 29 miles north, 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.

Washington County, OK 17 mi west · 9% at surface
Craig County, OK 23 mi east · 31% at surface
Rogers County, OK 28 mi south · 14% at surface
Montgomery County, KS 29 mi north · 72% at surface
Labette County, KS 33 mi northeast · 74% at surface
Mayes County, OK 40 mi southeast · 48% at surface

What Nowata County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Oolagah Formation (limestone), Middle Pennsylvanian in age, covering about 19% of the county. Next is the Lenapah Formation at 7%.

Against the rest of Oklahoma

Nowata County ranks 23 of 77 in Oklahoma for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 81% of US counties on that measure.