Sinkhole risk in Otoe County, NE: 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: 0%
Buried under cover: 5%

What this means before you buy

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

That works out to roughly 28 of Otoe County's 616 square miles on soluble rock. With about 16,591 residents (27 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 356 map points about 1.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Otoe County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Dickinson County, KS, about 134 miles southwest. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Johnson County, NE 18 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Cass County, NE 19 mi north · 0% at surface
Nemaha County, NE 23 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Fremont County, IA 29 mi east · 0% at surface
Lancaster County, NE 31 mi west · 0% at surface
Sarpy County, NE 33 mi north · 0% at surface

What Otoe County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Shawnee Group (limestone), Late Pennsylvanian- Virgilian in age, covering about 4% of the county. Next is the Wabaunsee Group at under 1%.

Against the rest of Nebraska

Otoe County ranks 74 of 93 in Nebraska for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.