Sinkhole risk in Owen County, IN: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 62%
At or near the surface: 16%
Buried under cover: 46%

The next step for one property

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 237 of Owen County's 385 square miles on soluble rock, 60 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 21,851 residents (57 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 325 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Owen County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Monroe County, IN, about 20 miles southeast, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Clay County, IN 16 mi west · 0% at surface
Monroe County, IN 20 mi southeast · 54% at surface
Greene County, IN 21 mi southwest · 20% at surface
Morgan County, IN 24 mi northeast · 2% at surface
Putnam County, IN 24 mi north · under 1% at surface
Vigo County, IN 31 mi west · 0% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Blue River Group (limestone), Mississippian in age, covering about 29% of the county. Next is the West Baden Group at 20%.

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

Owen County ranks 12 of 92 in Indiana for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 72% of US counties on that measure.