Sinkhole risk in Owen County, KY: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 33%
At or near the surface: 33%
Buried under cover: under 1%

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 117 of Owen County's 350 square miles on soluble rock, 116 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 11,435 residents (33 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 503 map points about 0.8 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Owen County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Scott County, KY, about 21 miles southeast, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Henry County, KY 15 mi west · 48% at surface
Grant County, KY 16 mi northeast · 23% at surface
Gallatin County, KY 18 mi north · 22% at surface
Franklin County, KY 18 mi south · 47% at surface
Carroll County, KY 19 mi northwest · 19% at surface
Scott County, KY 21 mi southeast · 57% at surface

What Owen County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Ashlock Formation, Grant Lake and Calloway Creek Limestones, and Fairview Formation, undivided (limestone), Ordovician in age, covering about 24% of the county. Next is the Lexington Limestone at 10%.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Owen County ranks 61 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 81% of US counties on that measure.