Sinkhole risk in Page County, IA: 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: 95%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 95%

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 506 of Page County's 535 square miles on soluble rock. With about 15,038 residents (28 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 386 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: why the 95% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Page County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Jackson County, MO, about 127 miles south. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Montgomery County, IA 20 mi north · 0% at surface
Taylor County, IA 23 mi east · 0% at surface
Fremont County, IA 24 mi west · 0% at surface
Atchison County, MO 26 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Nodaway County, MO 29 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Adams County, IA 30 mi northeast · 0% at surface

What Page County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Wabaunsee Group (shale), Late Pennsylvanian-Virgil Series in age, covering about 90% of the county. Next is the Shawnee Group at 4%.

Against the rest of Iowa

Page County ranks 75 of 99 in Iowa for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.