Sinkhole risk in Paulding County, OH: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 95%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 95%

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 394 of Paulding County's 416 square miles on soluble rock. With about 18,755 residents (45 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 378 map points about 1.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why the 95% under cover still counts, and the signs to look for and how an inspection works.

Counties around Paulding County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Monroe County, MI, about 79 miles northeast. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Defiance County, OH 15 mi north · 0% at surface
Van Wert County, OH 18 mi south · 0% at surface
Putnam County, OH 24 mi east · 0% at surface
Allen County, IN 26 mi west · 0% at surface
DeKalb County, IN 29 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Henry County, OH 30 mi northeast · 0% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Traverse Group (dolostone (dolomite)), Devonian in age, covering about 35% of the county. Next is the Salina Group at 25%.

Against the rest of Ohio

Paulding County ranks 64 of 88 in Ohio for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.