Sinkhole risk in Pine County, MN: 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: 41%
At or near the surface: 1%
Buried under cover: 40%

What to do about a house in Pine County

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

That works out to roughly 579 of Pine County's 1,411 square miles on soluble rock, 14 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 30,319 residents (21 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 300 map points about 2.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Pine County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Vernon County, WI, about 197 miles southeast. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Burnett County, WI 25 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Kanabec County, MN 28 mi west · 0% at surface
Carlton County, MN 35 mi north · 0% at surface
Chisago County, MN 42 mi south · 0% at surface
Mille Lacs County, MN 43 mi west · 0% at surface
Isanti County, MN 45 mi southwest · 0% at surface

What Pine County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Hinckley Sandstone (arenite), Middle Proterozoic in age, covering about 34% of the county. Next is the Fond du Lac Formation at 6%.

Against the rest of Minnesota

Pine County ranks 7 of 87 in Minnesota for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 55% of US counties on that measure.