SinkholeOdds

Sinkhole risk in Porter County, IN: 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
3%
At or near the surface
0%
Buried under cover
3%

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 11 of Porter County's 418 square miles on soluble rock. With about 175,860 residents (421 per square mile), homes are spread across towns and farmland, and a mapped unit may or may not reach the developed parts. The figures come from 344 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Porter County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Barry County, MI, about 117 miles northeast. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Muscatatuck Group (limestone), Devonian in age, covering about 3% of the county.

Against the rest of Indiana

Porter County ranks 72 of 92 in Indiana for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.