Sinkhole risk in Randolph County, MO: 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: 37%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 37%

The next step for one property

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

That works out to roughly 179 of Randolph County's 483 square miles on soluble rock. With about 24,077 residents (50 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 367 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: why the 37% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Randolph County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Cooper County, MO, about 44 miles southwest. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Howard County, MO 23 mi southwest · 5% at surface
Chariton County, MO 26 mi west · 0% at surface
Monroe County, MO 26 mi east · 7% at surface
Macon County, MO 27 mi north · 0% at surface
Boone County, MO 33 mi south · 27% at surface
Shelby County, MO 33 mi northeast · 0% at surface

What Randolph County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Marmaton Group (limestone), Middle Pennsylvanian-Middle Series-Desmonian Stage in age, covering about 37% of the county.

Against the rest of Missouri

Randolph County ranks 109 of 115 in Missouri for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.