Sinkhole risk in Rutland County, VT: 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: 23%
At or near the surface: under 1%
Buried under cover: 23%

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 214 of Rutland County's 931 square miles on soluble rock, 4 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 60,198 residents (65 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 269 map points about 1.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why the 23% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Rutland County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Union County, PA, about 274 miles southwest. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Windsor County, VT 23 mi east · 0% at surface
Washington County, NY 28 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Addison County, VT 29 mi north · under 1% at surface
Warren County, NY 39 mi west · 0% at surface
Bennington County, VT 40 mi south · 0% at surface
Orange County, VT 44 mi northeast · 0% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Brezee Formation (phyllite), Cambrian in age, covering about 4% of the county. Next is the Dunham Dolomite at 4%.

Against the rest of Vermont

Rutland County ranks 5 of 14 in Vermont for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 52% of US counties on that measure.