Sinkhole risk in Saguache County, CO: 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: 1%
At or near the surface: 1%
Buried under cover: 0%

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 32 of Saguache County's 3,169 square miles on soluble rock, 32 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 6,670 residents (2 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 305 map points about 3.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Saguache County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Emery County, UT, about 252 miles west. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Rio Grande County, CO 40 mi south · 0% at surface
Alamosa County, CO 40 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Custer County, CO 47 mi east · under 1% at surface
Chaffee County, CO 49 mi north · 4% at surface
Fremont County, CO 53 mi northeast · 12% at surface
Mineral County, CO 54 mi southwest · 0% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Leadville Limestone, Williams Canyon Limestone, and one or more of: Fremont Limestone, Harding Sandstone, and Manitou Limestone (limestone), Mississippian-Ordovician in age, covering about 1% of the county.

Against the rest of Colorado

Saguache County ranks 32 of 64 in Colorado for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 55% of US counties on that measure.