Sinkhole risk in Saline County, NE: 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: 8%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 8%

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 48 of Saline County's 574 square miles on soluble rock. With about 14,740 residents (26 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 391 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why the 8% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Saline County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Kearney County, NE, about 95 miles west. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Jefferson County, NE 24 mi south · 5% at surface
Fillmore County, NE 24 mi west · 0% at surface
Seward County, NE 25 mi north · 0% at surface
Lancaster County, NE 30 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Gage County, NE 30 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Thayer County, NE 34 mi southwest · 2% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Carlile Shale (shale), Late Cretaceous in age, covering about 8% of the county. Next is the Greenhorn Limestone and Graneros Shale at under 1%.

Against the rest of Nebraska

Saline County ranks 80 of 93 in Nebraska for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.