SinkholeOdds

Sinkhole risk in Saratoga County, NY: 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
12%
At or near the surface
under 1%
Buried under cover
11%

What to do about a house in Saratoga County

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

That works out to roughly 96 of Saratoga County's 810 square miles on soluble rock, 3 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 240,360 residents (297 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 263 map points about 1.8 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why the 11% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Saratoga County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Union County, PA, about 221 miles southwest. 5 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 Theresa (Galway) Formation (dolostone (dolomite)), Cambrian in age, covering about 5% of the county. Next is the Beekmantown Group at 3%.

Against the rest of New York

Saratoga County ranks 3 of 62 in New York for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 52% of US counties on that measure.