SinkholeOdds

Sinkhole risk in Schoharie 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
16%
At or near the surface
0%
Buried under cover
16%

What to do about a house in Schoharie County

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

That works out to roughly 97 of Schoharie County's 622 square miles on soluble rock. With about 30,151 residents (48 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 276 map points about 1.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Read next: why the 16% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Schoharie County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Union County, PA, about 176 miles southwest. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Helderberg Group (limestone), Lower Devonian in age, covering about 7% of the county. Next is the Onondaga Limestone at 5%.

Against the rest of New York

Schoharie County ranks 48 of 62 in New York for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.