SinkholeOdds

Sinkhole risk in Scotland County, MO: 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
25%
At or near the surface
0%
Buried under cover
25%

What to do about a house in Scotland County

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

That works out to roughly 110 of Scotland County's 437 square miles on soluble rock. With about 4,698 residents (11 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 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why gypsum and salt move faster than limestone, and why the 25% under cover still counts.

Counties around Scotland County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Cooper County, MO, about 116 miles south. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

What Scotland County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Meramecian Series (limestone), Late Mississippian-Meramecian Series in age, covering about 25% of the county.

The county also lies over the Forest City Basin, a deep salt or gypsum basin. Deep beds rarely cause surface collapse on their own, but wells and mining into them have.

Against the rest of Missouri

Scotland County ranks 112 of 115 in Missouri for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.