Sinkhole risk in Shawano County, WI: 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: 17%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 17%

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 152 of Shawano County's 893 square miles on soluble rock. With about 41,299 residents (46 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 241 map points about 1.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why the 17% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Shawano County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Vernon County, WI, about 131 miles southwest. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Menominee County, WI 15 mi north · 0% at surface
Waupaca County, WI 24 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Outagamie County, WI 29 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Oconto County, WI 30 mi northeast · under 1% at surface
Langlade County, WI 36 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Portage County, WI 42 mi southwest · 0% at surface

What Shawano County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Prairie du Chien Group (shale), Lower Ordovician in age, covering about 12% of the county. Next is the Sinnipee Group at 3%.

Against the rest of Wisconsin

Shawano County ranks 62 of 72 in Wisconsin for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.