Sinkhole risk in Starke County, IN: 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%

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 53 of Starke County's 309 square miles on soluble rock. With about 23,463 residents (76 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 294 map points about 1.0 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 Starke County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Barry County, MI, about 113 miles northeast. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Pulaski County, IN 17 mi south · 0% at surface
LaPorte County, IN 19 mi north · 0% at surface
Marshall County, IN 20 mi east · 0% at surface
Fulton County, IN 26 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Porter County, IN 27 mi northwest · 0% at surface
St. Joseph County, IN 30 mi northeast · 0% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Muscatatuck Group (limestone), Devonian in age, covering about 17% of the county.

Against the rest of Indiana

Starke County ranks 79 of 92 in Indiana for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.