Sinkhole risk in Steele County, MN: 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: 100%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 100%

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 430 of Steele County's 430 square miles on soluble rock. With about 37,434 residents (87 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 400 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 100% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Steele County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Vernon County, WI, about 124 miles east. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Waseca County, MN 18 mi west · 0% at surface
Dodge County, MN 18 mi east · 0% at surface
Rice County, MN 23 mi north · 0% at surface
Freeborn County, MN 24 mi south · 0% at surface
Mower County, MN 34 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Le Sueur County, MN 35 mi northwest · 0% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Upper and Middle Ordovician rocks, undivided (limestone), Late and Middle Ordovician in age, covering about 86% of the county. Next is the Decorah Shale (Middle Ordovician) at 12%.

Against the rest of Minnesota

Steele County ranks 76 of 87 in Minnesota for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.