Sinkhole risk in Stevens County, KS: Not karst, but voids possible

Not karst, but voids possible

No soluble bedrock; some pseudokarst (piping or lava-tube ground).

On soluble rock: 0%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Not true karst, but soil piping or lava tubes can still open voids - mention it to an inspector.

Across 727 square miles, under one square mile of Stevens County maps onto soluble rock. With about 5,035 residents (7 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 396 map points about 1.4 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: why gypsum and salt move faster than limestone, and how ground with no limestone still opens up.

Counties around Stevens County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Clark County, KS, about 83 miles east. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Grant County, KS 24 mi north · 0% at surface
Seward County, KS 25 mi east · under 1% at surface
Morton County, KS 27 mi west · under 1% at surface
Texas County, OK 33 mi south · 2% at surface
Haskell County, KS 34 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Stanton County, KS 36 mi northwest · 3% at surface

Against the rest of Kansas

Stevens County ranks 105 of 105 in Kansas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.