SinkholeOdds

Sinkhole risk in Teton County, WY: 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
14%
At or near the surface
14%
Buried under cover
0%

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 540 of Teton County's 3,997 square miles on soluble rock, 540 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 23,272 residents (6 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 349 map points about 3.4 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Teton County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Emery County, UT, about 349 miles south. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Madison Group and Darby Formation (TB, N) or Madison Group and Three Forks and Jefferson Formations (Y) (limestone), Upper Devonian-Upper Mississippian in age, covering about 7% of the county. Next is the Bighorn Dolomite, Gallatin Limestone, and Gros Ventre Formation (TB), Bighorn Dolomite, Snowy Range Formation, Pilgrim Limestone, Park Shale, Meagher Limestone, Wolsey Shale, and Flathead Sandstone (Y), Bighorn Dolomite, Gallatin Limestone, Gros Ve at 3%.

Against the rest of Wyoming

Teton County ranks 11 of 23 in Wyoming for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 70% of US counties on that measure.