Sinkhole risk in Tooele County, UT: 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: 10%
At or near the surface: 10%
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 732 of Tooele County's 7,040 square miles on soluble rock, 732 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 84,488 residents (12 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 365 map points about 4.4 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 Tooele County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Emery County, UT, about 163 miles southeast. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Juab County, UT 55 mi south · 11% at surface
Davis County, UT 62 mi northeast · under 1% at surface
Salt Lake County, UT 64 mi east · 15% at surface
Box Elder County, UT 80 mi north · 12% at surface
Utah County, UT 80 mi east · 22% at surface
Weber County, UT 86 mi northeast · 9% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Pennsylvanian and Permian sedimentary rocks in western Utah (sandstone), Pennsylvanian to Permian in age, covering about 3% of the county. Next is the Mississippian (2) sedimentary rocks in western Utah at 1%.

Against the rest of Utah

Tooele County ranks 15 of 29 in Utah for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 68% of US counties on that measure.