Sinkhole risk in Van Wert County, OH: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

Soluble rock at the surface or under thin cover in part of the county.

On soluble rock: 100%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 100%

What this means before you buy

Check the parcel against your state survey sinkhole map, and ask for an inspection if cracks, depressions or sticking doors show up.

That works out to roughly 409 of Van Wert County's 409 square miles on soluble rock. With about 28,887 residents (71 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 319 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Van Wert County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Monroe County, MI, about 93 miles northeast. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Paulding County, OH 18 mi north · 0% at surface
Adams County, IN 20 mi west · 0% at surface
Mercer County, OH 22 mi south · 3% at surface
Allen County, OH 26 mi east · 0% at surface
Putnam County, OH 27 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Auglaize County, OH 28 mi southeast · 1% at surface

What Van Wert County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Salina Group (dolostone (dolomite)), Silurian in age, covering about 82% of the county. Next is the Tymochtee and Greenfield Formations, Undivided at 17%.

Against the rest of Ohio

Van Wert County ranks 81 of 88 in Ohio for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.