Sinkhole risk in Wayne County, NE: 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: 52%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 52%

What to do about a house in Wayne County

Sinkholes are uncommon here; watch for new depressions after heavy rain or leaking pipes.

That works out to roughly 231 of Wayne County's 443 square miles on soluble rock. With about 9,870 residents (22 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 356 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Wayne County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Knox County, NE, about 49 miles northwest. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Stanton County, NE 21 mi south · 0% at surface
Dixon County, NE 23 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Pierce County, NE 25 mi west · 0% at surface
Cuming County, NE 27 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Cedar County, NE 28 mi north · 0% at surface
Thurston County, NE 31 mi east · 0% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Niobrara Formation (limestone), Late Cretaceous in age, covering about 52% of the county.

Against the rest of Nebraska

Wayne County ranks 91 of 93 in Nebraska for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.