Sinkhole risk in White County, IN: 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: 53%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 53%

What to do about a house in White County

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

That works out to roughly 269 of White County's 505 square miles on soluble rock. With about 24,833 residents (49 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 304 map points about 1.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why the 53% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around White County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Monroe County, IN, about 111 miles south. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Carroll County, IN 19 mi southeast · under 1% at surface
Pulaski County, IN 22 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Jasper County, IN 23 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Tippecanoe County, IN 25 mi south · 0% at surface
Benton County, IN 26 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Cass County, IN 27 mi east · 4% at surface

What White County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Wabash Formation (limestone), Silurian in age, covering about 42% of the county. Next is the Muscatatuck Group at 12%.

Against the rest of Indiana

White County ranks 91 of 92 in Indiana for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.