Karst Country by the Numbers: Sinkholes, Caves, and Shifting Ground in the Springfield Ozarks
Last reviewed 2026-07-25. Journalists, researchers, and community groups are welcome to cite any figure on this page with attribution and a link.
Springfield, Nixa, and Ozark sit on the Springfield Plateau — honeycombed limestone where the same geology that gives the Ozarks its springs and caves also swallows streets, yards, and sewer lines. This page collects the verified numbers on Missouri karst, from the state's official sinkhole count to the collapses that made recent local news. Every figure links to its source at the bottom.
It pairs with our homeowner companion, Karst Country Plumbing: What Sinkholes and Shifting Ground Do to Sewer Lines.
16,002
Sinkhole locations in Missouri's official state GIS database
MO DNR, queried Jul 2026
~2,500
Sinkholes located in Greene County alone
USGS karst study, 1993
8,000
Recorded caves in Missouri — 'The Cave State'
Missouri Speleological Survey, Mar 2026
≈181,000
Housing units in Greene + Christian counties sitting on karst (derived from Census counts)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 est.
The state of sinkholes
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has identified approximately 16,000 sinkholes statewide — a live query of the state's official GIS sinkhole layer in July 2026 returned exactly 16,002 known and probable locations — while noting that many more exist unreported. The largest known Missouri sinkhole covers about 700 acres, and some run more than 100 feet deep.
DNR's hazards page is specific about causes that matter to homeowners: beyond natural dissolution, 'man-made features such as septic tanks, cisterns, pipelines, broken utility lines, and old hand-dug wells' can trigger collapse — and active sinkholes are 'structurally impacting foundations of homes and other buildings.' A leaking buried line doesn't just fail in karst; it can help open the ground around itself.
Springfield's slice of karst
The Springfield Plateau Groundwater Province covers roughly 8,900 square miles — 12.8% of Missouri across 27 counties — with DNR flagging 'losing streams and sinkholes that allow surface water to flow quickly into the subsurface' as its defining vulnerability. A losing stream, by the state's definition, sends at least 30% of its flow underground in dry conditions.
Greene County is one of the most sinkhole-dense places in the state: a USGS karst study located about 2,500 sinkholes here (1993 count — the modern statewide database doesn't publish county splits). The shallow karst aquifer under Springfield yields just 15–30 gallons per minute, a sign of how fractured and fast-draining the rock is.
Recent ground movement
| Event | When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two Springfield sinkholes in two days | May 2024 | Galloway St. hole followed by a 20–25 ft deep collapse at Walnut Lawn & Cox — a corridor carrying ~6,500 vehicles a day | KY3 |
| Nixa Forest Heights sewer collapse | 2025 | A potential sinkhole destroyed a main sewer line; five homes without service for four months while the ground was stabilized | KY3 |
| Nixa home collapse | Aug 2006 | A sinkhole ~60 ft wide and 75 ft deep opened beneath a residential structure; engineers surveyed the neighborhood for further risk | Missouri State University / Gouzie & Pendergrass |
Springfield Public Works, May 2024: 'We're in a part of the country where we're extremely susceptible to sinkholes... The limestone just erodes over time and eventually gives way.'
Fast growth on slow-dissolving rock
The ground is old; the houses on it are new. Christian County (Nixa and Ozark) grew 8.9% from 2020 to mid-2025 — among the fastest rates in Missouri — and now counts 38,594 housing units at a 75.9% ownership rate. Greene County adds 142,405 units and 309,286 people. Combined, roughly 181,000 homes sit on Springfield Plateau karst (derived from the two Census counts).
The same rock is why Missouri is The Cave State: 8,000 recorded caves as of March 2026, per the Missouri Speleological Survey's running count — including Riverbluff Cave, discovered under Springfield in 2001 with fossil deposits at least 1.1 million years old. Every one of those voids started as water finding a path through limestone. The ones that matter to your house are the small, invisible versions doing the same thing under your yard — our karst plumbing guide covers the early warnings.
Sources & Methodology
Every figure above was taken from the primary sources below (accessed 2026-07-25). Where a number is derived (arithmetic on published figures) or covers a broader period or area, the text says so.
- Missouri DNR — Sinkholes (geologic hazards) — ~16,000 identified; causes; foundation impacts
- Missouri DNR GIS — official sinkhole layer (live feature count)
- USGS — Greene County karst GIS study (WRI 93-4154) — ~2,500 Greene County sinkholes (1993)
- Missouri Speleological Survey — Missouri cave count — 8,000 caves as of Mar 1, 2026
- Missouri DNR — losing streams
- Missouri DNR — Springfield Plateau Groundwater Province (PUB3002)
- KY3 — Springfield sinkholes, May 2024
- KY3 — Nixa Forest Heights sewer repair, Dec 2025
- Missouri State University BearWorks — 2006 Nixa collapse study
- KY3 — Riverbluff Cave and the Cave State
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts — Greene & Christian counties (V2025)
Quick Answers
How many sinkholes does Missouri actually have?
The Missouri DNR has identified approximately 16,000 — a July 2026 query of the state's official GIS layer returned 16,002 known and probable sinkhole locations — and the department notes many more exist undocumented. The largest known covers about 700 acres; some exceed 100 feet deep.
Are sinkholes common around Springfield?
Greene County is one of Missouri's sinkhole hot spots: a USGS karst study located about 2,500 here. They still open regularly — Springfield saw two in two days in May 2024, including one 20–25 feet deep on a street carrying ~6,500 vehicles daily. City Public Works calls the area 'extremely susceptible.'
Can karst really break a sewer line?
It works both ways. Shifting karst ground bellies, cracks, and separates buried pipes — and per Missouri DNR, leaking man-made lines (septic tanks, pipelines, broken utility lines) can themselves trigger collapse. In 2025, a potential sinkhole destroyed a Nixa neighborhood's main sewer line, leaving five homes without service for four months.
Is the area's growth happening on karst?
Almost all of it. Christian County grew 8.9% from 2020 to 2025 — among the fastest in Missouri — and combined with Greene County there are roughly 181,000 housing units on the Springfield Plateau, a ~8,900-square-mile karst province where losing streams send at least 30% of their dry-weather flow underground.