BasementSoil

Wyoming: basement moisture and foundation risk by county

23 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is Niobrara County (55), lowest is Hot Springs County (22). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in Niobrara County.

Where in Wyoming the ground is worse

Every county in the state, coloured by the soil values below. Click a county to open its report; switch what the colour means with the buttons. The pattern is geology, not administration — risk stops at the edge of a physiographic region, not at a county line.

Albany County, WY — combined 46/100, moisture 41, movement 63, water table 30Big Horn County, WY — combined 31/100, moisture 30, movement 23, water table 46Campbell County, WY — combined 52/100, moisture 40, movement 85, water table 30Carbon County, WY — combined 24/100, moisture 29, movement 14, water table 30Converse County, WY — combined 50/100, moisture 37, movement 84, water table 30Crook County, WY — combined 44/100, moisture 40, movement 70, water table 16Fremont County, WY — combined 36/100, moisture 36, movement 39, water table 30Goshen County, WY — combined 47/100, moisture 39, movement 70, water table 30Hot Springs County, WY — combined 22/100, moisture 29, movement 15, water table 16Johnson County, WY — combined 33/100, moisture 29, movement 29, water table 46Laramie County, WY — combined 44/100, moisture 40, movement 61, water table 30Lincoln County, WY — combined 30/100, moisture 34, movement 36, water table 16Natrona County, WY — combined 27/100, moisture 31, movement 18, water table 30Niobrara County, WY — combined 55/100, moisture 38, movement 98, water table 30Park County, WY — combined 26/100, moisture 29, movement 19, water table 30Platte County, WY — combined 46/100, moisture 41, movement 65, water table 30Sheridan County, WY — combined 25/100, moisture 29, movement 16, water table 30Sublette County, WY — combined 39/100, moisture 34, movement 52, water table 30Sweetwater County, WY — combined 33/100, moisture 33, movement 36, water table 30Teton County, WY — combined 30/100, moisture 28, movement 20, water table 46Uinta County, WY — combined 46/100, moisture 34, movement 73, water table 30Washakie County, WY — combined 31/100, moisture 32, movement 30, water table 30Weston County, WY — combined 52/100, moisture 40, movement 96, water table 16
  • Low (0–27)
  • Moderate (28–49)
  • Elevated (50–74)
  • High (75–100)

County boundaries: US Census TIGER (public domain), simplified for display. Colours are our index from USDA SSURGO fields where loaded, otherwise from our regional model — each county page states which. How the index is calculated.

CountyIndexMoistureCracksWater tableRegion
Niobrara County55389830Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Campbell County52408530Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Weston County52409616Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Converse County50378430Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Goshen County47397030Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Albany County46416330Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Platte County46416530Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Uinta County46347330Basin and Range
Crook County44407016Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Laramie County44406130Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Sublette County39345230Basin and Range
Fremont County36363930Basin and Range
Johnson County33292946Rocky Mountains
Sweetwater County33333630Basin and Range
Big Horn County31302346Rocky Mountains
Washakie County31323030Rocky Mountains
Lincoln County30343616Basin and Range
Teton County30282046Rocky Mountains
Natrona County27311830Rocky Mountains
Park County26291930Rocky Mountains
Sheridan County25291630Rocky Mountains
Carbon County24291430Rocky Mountains
Hot Springs County22291516Rocky Mountains

Values from USDA NRCS SSURGO where available, otherwise our regional model — each county page states which. Methodology.

The physiographic regions inside Wyoming

State lines are political; soil follows geology. These are the distinct ground types inside Wyoming and why each behaves the way it does.

Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)

The water table is deep, so basements rarely flood — but Pierre Shale is one of the most expansive substrates in North America. The risk here is mechanical, not hydraulic.

9 counties: Albany County, Campbell County, Converse County, Crook County, Goshen County, Laramie County, Niobrara County, Platte County, Weston County

Rocky Mountains

Shallow bedrock and coarse material. Basements are shallow or absent, and the problem is spring meltwater rather than a water table.

9 counties: Big Horn County, Carbon County, Hot Springs County, Johnson County, Natrona County, Park County, Sheridan County, Teton County, Washakie County

Basin and Range

Semi-arid, but the lacustrine clays on the basin floors are expansive while parts of the fans are collapsible — they settle when wetted. Two opposite failure modes in one metropolitan area.

5 counties: Fremont County, Lincoln County, Sublette County, Sweetwater County, Uinta County

Page data updated