Ground motion by city › Colorado Springs, CO

Is the ground sinking in Colorado Springs, CO?

Satellite radar (NASA OPERA / Sentinel-1 InSAR) has measured the vertical ground motion under central Colorado Springs since 2016. Here is the current rate — the ground is stable.

+0.2 mm/yr (+0.01 in/yr) ± 4.0
Direction unclear
Last satellite observation: 20251018 · Confidence: 74% · Trend fit over 8.5 years

In plain terms, the long-term trend is within the margin of error — the ground could be stable, sinking, or rising. This is the reading for the city center; the rate can vary block to block, so check the exact address you care about:

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See the full Colorado Springs report · Ground-motion map · developers: API docs.

What this means for Colorado Springs

Ground subsidence — land slowly sinking — can crack foundations, break underground pipes, and worsen flood risk over years. Uplift (rising ground) is usually driven by soil/clay swelling or groundwater rebound. What stresses a building is uneven movement between nearby points, so a single rate is a screening signal: use it to decide whether a closer geotechnical look is worth it.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if the ground is sinking in Colorado Springs?

Satellite radar (InSAR) has measured how the ground across Colorado Springs has moved, in millimeters per year, since 2016. Negative means sinking (subsidence); positive means rising (uplift). SibFly reads that measurement for any specific Colorado Springs address.

What subsidence rate is concerning?

As rough screening bands on the vertical rate: under about 3 mm/year is essentially stable; 3 to 8 mm/year is notable subsidence worth monitoring; more than 8 mm/year is rapid subsidence worth a closer look. Foundations are stressed by UNEVEN movement between nearby points, not uniform sinking.

Is this measured or estimated?

Measured, not modeled: NASA's OPERA project processes Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar into ground motion on a 30-meter grid. SibFly reports the value for the exact cell an address falls in, with an uncertainty range and the date of the last observation. It is a screening estimate, not an engineering or survey-grade determination.

Is checking an address free?

Checking whether an address is covered is free. A full measured report is a small flat fee ($0.40). Addresses with no coverage or no reliable radar return are never charged.

Can I get this data for many Colorado Springs addresses at once?

Yes. SibFly is also a developer and AI-agent API with batch lookups, a hosted MCP server, and self-service signup. See the docs at sibfly.com/docs.

Other US cities

Houston, TX
-0.1 mm/yr
San Antonio, TX
-2.8 mm/yr
Austin, TX
+4.4 mm/yr
Dallas, TX
-0.5 mm/yr
El Paso, TX
+0.3 mm/yr
Las Vegas, NV
-5.3 mm/yr
Reno, NV
-4.1 mm/yr
Phoenix, AZ
-0.1 mm/yr
Tucson, AZ
+1.0 mm/yr
Los Angeles, CA
+0.3 mm/yr

See all covered cities →

Screening estimate from satellite radar (NASA OPERA / Sentinel-1 InSAR) at 30 m resolution. Not an engineering or survey-grade determination. © SIB Scientific.