Sinkhole risk in Appomattox County, VA: 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: 2%
At or near the surface: 2%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Appomattox County

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

That works out to roughly 7 of Appomattox County's 334 square miles on soluble rock, 7 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 16,957 residents (51 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 250 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Appomattox County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Buena Vista city, VA, about 39 miles northwest, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Campbell County, VA 19 mi southwest · 2% at surface
Buckingham County, VA 21 mi northeast · under 1% at surface
Lynchburg city, VA 21 mi west · under 1% at surface
Prince Edward County, VA 23 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Amherst County, VA 26 mi northwest · under 1% at surface
Charlotte County, VA 26 mi south · 2% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Alligator Back Formation - Banded marble (marble), Proterozoic Z-Cambrian in age, covering about 2% of the county.

Against the rest of Virginia

Appomattox County ranks 75 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 58% of US counties on that measure.