Sinkhole risk in Barbour County, AL: 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: 14%
At or near the surface: 14%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

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

That works out to roughly 125 of Barbour County's 885 square miles on soluble rock, 125 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 24,358 residents (28 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 241 map points about 1.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Barbour County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Early County, GA, about 48 miles southeast. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Quitman County, GA 23 mi east · under 1% at surface
Bullock County, AL 24 mi northwest · 31% at surface
Henry County, AL 26 mi south · 20% at surface
Clay County, GA 30 mi southeast · 1% at surface
Russell County, AL 32 mi northeast · 3% at surface
Pike County, AL 32 mi west · 31% at surface

What Barbour County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Midway Group; Clayton Formation (silt), Paleocene in age, covering about 14% of the county.

Against the rest of Alabama

Barbour County ranks 37 of 67 in Alabama for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 71% of US counties on that measure.