Sinkhole risk in Ben Hill County, GA: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

Soluble rock at the surface or under thin cover in part of the county.

On soluble rock: 100%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 100%

What to do about a house in Ben Hill County

Check the parcel against your state survey sinkhole map, and ask for an inspection if cracks, depressions or sticking doors show up.

That works out to roughly 250 of Ben Hill County's 250 square miles on soluble rock. With about 16,945 residents (68 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 270 map points about 1.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Ben Hill County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Crisp County, GA, about 37 miles west, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Irwin County, GA 11 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Telfair County, GA 19 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Coffee County, GA 23 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Wilcox County, GA 23 mi northwest · 28% at surface
Turner County, GA 27 mi west · 0% at surface
Tift County, GA 29 mi southwest · 5% at surface

What Ben Hill County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the "Hawthorn Formation" (sand), Miocene in age, covering about 59% of the county. Next is the Suwannee Limestone and its residuum at 41%.

Against the rest of Georgia

Ben Hill County ranks 80 of 159 in Georgia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.