Sinkhole risk in Buncombe County, NC: 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: 3%
At or near the surface: 3%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Buncombe County

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

That works out to roughly 22 of Buncombe County's 656 square miles on soluble rock, 22 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 279,210 residents (425 per square mile), homes are spread across towns and farmland, and a mapped unit may or may not reach the developed parts. The figures come from 240 map points about 1.7 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Buncombe County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Cocke County, TN, about 39 miles northwest, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Henderson County, NC 19 mi south · 3% at surface
Madison County, NC 20 mi northwest · 3% at surface
Yancey County, NC 23 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Haywood County, NC 26 mi west · under 1% at surface
McDowell County, NC 28 mi east · 4% at surface
Polk County, NC 31 mi southeast · 0% at surface

What Buncombe County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Rocks of Brevard Fault Zone (schist), Uncertain, possibly Permian or Devonian in age, covering about 3% of the county.

Against the rest of North Carolina

Buncombe County ranks 51 of 100 in North Carolina for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 60% of US counties on that measure.