Sinkhole risk in Burke 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: 99%
At or near the surface: 3%
Buried under cover: 96%

The next step for one property

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 817 of Burke County's 827 square miles on soluble rock, 26 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 24,472 residents (30 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 565 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Burke County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Allendale County, SC, about 37 miles east, 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.

Jenkins County, GA 18 mi south · 4% at surface
Richmond County, GA 21 mi north · 31% at surface
Jefferson County, GA 24 mi west · 8% at surface
Screven County, GA 31 mi southeast · 5% at surface
Barnwell County, SC 36 mi northeast · 45% at surface
Emanuel County, GA 37 mi southwest · 2% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the McBean Formation (clay or mud), Eocene in age, covering about 44% of the county. Next is the Cooper Marl at 40%.

Against the rest of Georgia

Burke County ranks 57 of 159 in Georgia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 60% of US counties on that measure.