Sinkhole risk in Burke 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: 1%
At or near the surface: 1%
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 5 of Burke County's 506 square miles on soluble rock, 5 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 88,545 residents (175 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 492 map points about 1.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Burke County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Washington County, TN, about 58 miles northwest. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Caldwell County, NC 19 mi northeast · under 1% at surface
McDowell County, NC 20 mi west · 4% at surface
Avery County, NC 26 mi northwest · 3% at surface
Rutherford County, NC 27 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Catawba County, NC 28 mi east · 5% at surface
Cleveland County, NC 30 mi south · 2% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Rocks of Brevard Fault Zone (schist), Uncertain, possibly Permian or Devonian in age, covering about 1% of the county.

Against the rest of North Carolina

Burke County ranks 60 of 100 in North Carolina for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 55% of US counties on that measure.