Sinkhole risk in Caldwell County, NC: No soluble rock mapped

No soluble rock mapped

No soluble bedrock mapped.

On soluble rock: under 1%
At or near the surface: under 1%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

No soluble bedrock is mapped here, so natural sinkholes are unlikely. Collapses from broken pipes or old mines are a separate risk.

That works out to roughly 2 of Caldwell County's 472 square miles on soluble rock, 2 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 80,739 residents (171 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 281 map points about 1.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Caldwell County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Bristol city, VA, about 58 miles northwest. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Burke County, NC 19 mi southwest · 1% at surface
Alexander County, NC 19 mi east · 0% at surface
Watauga County, NC 22 mi northwest · 5% at surface
Avery County, NC 24 mi west · 3% at surface
Wilkes County, NC 26 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Catawba County, NC 27 mi southeast · 5% 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 under 1% of the county.

Against the rest of North Carolina

Caldwell County ranks 62 of 100 in North Carolina for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 52% of US counties on that measure.