Sinkhole risk in Caroline County, MD: 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: 10%
At or near the surface: 10%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Caroline County

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

That works out to roughly 30 of Caroline County's 319 square miles on soluble rock, 30 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 34,248 residents (107 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 580 map points about 0.7 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Caroline County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Jefferson County, WV, about 113 miles west. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Queen Anne's County, MD 18 mi northwest · 4% at surface
Talbot County, MD 21 mi southwest · 5% at surface
Kent County, DE 24 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Sussex County, DE 30 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Kent County, MD 30 mi northwest · under 1% at surface
Dorchester County, MD 33 mi south · 0% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Chesapeake Group; Choptank Formation (sand), Miocene in age, covering about 8% of the county. Next is the Chesapeake Group; Calvert Formation at 2%.

Against the rest of Maryland

Caroline County ranks 9 of 24 in Maryland for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 68% of US counties on that measure.