Sinkhole risk in Carter County, OK: 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: 11%
At or near the surface: 11%
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 94 of Carter County's 822 square miles on soluble rock, 94 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 49,135 residents (60 per square mile), much of the land is open, and the mapped rock may sit far from where people actually live. The figures come from 316 map points about 1.6 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Carter County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Grady County, OK, about 63 miles northwest. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Murray County, OK 20 mi northeast · 49% at surface
Love County, OK 20 mi south · 13% at surface
Garvin County, OK 32 mi north · 0% at surface
Jefferson County, OK 33 mi west · 0% at surface
Marshall County, OK 33 mi southeast · 35% at surface
Stephens County, OK 36 mi northwest · 9% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Dornick Hills Group (shale), Middle Pennsylvanian in age, covering about 4% of the county. Next is the West Spring Creek and Kindblade Formations at 3%.

Against the rest of Oklahoma

Carter County ranks 43 of 77 in Oklahoma for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 69% of US counties on that measure.