Sinkhole risk in Charles City County, VA: 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: 5%
At or near the surface: 5%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Charles City County

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

That works out to roughly 8 of Charles City County's 183 square miles on soluble rock, 8 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 6,564 residents (36 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 534 map points about 0.6 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Charles City County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Hertford County, NC, about 69 miles south. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

New Kent County, VA 11 mi north · 22% at surface
Hopewell city, VA 14 mi west · 14% at surface
Henrico County, VA 15 mi west · 7% at surface
Prince George County, VA 15 mi southwest · 13% at surface
James City County, VA 15 mi east · 10% at surface
Surry County, VA 19 mi southeast · 7% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Chesapeake Group (sand), Tertiary in age, covering about 5% of the county.

Against the rest of Virginia

Charles City County ranks 67 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 62% of US counties on that measure.