Sinkhole risk in Charlotte 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: 2%
At or near the surface: 2%
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 9 of Charlotte County's 475 square miles on soluble rock, 9 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 11,258 residents (24 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 517 map points about 1.0 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 Charlotte County

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

Prince Edward County, VA 19 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Halifax County, VA 23 mi southwest · under 1% at surface
Lunenburg County, VA 23 mi east · 0% at surface
Appomattox County, VA 26 mi north · 2% at surface
Mecklenburg County, VA 27 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Campbell County, VA 28 mi northwest · 2% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Newark Supergroup; Conglomerate, mixed clasts (conglomerate), Triassic in age, covering about 2% of the county.

Against the rest of Virginia

Charlotte County ranks 76 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 57% of US counties on that measure.