Sinkhole risk in Chattooga County, GA: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

Soluble rock at or near the surface across much of the county.

On soluble rock: 59%
At or near the surface: 59%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Chattooga County

Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.

That works out to roughly 186 of Chattooga County's 313 square miles on soluble rock, 186 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 25,306 residents (81 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 253 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Chattooga County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Paulding County, GA, about 47 miles southeast. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Floyd County, GA 16 mi southeast · 64% at surface
Walker County, GA 18 mi north · 66% at surface
DeKalb County, AL 26 mi west · 21% at surface
Gordon County, GA 27 mi east · 61% at surface
Dade County, GA 28 mi north · 39% at surface
Whitfield County, GA 31 mi northeast · 74% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Knox Group undifferentiated (dolostone (dolomite)), Ordovician-Cambrian in age, covering about 25% of the county. Next is the Conasauga Group; Middle unit; Shale unit at 13%.

Against the rest of Georgia

Chattooga County ranks 18 of 159 in Georgia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 90% of US counties on that measure.