Sinkhole risk in Chaves County, NM: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

Soluble rock at the surface or under thin cover in part of the county.

On soluble rock: 45%
At or near the surface: 45%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Check the parcel against your state survey sinkhole map, and ask for an inspection if cracks, depressions or sticking doors show up.

That works out to roughly 2,712 of Chaves County's 6,067 square miles on soluble rock, 2,712 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 63,697 residents (10 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 546 map points about 3.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Chaves County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Eddy County, NM, about 63 miles south. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Lincoln County, NM 62 mi northwest · 65% at surface
Eddy County, NM 63 mi south · 41% at surface
De Baca County, NM 69 mi north · 23% at surface
Lea County, NM 73 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Roosevelt County, NM 73 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Otero County, NM 90 mi southwest · 59% at surface

What Chaves County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the San Andres Formation (carbonate), Permian in age, covering about 32% of the county. Next is the Artesia Group at 12%.

12% of the county sits on gypsum or salt, which dissolves in years rather than millennia. That share matters more than its size suggests.

The county also lies over the Permian Basin, Anadarko Basin,Dalhart Basin, Palo Duro Basin, a deep salt or gypsum basin. Deep beds rarely cause surface collapse on their own, but wells and mining into them have.

Against the rest of New Mexico

Chaves County ranks 3 of 33 in New Mexico for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 86% of US counties on that measure.