Sinkhole risk in Cherokee County, AL: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

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

On soluble rock: 57%
At or near the surface: 57%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Cherokee County

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

That works out to roughly 316 of Cherokee County's 554 square miles on soluble rock, 316 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 26,138 residents (47 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 611 map points about 1.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Cherokee County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Haralson County, GA, about 31 miles southeast. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Etowah County, AL 22 mi west · 46% at surface
Calhoun County, AL 23 mi southwest · 52% at surface
Polk County, GA 27 mi east · 66% at surface
DeKalb County, AL 28 mi north · 21% at surface
Floyd County, GA 29 mi northeast · 64% at surface
Cleburne County, AL 29 mi south · 2% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Conasauga Formation (limestone), Cambrian in age, covering about 26% of the county. Next is the Knox Group undifferentiated in part at 21%.

Against the rest of Alabama

Cherokee County ranks 7 of 67 in Alabama for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 89% of US counties on that measure.