Sinkhole risk in Cherokee County, NC: 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: 4%
At or near the surface: 4%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

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

That works out to roughly 18 of Cherokee County's 456 square miles on soluble rock, 18 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 30,373 residents (67 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 250 map points about 1.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Cherokee County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is McMinn County, TN, about 37 miles northwest, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. None of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so Cherokee County stands out from its surroundings.

Clay County, NC 18 mi east · under 1% at surface
Graham County, NC 20 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Union County, GA 21 mi south · 0% at surface
Fannin County, GA 24 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Monroe County, TN 24 mi northwest · 37% at surface
Towns County, GA 25 mi southeast · 0% at surface

What Cherokee County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Murphy Marble, Andrews Formation, and Nottely Quartzite, undivided (marble), Late Proterozoic in age, covering about 4% of the county.

Against the rest of North Carolina

Cherokee County ranks 49 of 100 in North Carolina for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 61% of US counties on that measure.