Sinkhole risk in Cherokee County, OK: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

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

On soluble rock: 66%
At or near the surface: 66%
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 495 of Cherokee County's 749 square miles on soluble rock, 495 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 48,729 residents (65 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 322 map points about 1.5 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 Haskell County, OK, about 47 miles south. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Adair County, OK 19 mi east · 79% at surface
Wagoner County, OK 29 mi west · 2% at surface
Muskogee County, OK 29 mi southwest · 2% at surface
Mayes County, OK 31 mi northwest · 48% at surface
Sequoyah County, OK 31 mi southeast · 3% at surface
Delaware County, OK 35 mi north · 94% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Keokuk and Reeds Spring Formations and St. Joe Group (chert), Early Mississippian in age, covering about 49% of the county. Next is the Pitkin + Fayetteville + Hindsville + Moorefield Formations at 10%.

Against the rest of Oklahoma

Cherokee County ranks 5 of 77 in Oklahoma for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 92% of US counties on that measure.