Sinkhole risk in Clarke County, MS: 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: 14%
At or near the surface: 14%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

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

That works out to roughly 97 of Clarke County's 692 square miles on soluble rock, 97 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 15,155 residents (22 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 351 map points about 1.4 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Clarke County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Noxubee County, MS, about 74 miles north. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Lauderdale County, MS 25 mi north · 0% at surface
Jasper County, MS 25 mi west · 21% at surface
Choctaw County, AL 26 mi east · 5% at surface
Wayne County, MS 28 mi south · 17% at surface
Newton County, MS 35 mi northwest · 21% at surface
Jones County, MS 41 mi southwest · under 1% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Cook Mountain formation (sand), Eocene in age, covering about 9% of the county. Next is the Forest Hill formation and Red Bluff clay at 4%.

The county also lies over the Gulf Coast salt domes, 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 Mississippi

Clarke County ranks 20 of 82 in Mississippi for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 71% of US counties on that measure.