Sinkhole risk in Cleburne County, AL: 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: 2%
At or near the surface: 2%
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 12 of Cleburne County's 560 square miles on soluble rock, 12 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 15,905 residents (28 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 493 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Cleburne County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Calhoun County, AL, about 19 miles west, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. None of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so Cleburne County stands out from its surroundings.

Haralson County, GA 19 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Calhoun County, AL 19 mi west · 52% at surface
Carroll County, GA 26 mi east · 0% at surface
Randolph County, AL 26 mi south · 0% at surface
Cherokee County, AL 29 mi north · 57% at surface
Polk County, GA 29 mi northeast · 66% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Shady Dolomite (dolostone (dolomite)), Cambrian in age, covering about 2% of the county. Next is the Knox Group undifferentiated in part at under 1%.

Against the rest of Alabama

Cleburne County ranks 50 of 67 in Alabama for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 58% of US counties on that measure.