Sinkhole risk in Cochran County, TX: Not karst, but voids possible
Not karst, but voids possible
No soluble bedrock; some pseudokarst (piping or lava-tube ground).
- On soluble rock
- 0%
- At or near the surface
- 0%
- Buried under cover
- 0%
The next step for one property
Not true karst, but soil piping or lava tubes can still open voids - mention it to an inspector.
Across 775 square miles, under one square mile of Cochran County maps onto soluble rock. With about 2,583 residents (3 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 381 map points about 1.4 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.
Two things to read before deciding: why gypsum and salt move faster than limestone, and how ground with no limestone still opens up.
Counties around Cochran County
The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Briscoe County, TX, about 113 miles northeast. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.
- Hockley County, TX 28 mi east · under 1% at surface
- Yoakum County, TX 31 mi south · 0% at surface
- Bailey County, TX 32 mi north · 0% at surface
- Terry County, TX 41 mi southeast · 0% at surface
- Lamb County, TX 42 mi northeast · 0% at surface
- Roosevelt County, NM 47 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Against the rest of Texas
Cochran County ranks 168 of 254 in Texas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.
- Kerr County 99%
- Edwards County 99%
- Kendall County 98%
- Kimble County 97%
- King County 97%