Sinkhole risk in Coleman County, TX: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

Soluble rock at the surface or under thin cover in part of the county.

On soluble rock: 36%
At or near the surface: 36%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Coleman County

Check the parcel against your state survey sinkhole map, and ask for an inspection if cracks, depressions or sticking doors show up.

That works out to roughly 453 of Coleman County's 1,263 square miles on soluble rock, 453 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 7,990 residents (6 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 382 map points about 1.8 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Coleman County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Runnels County, TX, about 38 miles west, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Brown County, TX 23 mi southeast · 19% at surface
Callahan County, TX 26 mi north · 38% at surface
Runnels County, TX 38 mi west · 52% at surface
Eastland County, TX 41 mi northeast · 19% at surface
Taylor County, TX 41 mi northwest · 66% at surface
Comanche County, TX 47 mi east · 28% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Bead Mountain Formation (shale), Permian; Leonard Series in age, covering about 9% of the county. Next is the Admiral Formation at 8%.

Against the rest of Texas

Coleman County ranks 73 of 254 in Texas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 82% of US counties on that measure.