Sinkhole risk in Conecuh County, AL: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 69%
At or near the surface: 16%
Buried under cover: 53%

What to do about a house in Conecuh 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 583 of Conecuh County's 850 square miles on soluble rock, 135 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 11,109 residents (13 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 491 map points about 1.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Conecuh County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Geneva County, AL, about 73 miles east. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Escambia County, AL 24 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Monroe County, AL 25 mi northwest · 12% at surface
Butler County, AL 29 mi northeast · 25% at surface
Covington County, AL 34 mi east · 4% at surface
Wilcox County, AL 43 mi northwest · 27% at surface
Crenshaw County, AL 44 mi northeast · 30% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Oligocene Series undifferentiated (limestone), Oligocene in age, covering about 31% of the county. Next is the Jackson Group undifferentiated at 22%.

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 Alabama

Conecuh County ranks 35 of 67 in Alabama for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 72% of US counties on that measure.