Sinkhole risk in Covington city, VA: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 26%
At or near the surface: 26%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

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 1 of Covington city's 5 square miles on soluble rock, 1 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 5,663 residents (1,035 per square mile), most of the county is built up, so a mapped unit is likely to sit under somebody's street. The figures come from 559 map points about 0.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Covington city

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Rockbridge County, VA, about 29 miles east, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Alleghany County, VA 1 mi west · 18% at surface
Botetourt County, VA 18 mi southeast · 49% at surface
Bath County, VA 24 mi northeast · 24% at surface
Craig County, VA 25 mi southwest · 34% at surface
Greenbrier County, WV 27 mi west · 35% at surface
Rockbridge County, VA 29 mi east · 57% at surface

What Covington city is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Ridgeley Sandstone, Helderberg and Cayugan Groups (sandstone), Silurian-Devonian in age, covering about 26% of the county.

Against the rest of Virginia

Covington city ranks 39 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 78% of US counties on that measure.