Sinkhole risk in Craig County, OK: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 31%
At or near the surface: 31%
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 237 of Craig County's 761 square miles on soluble rock, 237 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 14,506 residents (19 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 379 map points about 1.4 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Craig County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Ottawa County, OK, about 23 miles east, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Ottawa County, OK 23 mi east · 63% at surface
Nowata County, OK 23 mi west · 34% at surface
Labette County, KS 30 mi north · 74% at surface
Mayes County, OK 32 mi south · 48% at surface
Delaware County, OK 34 mi southeast · 94% at surface
Cherokee County, KS 34 mi northeast · 6% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Fort Scott Limestone (limestone), Middle Pennsylvanian in age, covering about 15% of the county. Next is the Pitkin + Fayetteville + Batesville + Hindsville + Moorefield Formations at 7%.

Against the rest of Oklahoma

Craig County ranks 27 of 77 in Oklahoma for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 80% of US counties on that measure.