Sinkhole risk in Creek 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: 15%
At or near the surface: 15%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

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 146 of Creek County's 950 square miles on soluble rock, 146 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 73,971 residents (78 per square mile), homes are spread across towns and farmland, and a mapped unit may or may not reach the developed parts. The figures come from 324 map points about 1.7 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 Creek County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Cherokee County, OK, about 77 miles east. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Tulsa County, OK 29 mi northeast · 9% at surface
Okmulgee County, OK 30 mi southeast · under 1% at surface
Okfuskee County, OK 31 mi south · 10% at surface
Lincoln County, OK 31 mi southwest · 28% at surface
Pawnee County, OK 33 mi northwest · 31% at surface
Payne County, OK 35 mi west · 18% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Nellie Bly Formation and Hogshooter Limestone (shale), Middle Pennsylvanian in age, covering about 13% of the county. Next is the Dewey Formation or Dewey Limestone at 2%.

Against the rest of Oklahoma

Creek County ranks 36 of 77 in Oklahoma for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 72% of US counties on that measure.