Sinkhole risk in Crockett 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: 83%
At or near the surface: 83%
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 2,322 of Crockett County's 2,807 square miles on soluble rock, 2,322 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 2,799 residents (1 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 248 map points about 3.4 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why gypsum and salt move faster than limestone, and the signs to look for and how an inspection works.

Counties around Crockett County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Coke County, TX, about 92 miles northeast. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Reagan County, TX 46 mi north · 49% at surface
Irion County, TX 48 mi northeast · 65% at surface
Terrell County, TX 52 mi southwest · 88% at surface
Schleicher County, TX 53 mi east · 95% at surface
Sutton County, TX 55 mi east · 97% at surface
Upton County, TX 58 mi northwest · 30% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Edwards Limestone (limestone), Early Cretaceous in age, covering about 53% of the county. Next is the Buda Limestone at 27%.

The county also lies over the Permian Basin, Anadarko Basin,Dalhart Basin, Palo Duro Basin, 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 Texas

Crockett County ranks 17 of 254 in Texas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 95% of US counties on that measure.