SinkholeOdds

Sinkhole risk in Decatur County, TN: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock
32%
At or near the surface
32%
Buried under cover
0%

What to do about a house in Decatur 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 108 of Decatur County's 334 square miles on soluble rock, 108 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 11,800 residents (35 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 282 map points about 1.1 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 Decatur County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Houston County, TN, about 52 miles northeast. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Silurian Formations, including Decatur Limestone, Brownsport Group (Lobelville Formation, Bob Limestone, Beech River Formation), Wayne Group (Dixon Formation, Lego Formation, Waldron Shale, Laurel Limestone, Osgood Formation) and Brassfield Limestone (limestone), Silurian in age, covering about 21% of the county. Next is the Devonian Formations, includes Pegram Formation, Camden Formation, Harriman Formation, Flat Gap Limestone, and Ross Formation at 11%.

Against the rest of Tennessee

Decatur County ranks 57 of 95 in Tennessee for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 81% of US counties on that measure.