Sinkhole risk in Dougherty County, GA: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

Soluble rock at or near the surface across much of the county.

On soluble rock: 92%
At or near the surface: 90%
Buried under cover: 2%

The next step for one property

Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.

That works out to roughly 304 of Dougherty County's 329 square miles on soluble rock, 297 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 82,418 residents (251 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 340 map points about 1.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Dougherty County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Randolph County, GA, about 36 miles northwest. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Lee County, GA 20 mi north · 75% at surface
Baker County, GA 21 mi southwest · 93% at surface
Mitchell County, GA 21 mi south · 66% at surface
Worth County, GA 21 mi east · 28% at surface
Terrell County, GA 22 mi northwest · 16% at surface
Calhoun County, GA 25 mi west · 40% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Ocala Limestone (limestone), Eocene in age, covering about 85% of the county. Next is the Suwannee Limestone and its residuum at 7%.

Against the rest of Georgia

Dougherty County ranks 3 of 159 in Georgia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 97% of US counties on that measure.