Sinkhole risk in Drew County, AR: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 18%
At or near the surface: 18%
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 150 of Drew County's 829 square miles on soluble rock, 150 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 16,935 residents (20 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 376 map points about 1.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Drew County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Pontotoc County, MS, about 160 miles east. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Lincoln County, AR 26 mi north · 21% at surface
Bradley County, AR 27 mi west · 12% at surface
Ashley County, AR 28 mi south · under 1% at surface
Desha County, AR 32 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Chicot County, AR 33 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Cleveland County, AR 34 mi northwest · 33% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Jackson Group (mixed clastic/carbonate), Late Eocene in age, covering about 18% of the county.

The county also lies over the Gulf Coast salt domes, 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 Arkansas

Drew County ranks 25 of 75 in Arkansas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 73% of US counties on that measure.