Sinkhole risk in Erath 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: 27%
At or near the surface: 27%
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 290 of Erath County's 1,083 square miles on soluble rock, 290 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 44,496 residents (41 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 272 map points about 2.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Erath County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Taylor County, TX, about 98 miles west. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Hood County, TX 26 mi northeast · 42% at surface
Somervell County, TX 26 mi east · 35% at surface
Comanche County, TX 28 mi southwest · 28% at surface
Palo Pinto County, TX 36 mi north · 39% at surface
Eastland County, TX 37 mi west · 19% at surface
Hamilton County, TX 37 mi south · 34% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Glen Rose Limestone (limestone), Early Cretaceous in age, covering about 27% of the county.

Against the rest of Texas

Erath County ranks 88 of 254 in Texas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 78% of US counties on that measure.