Sinkhole risk in Essex County, VA: Pockets of it
Pockets of it
Soluble rock at the surface or under thin cover in part of the county.
- On soluble rock
- 42%
- At or near the surface
- 42%
- Buried under cover
- 0%
What to do about a house in Essex 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 Essex County's 257 square miles on soluble rock, 108 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 10,683 residents (42 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 357 map points about 0.8 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.
Read next: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.
Counties around Essex County
The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Clarke County, VA, about 99 miles northwest. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.
- Richmond County, VA 11 mi east · 23% at surface
- Westmoreland County, VA 14 mi northeast · 20% at surface
- King and Queen County, VA 15 mi south · 37% at surface
- King William County, VA 18 mi southwest · 37% at surface
- Caroline County, VA 24 mi west · 48% at surface
- King George County, VA 27 mi northwest · 45% at surface
What Essex County is built on
The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Chesapeake Group (sand), Tertiary in age, covering about 42% of the county. Next is the Lower Tertiary Deposits at under 1%.
Against the rest of Virginia
Essex County ranks 29 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 85% of US counties on that measure.
- Lexington city 100%
- Salem city 100%
- Roanoke city 98%
- Winchester city 90%
- Bristol city 89%