Sinkhole risk in Fauquier County, VA: No soluble rock mapped

No soluble rock mapped

No soluble bedrock mapped.

On soluble rock: under 1%
At or near the surface: under 1%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

No soluble bedrock is mapped here, so natural sinkholes are unlikely. Collapses from broken pipes or old mines are a separate risk.

That works out to roughly 5 of Fauquier County's 648 square miles on soluble rock, 5 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 75,865 residents (117 per square mile), homes are spread across towns and farmland, and a mapped unit may or may not reach the developed parts. The figures come from 500 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Fauquier County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Clarke County, VA, about 27 miles north, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Manassas city, VA 18 mi east · under 1% at surface
Prince William County, VA 19 mi east · 2% at surface
Rappahannock County, VA 19 mi west · 0% at surface
Culpeper County, VA 19 mi south · under 1% at surface
Manassas Park city, VA 21 mi east · 0% at surface
Warren County, VA 24 mi northwest · 23% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Newark Supergroup; Jurassic Conglomerate (conglomerate), Jurassic in age, covering about under 1% of the county. Next is the Newark Supergroup; Conglomerate, mixed clasts at under 1%.

Against the rest of Virginia

Fauquier County ranks 85 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 54% of US counties on that measure.