Sinkhole risk in Gaston County, NC: Mostly deep or small

Mostly deep or small

Some soluble rock, mostly deeply buried or in a small share of the county.

On soluble rock: 6%
At or near the surface: 6%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Sinkholes are uncommon here; watch for new depressions after heavy rain or leaking pipes.

That works out to roughly 20 of Gaston County's 356 square miles on soluble rock, 20 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 242,010 residents (680 per square mile), most of the county is built up, so a mapped unit is likely to sit under somebody's street. The figures come from 262 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Gaston County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Chesterfield County, SC, about 73 miles southeast. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Lincoln County, NC 14 mi north · 10% at surface
Mecklenburg County, NC 20 mi east · 0% at surface
Cleveland County, NC 22 mi west · 2% at surface
York County, SC 22 mi south · 0% at surface
Catawba County, NC 26 mi north · 5% at surface
Cherokee County, SC 30 mi southwest · 5% at surface

What Gaston County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Blacksburg Formation (schist), Cambrian/Late Proterozoic in age, covering about 6% of the county.

Against the rest of North Carolina

Gaston County ranks 45 of 100 in North Carolina for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 64% of US counties on that measure.