Sinkhole risk in Gillespie 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: 89%
At or near the surface: 89%
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 937 of Gillespie County's 1,058 square miles on soluble rock, 937 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 28,159 residents (27 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 392 map points about 1.6 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Gillespie County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Runnels County, TX, about 122 miles northwest. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Kendall County, TX 30 mi southeast · 98% at surface
Llano County, TX 31 mi northeast · 11% at surface
Mason County, TX 32 mi northwest · 46% at surface
Kerr County, TX 32 mi southwest · 99% at surface
Blanco County, TX 33 mi east · 90% at surface
Bandera County, TX 43 mi southwest · 96% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Edwards Limestone (limestone), Early Cretaceous in age, covering about 46% of the county. Next is the Hensell Sand at 23%.

Against the rest of Texas

Gillespie County ranks 14 of 254 in Texas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 96% of US counties on that measure.