Sinkhole risk in Hampton County, SC: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

Soluble rock at or near the surface across much of the county.

On soluble rock: 100%
At or near the surface: 70%
Buried under cover: 31%

What this means before you buy

Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.

That works out to roughly 560 of Hampton County's 560 square miles on soluble rock, 389 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 18,172 residents (32 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 499 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why the 31% under cover still counts, and the signs to look for and how an inspection works.

Counties around Hampton County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Saluda County, SC, about 91 miles north. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Allendale County, SC 19 mi northwest · 76% at surface
Jasper County, SC 25 mi south · 21% at surface
Screven County, GA 28 mi west · 5% at surface
Colleton County, SC 29 mi east · 48% at surface
Bamberg County, SC 30 mi north · 84% at surface
Effingham County, GA 31 mi south · 18% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Duplin Formation (sand), Pliocene in age, covering about 50% of the county.

Against the rest of South Carolina

Hampton County ranks 10 of 46 in South Carolina for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 92% of US counties on that measure.