Sinkhole risk in Hancock County, WV: 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: 2%
At or near the surface: 2%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Hancock County

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

That works out to roughly 1 of Hancock County's 83 square miles on soluble rock, 1 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 28,054 residents (340 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 284 map points about 0.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why gypsum and salt move faster than limestone, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Hancock County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Winchester city, VA, about 157 miles southeast. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Jefferson County, OH 13 mi southwest · 31% at surface
Beaver County, PA 16 mi northeast · 9% at surface
Brooke County, WV 17 mi south · 38% at surface
Columbiana County, OH 21 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Washington County, PA 28 mi southeast · 31% at surface
Carroll County, OH 28 mi west · 0% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Monongahela Group (sandstone), Pennsylvanian in age, covering about 2% of the county.

The county also lies over the Michigan Basin; Ohio Basin; Appalachian Basin, a deep salt or gypsum basin. Deep beds rarely cause surface collapse on their own, but wells and mining into them have.

Against the rest of West Virginia

Hancock County ranks 25 of 55 in West Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 57% of US counties on that measure.