Sinkhole risk in Hawkins County, TN: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

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

On soluble rock: 73%
At or near the surface: 73%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Hawkins County

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

That works out to roughly 357 of Hawkins County's 487 square miles on soluble rock, 357 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 59,371 residents (122 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 553 map points about 0.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Hawkins County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Leslie County, KY, about 51 miles northwest. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Hancock County, TN 17 mi west · 65% at surface
Greene County, TN 19 mi south · 88% at surface
Lee County, VA 20 mi northwest · 67% at surface
Hamblen County, TN 25 mi southwest · 99% at surface
Scott County, VA 25 mi northeast · 72% at surface
Washington County, TN 27 mi southeast · 88% at surface

What Hawkins County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Sevier Shale (shale), Ordovician in age, covering about 26% of the county. Next is the Maynardville Limestone, Nolichucky Shale, Honaker Dolomite, Maryville Limestone, Rogersville Shale, Rutledge Limestone, Pumpkin Valley Shale at 10%.

Against the rest of Tennessee

Hawkins County ranks 29 of 95 in Tennessee for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 93% of US counties on that measure.