Sinkhole risk in Hinds County, MS: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

Soluble rock at the surface or under thin cover in part of the county.

On soluble rock: 24%
At or near the surface: 24%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Hinds County

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 207 of Hinds County's 870 square miles on soluble rock, 207 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 211,975 residents (244 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 252 map points about 1.9 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 the signs to look for and how an inspection works.

Counties around Hinds County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Oktibbeha County, MS, about 122 miles northeast. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Warren County, MS 23 mi west · 18% at surface
Copiah County, MS 28 mi south · 0% at surface
Rankin County, MS 30 mi east · 13% at surface
Claiborne County, MS 33 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Yazoo County, MS 35 mi north · 3% at surface
Madison County, MS 36 mi northeast · under 1% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Vicksburg group and Chickasawhay limestone (limestone), Oligocene in age, covering about 24% of the county.

The county also lies over the Gulf Coast salt domes, 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 Mississippi

Hinds County ranks 14 of 82 in Mississippi for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 77% of US counties on that measure.