Sinkhole risk in Hoke County, NC: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

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

On soluble rock: 83%
At or near the surface: 83%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

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

That works out to roughly 324 of Hoke County's 390 square miles on soluble rock, 324 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 55,382 residents (142 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 260 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Hoke County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Chatham County, NC, about 48 miles north. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Scotland County, NC 18 mi southwest · 91% at surface
Cumberland County, NC 23 mi east · 23% at surface
Moore County, NC 25 mi northwest · 36% at surface
Robeson County, NC 27 mi south · 89% at surface
Richmond County, NC 29 mi west · 20% at surface
Lee County, NC 32 mi north · 26% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Middendorf Formation (sand), Cretaceous in age, covering about 82% of the county. Next is the Black Creek Formation at 2%.

Against the rest of North Carolina

Hoke County ranks 9 of 100 in North Carolina for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 95% of US counties on that measure.