Sinkhole risk in Hopewell city, VA: 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: 14%
At or near the surface: 14%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

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

That works out to roughly 1 of Hopewell city's 10 square miles on soluble rock, 1 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 22,970 residents (2,218 per square mile), most of the county is built up, so a mapped unit is likely to sit under somebody's street. The figures come from 266 map points about 0.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Hopewell city

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Hertford County, NC, about 66 miles south. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Colonial Heights city, VA 6 mi west · 12% at surface
Petersburg city, VA 8 mi southwest · 17% at surface
Prince George County, VA 8 mi southeast · 13% at surface
Henrico County, VA 10 mi north · 7% at surface
Charles City County, VA 14 mi east · 5% at surface
Chesterfield County, VA 17 mi west · 2% at surface

What Hopewell city is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Lower Tertiary Deposits (sand), Tertiary in age, covering about 14% of the county. Next is the Chesapeake Group at under 1%.

Against the rest of Virginia

Hopewell city ranks 49 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 71% of US counties on that measure.