Sinkhole risk in Houston County, GA: 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: 61%
Buried under cover: 13%

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 275 of Houston County's 376 square miles on soluble rock, 228 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 174,897 residents (465 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 261 map points about 1.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why the 13% under cover still counts, and the signs to look for and how an inspection works.

Counties around Houston County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Taylor County, GA, about 35 miles west. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Peach County, GA 13 mi northwest · 59% at surface
Pulaski County, GA 18 mi southeast · 67% at surface
Bleckley County, GA 19 mi east · 39% at surface
Twiggs County, GA 20 mi northeast · 39% at surface
Dooly County, GA 23 mi south · 88% at surface
Macon County, GA 24 mi west · 32% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Eocene undifferentiated (sand), Eocene in age, covering about 48% of the county. Next is the Suwannee Limestone and its residuum at 19%.

Against the rest of Georgia

Houston County ranks 17 of 159 in Georgia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 90% of US counties on that measure.