Sinkhole risk in Irion County, TX: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 65%
At or near the surface: 65%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Irion 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 679 of Irion County's 1,052 square miles on soluble rock, 679 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 1,526 residents (1 per square mile), much of the land is open, and the mapped rock may sit far from where people actually live. The figures come from 393 map points about 1.6 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Irion County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Coke County, TX, about 45 miles northeast. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Tom Green County, TX 31 mi east · 35% at surface
Reagan County, TX 32 mi west · 49% at surface
Sterling County, TX 37 mi north · 55% at surface
Schleicher County, TX 39 mi southeast · 95% at surface
Coke County, TX 45 mi northeast · 65% at surface
Crockett County, TX 48 mi southwest · 83% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Edwards Limestone (limestone), Early Cretaceous in age, covering about 62% of the county. Next is the Buda Limestone at 3%.

The county also lies over the Permian Basin, Anadarko Basin,Dalhart Basin, Palo Duro Basin, 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 Texas

Irion County ranks 30 of 254 in Texas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 91% of US counties on that measure.