Sinkhole risk in Isle of Wight County, 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: 5%
At or near the surface: 5%
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 15 of Isle of Wight County's 316 square miles on soluble rock, 15 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 40,942 residents (130 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 385 map points about 0.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Isle of Wight County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Hertford County, NC, about 40 miles south. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Suffolk city, VA 15 mi south · 4% at surface
Newport News city, VA 16 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Surry County, VA 18 mi northwest · 7% at surface
Portsmouth city, VA 20 mi east · 0% at surface
Franklin city, VA 20 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Hampton city, VA 25 mi northeast · 0% at surface

What Isle of Wight County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Chesapeake Group (sand), Tertiary in age, covering about 5% of the county.

Against the rest of Virginia

Isle of Wight County ranks 65 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 62% of US counties on that measure.