Sinkhole risk in Itawamba County, MS: 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: 4%
At or near the surface: 4%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

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

That works out to roughly 20 of Itawamba County's 533 square miles on soluble rock, 20 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 24,198 residents (45 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 380 map points about 1.2 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 Itawamba County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Lee County, MS, about 18 miles west, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Lee County, MS 18 mi west · 62% at surface
Prentiss County, MS 25 mi north · 24% at surface
Monroe County, MS 28 mi south · 31% at surface
Marion County, AL 29 mi east · 0% at surface
Franklin County, AL 32 mi east · 31% at surface
Tishomingo County, MS 32 mi north · 10% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Mooreville chalk (carbonate), Upper Cretaceous in age, covering about 4% of the county.

Against the rest of Mississippi

Itawamba County ranks 28 of 82 in Mississippi for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 61% of US counties on that measure.