Sinkhole risk in Jackson County, TN: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

Soluble rock at or near the surface across much of the county.

On soluble rock: 58%
At or near the surface: 58%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.

That works out to roughly 180 of Jackson County's 309 square miles on soluble rock, 180 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 12,376 residents (40 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 330 map points about 1.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Jackson County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Morgan County, TN, about 60 miles east. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Clay County, TN 15 mi northeast · 39% at surface
Smith County, TN 16 mi west · 87% at surface
Putnam County, TN 18 mi southeast · 60% at surface
Overton County, TN 22 mi east · 66% at surface
Macon County, TN 22 mi northwest · 24% at surface
Monroe County, KY 25 mi north · 48% at surface

What Jackson County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Ordovician [units] including Richmond Group (which includes Mannie Shale, Fernvale Limestone, Sequatchie Formation, and Arnheim Formation), the Maysville Group (which includes Leipers Formation), the Eden Group (which includes Inman Formation), and (shale), Ordovician in age, covering about 46% of the county. Next is the Nashville Group; Bigby-Cannon Limestone and Hermitage Formation at 10%.

Against the rest of Tennessee

Jackson County ranks 44 of 95 in Tennessee for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 89% of US counties on that measure.