Sinkhole risk in Jeff Davis County, TX: 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: 3%
At or near the surface: 3%
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 63 of Jeff Davis County's 2,265 square miles on soluble rock, 63 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 1,778 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 529 map points about 2.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why gypsum and salt move faster than limestone, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Jeff Davis County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Loving County, TX, about 92 miles northeast. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Presidio County, TX 43 mi south · 3% at surface
Reeves County, TX 55 mi northeast · 9% at surface
Culberson County, TX 60 mi north · 53% at surface
Brewster County, TX 80 mi southeast · 32% at surface
Pecos County, TX 88 mi east · 31% at surface
Ward County, TX 89 mi northeast · 26% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Bouquillas Formation (limestone), Late Cretaceous in age, covering about under 1% of the county. Next is the Cox Sandstone at under 1%.

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

Jeff Davis County ranks 131 of 254 in Texas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 59% of US counties on that measure.