Sinkhole risk in Jefferson County, GA: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 100%
At or near the surface: 8%
Buried under cover: 92%

What this means before you buy

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 527 of Jefferson County's 527 square miles on soluble rock, 44 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 15,019 residents (29 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 569 map points about 1.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: why the 92% under cover still counts, and the signs to look for and how an inspection works.

Counties around Jefferson County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Aiken County, SC, about 57 miles northeast. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Glascock County, GA 16 mi northwest · 12% at surface
Washington County, GA 23 mi west · 10% at surface
Burke County, GA 24 mi east · 3% at surface
Warren County, GA 28 mi northwest · 3% at surface
Johnson County, GA 29 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Richmond County, GA 29 mi northeast · 31% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Lower Tertiary-Cretaceous undifferentiated (sand), Lower Tertiary-Cretaceous in age, covering about 68% of the county. Next is the Cooper Marl at 24%.

Against the rest of Georgia

Jefferson County ranks 47 of 159 in Georgia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 66% of US counties on that measure.