Sinkhole risk in Jenkins 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: 4%
Buried under cover: 96%

What to do about a house in Jenkins County

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 347 of Jenkins County's 347 square miles on soluble rock, 14 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 8,836 residents (25 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 269 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Jenkins County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Allendale County, SC, about 38 miles east, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Burke County, GA 18 mi north · 3% at surface
Screven County, GA 21 mi east · 5% at surface
Emanuel County, GA 24 mi southwest · 2% at surface
Candler County, GA 28 mi south · 0% at surface
Bulloch County, GA 31 mi southeast · 13% at surface
Jefferson County, GA 32 mi northwest · 8% at surface

What Jenkins County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Cooper Marl (clay or mud), Eocene in age, covering about 79% of the county. Next is the Suwannee Limestone and its residuum at 21%.

Against the rest of Georgia

Jenkins County ranks 56 of 159 in Georgia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 62% of US counties on that measure.