Sinkhole risk in Jones County, GA: 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: 16%
At or near the surface: 11%
Buried under cover: 5%

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 65 of Jones County's 394 square miles on soluble rock, 44 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 29,047 residents (74 per square mile), homes are spread across towns and farmland, and a mapped unit may or may not reach the developed parts. The figures come from 250 map points about 1.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: why the 5% under cover still counts, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Jones County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Peach County, GA, about 35 miles southwest, 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.

Bibb County, GA 17 mi southwest · 6% at surface
Baldwin County, GA 18 mi east · 21% at surface
Monroe County, GA 21 mi west · 0% at surface
Jasper County, GA 22 mi north · 0% at surface
Putnam County, GA 23 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Twiggs County, GA 26 mi south · 39% 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 16% of the county.

Against the rest of Georgia

Jones County ranks 44 of 159 in Georgia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 69% of US counties on that measure.