Sinkhole risk in Latimer County, OK: 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: 2%
At or near the surface: 2%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

Sinkholes are uncommon here; watch for new depressions after heavy rain or leaking pipes.

That works out to roughly 13 of Latimer County's 722 square miles on soluble rock, 13 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 9,509 residents (13 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 342 map points about 1.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Latimer County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Cherokee County, OK, about 73 miles north. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Haskell County, OK 26 mi north · 0% at surface
Pittsburg County, OK 27 mi west · under 1% at surface
Le Flore County, OK 33 mi east · 0% at surface
Pushmataha County, OK 35 mi south · 0% at surface
McIntosh County, OK 41 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Muskogee County, OK 52 mi north · 2% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Bigfork Chert (chert), Middle Ordovician in age, covering about 1% of the county. Next is the Wapanucka Formation and Chickachoc Chert at under 1%.

Against the rest of Oklahoma

Latimer County ranks 61 of 77 in Oklahoma for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 57% of US counties on that measure.