Sinkhole risk in Lawrence County, AR: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 37%
At or near the surface: 37%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

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 219 of Lawrence County's 588 square miles on soluble rock, 219 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 16,305 residents (28 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 277 map points about 1.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Lawrence County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Randolph County, AR, about 21 miles north, 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.

Randolph County, AR 21 mi north · 60% at surface
Sharp County, AR 23 mi northwest · 100% at surface
Craighead County, AR 30 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Greene County, AR 30 mi east · 0% at surface
Jackson County, AR 31 mi south · 0% at surface
Independence County, AR 33 mi southwest · 41% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the St. Peter Sanstone and Everton Formation (Middle Ordovician) (sandstone), Middle Ordovician in age, covering about 20% of the county. Next is the Powell Dolomite at 10%.

Against the rest of Arkansas

Lawrence County ranks 14 of 75 in Arkansas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 83% of US counties on that measure.