Sinkhole risk in Love 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: 13%
At or near the surface: 13%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Love County

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

That works out to roughly 65 of Love County's 514 square miles on soluble rock, 65 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 10,423 residents (20 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 244 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 Love County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Grady County, OK, about 82 miles northwest. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Carter County, OK 20 mi north · 11% at surface
Cooke County, TX 22 mi south · 52% at surface
Marshall County, OK 28 mi east · 35% at surface
Montague County, TX 34 mi southwest · 4% at surface
Jefferson County, OK 35 mi west · 0% at surface
Murray County, OK 38 mi north · 49% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Caddo Formation (limestone), Early Cretaceous in age, covering about 7% of the county. Next is the Goodland Limestone and Walnut Clay at 4%.

Against the rest of Oklahoma

Love County ranks 41 of 77 in Oklahoma for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 70% of US counties on that measure.