Sinkhole risk in Lowndes County, MS: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 44%
At or near the surface: 44%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Lowndes 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 223 of Lowndes County's 506 square miles on soluble rock, 223 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 57,210 residents (113 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 270 map points about 1.4 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Lowndes County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Clay County, MS, about 24 miles northwest, 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.

Pickens County, AL 23 mi southeast · 4% at surface
Clay County, MS 24 mi northwest · 94% at surface
Oktibbeha County, MS 25 mi west · 94% at surface
Noxubee County, MS 26 mi south · 88% at surface
Monroe County, MS 29 mi north · 31% at surface
Lamar County, AL 30 mi northeast · 0% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Demopolis chalk (carbonate), Upper Cretaceous in age, covering about 26% of the county. Next is the Mooreville chalk at 19%.

Against the rest of Mississippi

Lowndes County ranks 9 of 82 in Mississippi for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 85% of US counties on that measure.