Sinkhole risk in Maury County, TN: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

Soluble rock at or near the surface across much of the county.

On soluble rock: 84%
At or near the surface: 84%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.

That works out to roughly 513 of Maury County's 613 square miles on soluble rock, 513 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 113,411 residents (185 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 264 map points about 1.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Maury County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Henderson County, TN, about 74 miles west. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Marshall County, TN 20 mi southeast · 94% at surface
Williamson County, TN 22 mi northeast · 72% at surface
Lewis County, TN 24 mi west · 24% at surface
Hickman County, TN 25 mi northwest · 37% at surface
Giles County, TN 29 mi south · 62% at surface
Lawrence County, TN 33 mi southwest · 21% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Nashville Group; Bigby-Cannon Limestone and Hermitage Formation (calcarenite), Ordovician in age, covering about 37% of the county. Next is the Ordovician [units] including Richmond Group (which includes Mannie Shale, Fernvale Limestone, Sequatchie Formation, and Arnheim Formation), the Maysville Group (which includes Leipers Formation), the Eden Group (which includes Inman Formation), and at 20%.

Against the rest of Tennessee

Maury County ranks 20 of 95 in Tennessee for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 95% of US counties on that measure.