Sinkhole risk in Mercer County, WV: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 39%
At or near the surface: 39%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Mercer 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 163 of Mercer County's 419 square miles on soluble rock, 163 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 57,524 residents (137 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 240 map points about 1.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Mercer County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Summers County, WV, about 22 miles northeast, 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.

Bland County, VA 19 mi south · 31% at surface
Summers County, WV 22 mi northeast · 73% at surface
Giles County, VA 23 mi east · 65% at surface
Raleigh County, WV 26 mi north · 2% at surface
Wyoming County, WV 28 mi northwest · 0% at surface
McDowell County, WV 30 mi west · 0% at surface

What Mercer County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Hinton Formation (shale), Mississippian in age, covering about 28% of the county. Next is the Bluefield Formation at 3%.

Against the rest of West Virginia

Mercer County ranks 5 of 55 in West Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 83% of US counties on that measure.