Sinkhole risk in Mitchell County, GA: Sinkhole country
Sinkhole country
Soluble rock at or near the surface across much of the county.
- On soluble rock
- 96%
- At or near the surface
- 66%
- Buried under cover
- 31%
What to do about a house in Mitchell County
Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.
That works out to roughly 493 of Mitchell County's 512 square miles on soluble rock, 337 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 20,329 residents (40 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 269 map points about 1.4 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.
Read next: why the 31% under cover still counts, and the signs to look for and how an inspection works.
Counties around Mitchell County
The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Randolph County, GA, about 49 miles northwest. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.
- Baker County, GA 17 mi west · 93% at surface
- Dougherty County, GA 21 mi north · 90% at surface
- Grady County, GA 25 mi south · 29% at surface
- Colquitt County, GA 25 mi east · 21% at surface
- Thomas County, GA 30 mi southeast · 34% at surface
- Worth County, GA 30 mi northeast · 28% at surface
What Mitchell County is built on
The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Ocala Limestone (limestone), Eocene in age, covering about 37% of the county. Next is the Suwannee Limestone and its residuum at 36%.
Against the rest of Georgia
Mitchell County ranks 10 of 159 in Georgia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 91% of US counties on that measure.
- Miller County 100%
- Baker County 93%
- Dougherty County 90%
- Dooly County 88%
- Seminole County 86%