SinkholeOdds

Sinkhole risk in Monroe County, TN: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock
37%
At or near the surface
37%
Buried under cover
0%

What this means before you buy

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 233 of Monroe County's 636 square miles on soluble rock, 233 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 49,154 residents (77 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 248 map points about 1.6 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 Monroe County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Loudon County, TN, about 20 miles north, 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.

What Monroe County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Unnamed (upper part of Knox Group), including Newala Formation, Mascot Dolomite, Kingsport Formation, Longview Dolomite, and Chepultepec Dolomite (dolostone (dolomite)), Ordovician in age, covering about 8% of the county. Next is the Knox Group, including Newala Formation, Mascot Dolomite, Kingsport Formation, Longview Dolomite, Chepultepec Dolomite, and Copper Ridge Dolomite at 7%.

Against the rest of Tennessee

Monroe County ranks 55 of 95 in Tennessee for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 82% of US counties on that measure.