Sinkhole risk in Monroe County, WV: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

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

On soluble rock: 69%
At or near the surface: 69%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Monroe County

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

That works out to roughly 326 of Monroe County's 473 square miles on soluble rock, 326 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 12,462 residents (26 per square mile), much of the land is open, and the mapped rock may sit far from where people actually live. The figures come from 566 map points about 0.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Monroe County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Fayette County, WV, about 44 miles northwest. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Summers County, WV 18 mi northwest · 73% at surface
Giles County, VA 18 mi southwest · 65% at surface
Craig County, VA 18 mi east · 34% at surface
Roanoke County, VA 25 mi southeast · 33% at surface
Greenbrier County, WV 26 mi north · 35% at surface
Montgomery County, VA 28 mi south · 64% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Bluefield Formation (shale), Mississippian in age, covering about 27% of the county. Next is the Greenbrier Group at 21%.

Against the rest of West Virginia

Monroe County ranks 3 of 55 in West Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 92% of US counties on that measure.