Sinkhole risk in Moore County, NC: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 36%
At or near the surface: 36%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

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 253 of Moore County's 698 square miles on soluble rock, 253 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 108,417 residents (155 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 585 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Moore County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Hoke County, NC, about 25 miles southeast, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Lee County, NC 21 mi northeast · 26% at surface
Montgomery County, NC 24 mi west · 8% at surface
Hoke County, NC 25 mi southeast · 83% at surface
Richmond County, NC 26 mi southwest · 20% at surface
Chatham County, NC 31 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Scotland County, NC 32 mi south · 91% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Middendorf Formation (sand), Cretaceous in age, covering about 36% of the county.

Against the rest of North Carolina

Moore County ranks 27 of 100 in North Carolina for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 82% of US counties on that measure.