Sinkhole risk in Morgan County, AL: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

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

On soluble rock: 56%
At or near the surface: 56%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

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

That works out to roughly 326 of Morgan County's 580 square miles on soluble rock, 326 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 126,084 residents (218 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 293 map points about 1.4 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 Morgan County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Cullman County, AL, about 22 miles south. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Cullman County, AL 22 mi south · 0% at surface
Limestone County, AL 26 mi north · 50% at surface
Madison County, AL 27 mi northeast · 59% at surface
Lawrence County, AL 28 mi west · 60% at surface
Marshall County, AL 32 mi east · 29% at surface
Winston County, AL 36 mi southwest · 0% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Bangor Limestone (limestone), Mississippian in age, covering about 31% of the county. Next is the Tuscumbia Limestone at 15%.

Against the rest of Alabama

Morgan County ranks 8 of 67 in Alabama for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 89% of US counties on that measure.