Sinkhole risk in Murray County, OK: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 49%
At or near the surface: 49%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Murray County

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 202 of Murray County's 416 square miles on soluble rock, 202 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 13,754 residents (33 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 276 map points about 1.2 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 Murray County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Grady County, OK, about 59 miles northwest. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Carter County, OK 20 mi southwest · 11% at surface
Garvin County, OK 21 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Johnston County, OK 27 mi southeast · 33% at surface
Pontotoc County, OK 27 mi northeast · 28% at surface
Marshall County, OK 36 mi southeast · 35% at surface
Love County, OK 38 mi south · 13% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the West Spring Creek and Kindblade Formations (limestone), Early Ordovician in age, covering about 12% of the county. Next is the Cool Creek and McKenzie Hill Formations at 7%.

Against the rest of Oklahoma

Murray County ranks 11 of 77 in Oklahoma for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 87% of US counties on that measure.