Sinkhole risk in Nelson County, VA: No soluble rock mapped

The next step for one property

No soluble bedrock is mapped here, so natural sinkholes are unlikely. Collapses from broken pipes or old mines are a separate risk.

That works out to roughly 3 of Nelson County's 471 square miles on soluble rock, 3 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 14,766 residents (31 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 468 map points about 1.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Nelson County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Waynesboro city, VA, about 19 miles north, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

• Amherst County, VA 18 mi southwest · under 1% at surface
• Waynesboro city, VA 19 mi north · 69% at surface
• Albemarle County, VA 24 mi northeast · 0% at surface
• Buckingham County, VA 24 mi southeast · under 1% at surface
• Buena Vista city, VA 26 mi west · 75% at surface
• Staunton city, VA 27 mi north · 89% at surface

What Nelson County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Alligator Back Formation - Banded marble (marble), Proterozoic Z-Cambrian in age, covering about under 1% of the county.

Against the rest of Virginia

Nelson County ranks 88 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 53% of US counties on that measure.

• Lexington city 100%
• Salem city 100%
• Roanoke city 98%
• Winchester city 90%
• Bristol city 89%