SinkholeOdds

Sinkhole risk in Oconee County, SC: Mostly deep or small

Mostly deep or small

Some soluble rock, mostly deeply buried or in a small share of the county.

On soluble rock
6%
At or near the surface
6%
Buried under cover
0%

The next step for one property

Sinkholes are uncommon here; watch for new depressions after heavy rain or leaking pipes.

That works out to roughly 34 of Oconee County's 627 square miles on soluble rock, 34 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 82,475 residents (132 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 580 map points about 1.0 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Oconee County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Cocke County, TN, about 81 miles north. None of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so Oconee County stands out from its surroundings.

What Oconee County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Mylonitic rocks of Brevard fault zone (mylonite), Late Paleozoic in age, covering about 6% of the county.

Against the rest of South Carolina

Oconee County ranks 28 of 46 in South Carolina for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 63% of US counties on that measure.