Sinkhole risk in Page County, VA: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 37%
At or near the surface: 37%
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 116 of Page County's 310 square miles on soluble rock, 116 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 23,686 residents (76 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 510 map points about 0.8 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 Page County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Harrisonburg city, VA, about 24 miles southwest, 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.

Shenandoah County, VA 17 mi north · 50% at surface
Rappahannock County, VA 18 mi east · 0% at surface
Madison County, VA 19 mi southeast · 1% at surface
Greene County, VA 23 mi south · 0% at surface
Rockingham County, VA 23 mi west · 45% at surface
Harrisonburg city, VA 24 mi southwest · 85% at surface

What Page County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Beekmantown Group (dolostone (dolomite)), Ordovician in age, covering about 15% of the county. Next is the Conococheague Formation at 7%.

Against the rest of Virginia

Page County ranks 31 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 83% of US counties on that measure.