Sinkhole risk in Patrick 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.

Across 483 square miles, under one square mile of Patrick County maps onto soluble rock. With about 17,308 residents (36 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 272 map points about 1.3 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 Patrick County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Radford city, VA, about 35 miles northwest, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

• Henry County, VA 17 mi east · under 1% at surface
• Floyd County, VA 19 mi north · under 1% at surface
• Stokes County, NC 19 mi south · 41% at surface
• Martinsville city, VA 23 mi east · 0% at surface
• Carroll County, VA 25 mi west · under 1% at surface
• Surry County, NC 28 mi southwest · 12% at surface

Against the rest of Virginia

Patrick County ranks 114 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.

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