Sinkhole risk in Pickens County, AL: 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: 4%
At or near the surface: 4%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

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

That works out to roughly 38 of Pickens County's 881 square miles on soluble rock, 38 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 18,508 residents (21 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 326 map points about 1.6 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Pickens County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Noxubee County, MS, about 30 miles southwest, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Lowndes County, MS 23 mi northwest · 44% at surface
Noxubee County, MS 30 mi southwest · 88% at surface
Greene County, AL 32 mi south · 18% at surface
Tuscaloosa County, AL 33 mi east · 2% at surface
Lamar County, AL 34 mi north · 0% at surface
Fayette County, AL 35 mi northeast · 0% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Selma Group; Mooreville Chalk (carbonate), Cretaceous in age, covering about 3% of the county. Next is the Selma Group; Demopolis Chalk at 2%.

Against the rest of Alabama

Pickens County ranks 44 of 67 in Alabama for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 62% of US counties on that measure.