Sinkhole risk in Portsmouth city, VA: No soluble rock mapped
No soluble rock mapped
No soluble bedrock mapped.
- On soluble rock
- 0%
- At or near the surface
- 0%
- Buried under cover
- 0%
What this means before you buy
No soluble bedrock is mapped here, so natural sinkholes are unlikely. Collapses from broken pipes or old mines are a separate risk.
Across 33 square miles, under one square mile of Portsmouth city maps onto soluble rock. With about 96,482 residents (2,897 per square mile), most of the county is built up, so a mapped unit is likely to sit under somebody's street. The figures come from 539 map points about 0.2 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.
Read next: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.
Counties around Portsmouth city
The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Hertford County, NC, about 49 miles southwest. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.
- Norfolk city, VA 8 mi northeast · 0% at surface
- Chesapeake city, VA 13 mi south · 0% at surface
- Hampton city, VA 13 mi north · 0% at surface
- Newport News city, VA 18 mi northwest · 0% at surface
- Poquoson city, VA 19 mi north · 0% at surface
- Virginia Beach city, VA 19 mi east · 0% at surface
Against the rest of Virginia
Portsmouth city ranks 132 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%