Sinkhole risk in Prentiss County, MS: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 24%
At or near the surface: 24%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

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 101 of Prentiss County's 415 square miles on soluble rock, 101 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 25,489 residents (61 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 361 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Prentiss County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Lee County, MS, about 24 miles south, 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.

Tishomingo County, MS 18 mi northeast · 10% at surface
Alcorn County, MS 19 mi north · 41% at surface
Lee County, MS 24 mi south · 62% at surface
Tippah County, MS 25 mi northwest · 60% at surface
Itawamba County, MS 25 mi south · 4% at surface
Union County, MS 29 mi west · 75% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Demopolis chalk (carbonate), Upper Cretaceous in age, covering about 19% of the county. Next is the Ripley formation at 5%.

Against the rest of Mississippi

Prentiss County ranks 13 of 82 in Mississippi for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 77% of US counties on that measure.