Sinkhole risk in Prince George's County, MD: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 22%
At or near the surface: 22%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Prince George's County

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 105 of Prince George's County's 483 square miles on soluble rock, 105 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 966,629 residents (2,003 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 556 map points about 0.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Prince George's County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Jefferson County, WV, about 64 miles northwest. None of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so Prince George's County stands out from its surroundings.

District of Columbia, DC 10 mi northwest · 1% at surface
Alexandria city, VA 13 mi west · 0% at surface
Arlington County, VA 14 mi west · 0% at surface
Falls Church city, VA 18 mi west · 0% at surface
Anne Arundel County, MD 19 mi northeast · 15% at surface
Fairfax County, VA 23 mi west · 2% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Chesapeake Group; Calvert Formation (sand), Miocene in age, covering about 22% of the county.

Against the rest of Maryland

Prince George's County ranks 4 of 24 in Maryland for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 75% of US counties on that measure.