Sinkhole risk in Pulaski County, VA: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

Soluble rock at or near the surface across much of the county.

On soluble rock: 57%
At or near the surface: 57%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.

That works out to roughly 183 of Pulaski County's 320 square miles on soluble rock, 183 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 33,579 residents (105 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 607 map points about 0.7 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 Pulaski County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Floyd County, VA, about 22 miles southeast. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Radford city, VA 9 mi northeast · 84% at surface
Giles County, VA 18 mi north · 65% at surface
Montgomery County, VA 20 mi northeast · 64% at surface
Floyd County, VA 22 mi southeast · under 1% at surface
Carroll County, VA 23 mi south · under 1% at surface
Bland County, VA 23 mi west · 31% at surface

What Pulaski County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Elbrook Formation (dolostone (dolomite)), Cambrian in age, covering about 21% of the county. Next is the Rome Formation at 18%.

Against the rest of Virginia

Pulaski County ranks 19 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 89% of US counties on that measure.