Sinkhole risk in Queen Anne's County, MD: 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 16 of Queen Anne's County's 372 square miles on soluble rock, 16 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 53,688 residents (144 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 454 map points about 0.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Queen Anne's County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Jefferson County, WV, about 97 miles west. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Kent County, MD 14 mi north · under 1% at surface
Caroline County, MD 18 mi southeast · 10% at surface
Talbot County, MD 21 mi south · 5% at surface
Anne Arundel County, MD 26 mi west · 15% at surface
Kent County, DE 31 mi east · 0% at surface
Baltimore city, MD 33 mi northwest · 0% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Chesapeake Group; Calvert Formation (sand), Miocene in age, covering about 4% of the county.

Against the rest of Maryland

Queen Anne's County ranks 13 of 24 in Maryland for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 62% of US counties on that measure.