Sinkhole risk in Richmond County, VA: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 23%
At or near the surface: 23%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Richmond 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 45 of Richmond County's 191 square miles on soluble rock, 45 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 9,215 residents (48 per square mile), much of the land is open, and the mapped rock may sit far from where people actually live. The figures come from 384 map points about 0.7 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Richmond County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Clarke County, VA, about 106 miles northwest. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Essex County, VA 11 mi west · 42% at surface
Westmoreland County, VA 12 mi north · 20% at surface
King and Queen County, VA 18 mi southwest · 37% at surface
Northumberland County, VA 20 mi east · 12% at surface
St. Mary's County, MD 22 mi northeast · 15% at surface
Lancaster County, VA 24 mi southeast · 4% at surface

What Richmond County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Chesapeake Group (sand), Tertiary in age, covering about 23% of the county.

Against the rest of Virginia

Richmond County ranks 41 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 76% of US counties on that measure.