Sinkhole risk in Stewart County, GA: 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: 2%
At or near the surface: 2%
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 9 of Stewart County's 459 square miles on soluble rock, 9 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 4,809 residents (10 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 344 map points about 1.2 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 Stewart County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Lee County, GA, about 44 miles southeast. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Webster County, GA 17 mi east · under 1% at surface
Quitman County, GA 18 mi southwest · under 1% at surface
Chattahoochee County, GA 19 mi north · 0% at surface
Randolph County, GA 22 mi south · 0% at surface
Russell County, AL 25 mi northwest · 3% at surface
Marion County, GA 27 mi northeast · 0% at surface

What Stewart County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Clayton Formation (sand), Paleocene in age, covering about 2% of the county.

Against the rest of Georgia

Stewart County ranks 61 of 159 in Georgia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 58% of US counties on that measure.