Sinkhole risk in Sutton County, TX: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 97%
At or near the surface: 97%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

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 1,406 of Sutton County's 1,454 square miles on soluble rock, 1,406 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 3,269 residents (2 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 392 map points about 1.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Sutton County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Coke County, TX, about 94 miles north. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Schleicher County, TX 26 mi north · 95% at surface
Edwards County, TX 39 mi south · 99% at surface
Kimble County, TX 46 mi east · 97% at surface
Menard County, TX 46 mi northeast · 93% at surface
Crockett County, TX 55 mi west · 83% at surface
Val Verde County, TX 58 mi southwest · 90% at surface

What Sutton County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Edwards Limestone (limestone), Early Cretaceous in age, covering about 80% of the county. Next is the Buda Limestone at 17%.

Against the rest of Texas

Sutton County ranks 6 of 254 in Texas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 98% of US counties on that measure.