Sinkhole risk in Tallapoosa County, AL: No soluble rock mapped

What to do about a house in Tallapoosa County

No soluble bedrock is mapped here, so natural sinkholes are unlikely. Collapses from broken pipes or old mines are a separate risk.

Across 717 square miles, under one square mile of Tallapoosa County maps onto soluble rock. With about 40,699 residents (57 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 303 map points about 1.5 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 Tallapoosa County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Talladega County, AL, about 41 miles northwest. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

• Chambers County, AL 24 mi east · 0% at surface
• Coosa County, AL 26 mi west · 3% at surface
• Elmore County, AL 27 mi southwest · 0% at surface
• Clay County, AL 28 mi north · 0% at surface
• Lee County, AL 32 mi southeast · 0% at surface
• Macon County, AL 33 mi south · 8% at surface

Against the rest of Alabama

Tallapoosa County ranks 65 of 67 in Alabama for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.

• Houston County 84%
• Jackson County 60%
• Colbert County 60%
• Talladega County 60%
• Lawrence County 60%