Sinkhole risk in Taylor County, TX: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

Fast-dissolving gypsum or salt beds under a large part of the county.

On soluble rock: 66%
At or near the surface: 66%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.

That works out to roughly 606 of Taylor County's 916 square miles on soluble rock, 606 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 148,813 residents (163 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 396 map points about 1.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why gypsum and salt move faster than limestone, and the signs to look for and how an inspection works.

Counties around Taylor County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Archer County, TX, about 115 miles northeast. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Callahan County, TX 30 mi east · 38% at surface
Nolan County, TX 31 mi west · 66% at surface
Jones County, TX 31 mi north · 55% at surface
Runnels County, TX 32 mi south · 52% at surface
Coleman County, TX 41 mi southeast · 36% at surface
Fisher County, TX 43 mi northwest · 59% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Clear Fork Group (mudstone), Permian; Leonard Series in age, covering about 43% of the county. Next is the Edwards Limestone at 15%.

46% of the county sits on gypsum or salt, which dissolves in years rather than millennia. That share matters more than its size suggests.

Against the rest of Texas

Taylor County ranks 27 of 254 in Texas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 92% of US counties on that measure.