Sinkhole risk in Terrell 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: 88%
At or near the surface: 88%
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 2,063 of Terrell County's 2,358 square miles on soluble rock, 2,063 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 718 residents (0 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 279 map points about 2.9 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around Terrell County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Ector County, TX, about 116 miles north. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Crockett County, TX 52 mi northeast · 83% at surface
Pecos County, TX 54 mi northwest · 31% at surface
Val Verde County, TX 61 mi southeast · 90% at surface
Brewster County, TX 76 mi west · 32% at surface
Upton County, TX 78 mi north · 30% at surface
Reagan County, TX 86 mi northeast · 49% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Edwards Limestone (limestone), Early Cretaceous in age, covering about 50% of the county. Next is the Bouquillas Formation at 11%.

The county also lies over the Permian Basin, Anadarko Basin,Dalhart Basin, Palo Duro Basin, a deep salt or gypsum basin. Deep beds rarely cause surface collapse on their own, but wells and mining into them have.

Against the rest of Texas

Terrell County ranks 16 of 254 in Texas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 96% of US counties on that measure.