Sinkhole risk in Val Verde 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: 90%
At or near the surface: 90%
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 2,843 of Val Verde County's 3,145 square miles on soluble rock, 2,843 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 47,999 residents (15 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 281 map points about 3.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Val Verde County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Coke County, TX, about 142 miles north. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Edwards County, TX 51 mi east · 99% at surface
Kinney County, TX 57 mi southeast · 54% at surface
Sutton County, TX 58 mi northeast · 97% at surface
Crockett County, TX 60 mi north · 83% at surface
Terrell County, TX 61 mi northwest · 88% at surface
Schleicher County, TX 80 mi northeast · 95% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Edwards Limestone (limestone), Early Cretaceous in age, covering about 47% of the county. Next is the Salmon Peak Limestone at 10%.

Against the rest of Texas

Val Verde County ranks 12 of 254 in Texas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 97% of US counties on that measure.