Sinkhole risk in Van Buren County, TN: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 27%
At or near the surface: 27%
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 73 of Van Buren County's 273 square miles on soluble rock, 73 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 6,686 residents (24 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 269 map points about 1.0 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 Van Buren County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is White County, TN, about 16 miles north, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

White County, TN 16 mi north · 74% at surface
Bledsoe County, TN 16 mi southeast · 25% at surface
Warren County, TN 18 mi west · 81% at surface
Sequatchie County, TN 23 mi south · 21% at surface
Grundy County, TN 25 mi southwest · 21% at surface
DeKalb County, TN 29 mi northwest · 61% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Monteagle Limestone (limestone), Mississippian in age, covering about 10% of the county. Next is the St. Louis Limestone and Warsaw Limestone at 10%.

Against the rest of Tennessee

Van Buren County ranks 60 of 95 in Tennessee for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 78% of US counties on that measure.