Sinkhole risk in Wayne County, TN: Mostly deep or small

Mostly deep or small

Some soluble rock, mostly deeply buried or in a small share of the county.

On soluble rock: 15%
At or near the surface: 15%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Sinkholes are uncommon here; watch for new depressions after heavy rain or leaking pipes.

That works out to roughly 107 of Wayne County's 734 square miles on soluble rock, 107 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 15,974 residents (22 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 343 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 Wayne County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Colbert County, AL, about 37 miles south, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Hardin County, TN 21 mi west · 9% at surface
Lawrence County, TN 24 mi east · 21% at surface
Lauderdale County, AL 25 mi south · 37% at surface
Lewis County, TN 27 mi northeast · 24% at surface
Perry County, TN 29 mi north · 31% at surface
Decatur County, TN 30 mi northwest · 32% at surface

What Wayne County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Silurian Formations, including Decatur Limestone, Brownsport Group (Lobelville Formation, Bob Limestone, Beech River Formation), Wayne Group (Dixon Formation, Lego Formation, Waldron Shale, Laurel Limestone, Osgood Formation) and Brassfield Limestone (limestone), Silurian in age, covering about 11% of the county. Next is the St. Louis Limestone and Warsaw Limestone at 3%.

Against the rest of Tennessee

Wayne County ranks 71 of 95 in Tennessee for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 71% of US counties on that measure.