Sinkhole risk in Wheeler County, GA: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

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

On soluble rock: 100%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 100%

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 295 of Wheeler County's 295 square miles on soluble rock. With about 7,076 residents (24 per square mile), there is effectively nowhere in the county off the soluble rock, town or country. The figures come from 514 map points about 0.8 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why the 100% under cover still counts, and the signs to look for and how an inspection works.

Counties around Wheeler County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Pulaski County, GA, about 45 miles west. 6 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Montgomery County, GA 13 mi east · 0% at surface
Telfair County, GA 18 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Jeff Davis County, GA 21 mi south · 0% at surface
Laurens County, GA 23 mi northwest · 8% at surface
Treutlen County, GA 23 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Toombs County, GA 24 mi east · 0% at surface

What Wheeler County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the "Hawthorn Formation" (sand), Miocene in age, covering about 95% of the county. Next is the Suwannee Limestone and its residuum at 5%.

Against the rest of Georgia

Wheeler County ranks 157 of 159 in Georgia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.