Sinkhole risk in White County, TN: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

Soluble rock at or near the surface across much of the county.

On soluble rock: 74%
At or near the surface: 74%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Get a sinkhole or geotechnical inspection before buying, building or adding weight to a foundation.

That works out to roughly 278 of White County's 377 square miles on soluble rock, 278 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 29,108 residents (77 per square mile), homes are spread across towns and farmland, and a mapped unit may or may not reach the developed parts. The figures come from 285 map points about 1.1 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Counties around White County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Morgan County, TN, about 48 miles east. 3 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Putnam County, TN 15 mi north · 60% at surface
Van Buren County, TN 16 mi south · 27% at surface
DeKalb County, TN 21 mi west · 61% at surface
Warren County, TN 25 mi southwest · 81% at surface
Cumberland County, TN 26 mi east · 3% at surface
Bledsoe County, TN 27 mi southeast · 25% at surface

What White County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the St. Louis Limestone and Warsaw Limestone (limestone), Mississippian in age, covering about 46% of the county. Next is the Monteagle Limestone at 21%.

Against the rest of Tennessee

White County ranks 28 of 95 in Tennessee for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 93% of US counties on that measure.