Sinkhole risk in Wise 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: 24%
At or near the surface: 24%
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 221 of Wise County's 904 square miles on soluble rock, 221 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 81,275 residents (90 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 394 map points about 1.5 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 Wise County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Baylor County, TX, about 94 miles west. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Jack County, TX 30 mi west · 23% at surface
Denton County, TX 31 mi east · 41% at surface
Parker County, TX 32 mi south · 21% at surface
Montague County, TX 32 mi north · 4% at surface
Tarrant County, TX 37 mi southeast · 41% at surface
Cooke County, TX 39 mi northeast · 52% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Goodland Limestone and Walnut Clay, undivided (limestone), Early Cretaceous; Comanchean Series in age, covering about 10% of the county. Next is the Fort Worth Limestone and Duck Creek Formation, undivided at 7%.

Against the rest of Texas

Wise County ranks 94 of 254 in Texas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 77% of US counties on that measure.