Sinkhole risk in Wythe County, VA: Sinkhole country

Sinkhole country

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

On soluble rock: 64%
At or near the surface: 64%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

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

That works out to roughly 294 of Wythe County's 462 square miles on soluble rock, 294 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 28,100 residents (61 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 245 map points about 1.4 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 Wythe County

The closest county with no soluble rock mapped is Grayson County, VA, about 19 miles southwest. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Bland County, VA 16 mi north · 31% at surface
Grayson County, VA 19 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Galax city, VA 19 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Carroll County, VA 23 mi southeast · under 1% at surface
Pulaski County, VA 23 mi northeast · 57% at surface
Smyth County, VA 26 mi west · 55% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Rome Formation (shale), Cambrian in age, covering about 22% of the county. Next is the Shady Dolomite at 18%.

Against the rest of Virginia

Wythe County ranks 16 of 133 in Virginia for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 91% of US counties on that measure.