Sinkhole risk in Young County, TX: 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: 2%
At or near the surface: 2%
Buried under cover: 0%

What to do about a house in Young County

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

That works out to roughly 18 of Young County's 914 square miles on soluble rock, 18 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 18,236 residents (20 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 396 map points about 1.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Young County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Baylor County, TX, about 44 miles northwest. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Jack County, TX 30 mi east · 23% at surface
Throckmorton County, TX 31 mi west · 37% at surface
Stephens County, TX 31 mi south · 13% at surface
Archer County, TX 32 mi north · 0% at surface
Palo Pinto County, TX 35 mi southeast · 39% at surface
Baylor County, TX 44 mi northwest · 50% at surface

The rock underneath

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Home Creek Limestone and Colony Creek Shale, undivided (shale), Pennsylvanian; Missouri Series in age, covering about 2% of the county. Next is the Ranger Limestone and Placid Creek Shale, undivided at under 1%.

Against the rest of Texas

Young County ranks 137 of 254 in Texas for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 58% of US counties on that measure.