Sinkholes in Tennessee:

In the U.S. Tennessee is among the top five states with most-frequent occurrenc of sinkholes. Sinkhole occurrences are not uniformly distributed in Tennessee.

Watch out: rope off and keep people well away from sinkholes in Tennessee - falling in to a sinkhole can cause injury or worse.

This article describes the location & type of sinkholes occurring in Tennessee and answers a homeowner question about worrisome building settlement, subsidence, and possibly unsafe conditions at a sinking house in western Tennessee near Reelfoot Lake in Lake County.

This article series explains what sinkholes are and why they occur, describes their effects on buildings, and gives building and site inspection advice useful in identifying areas where there is an increased risk of sink holes at properties.

We provide a catalog of types of sink holes around the world including California, Canada, Quebec, Estonia, Guatemala, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas,Tennessee, Virginia and other states and provinces and countries. Explanation of causes of sinking buildings from events other than sinkholes.

Sinkholes in Tennessee

What do I do about settlement & movement in my house near Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee?

Reader question: We live in Tiptonville TN , about an eight of a mile from Reelfoot lake. We have noticed that our front door is now dragging the floor when we start to shut it. the front porch is slumping, and our yard is slumping in some spots.

We don't know if this is from the small earthquakes that we have quit often, or if it may be a possible sinkhole.

I am really scared, I have three kids and my husband. I don't know what to do . can you give me some advice? anything will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance - Anonymous by private email.

The map above shows the general area of Tennessee's deepest sinkholes, over 100 ft., retrieved 2017/09/17, original source: https://tnlandforms.us/landforms/sinks.php Sep 15, 2017

[Click to enlarge any image]

Reply: where do the deepest sinkholes occur in Tennessee and what about fauxholes or man-made sinkholes or subsidences?

There are indeed reports of earthquakes around Tiptonville TN, just as you said and as I've read.

As you know, and is pointed out by other experts, Lake County's Reelfoot lake, Tennessee's largest natural lake, was created by the New Madrid earthquakes occurring in 1811 and 1812. - retrieved 2017/09/19, original source: Dunigan, Tom, "Tennessee Landforms", [website] retrieved 2017/09/15, cited below.

There are also reports of more than 54,000 sinkholes in Tennesse, and oiver 21,000 sinkholes that are 3 meters or more deep.

For other readers, this sinking- home in Tiptonville, is in Lake County Tennessee at the western edge of the state just east of I55, bordering the Mississippi river to the west and Reelfoot lake to the northeast. Lake County is one of about six counties in Tennessee that have reported no sinkholes "of distinction".

Watch out: Regardless, that doesn't mean your building could not be damaged by earthquakes or tremors, by subsidences that result from those events,

or by subsidences that occur for other reasons like a burst water main, collapsing soil over buried debris, or something else that geologists and geotechnical engineers refer to as "fauxholes"

- man-made subsidences that might be from quarry mining, gravel pits, clay pits, strip mine holding ponds, levees or road impoundments - according to Tennessee experts I cite herein.

A fauxhole or man-made subsidence can still cause substantial or even dangerous damage to a home.

If significant volumes of water are being pumped out of Reelfoot lake, OR if significant water is entering the lake that could affect local sinkhole formation and subsidences. Other factors can cause changes in an old area of sinkholes as Hart (2014) points out:

... sinkholes undergo fill and flush cycles at different timescales caused by changes in upland sediment supply and morphologic changes at swallet openings.

at SINKHOLE DETECTION, WARNING SIGNS we discuss common warning signs that can help recognize the development of a sinkhole.

Even without true sinkholes (normally occurring either over certain limestone formations (Karst) or occurring where there has been mining), earthquakes, changes in underground water movement, or other forces can cause foundation damage and subsidences.

I am not a geotechnical engineer, but having studied this problem a bit, in my opinion I think these are some key questions:

1. Immediate risk to home:

Is there sufficient damage to your home in amount, or in rate of change or movement that there is risk of pulling apart framing connectors and thus risking collapsing foundation or floors, walls, etc.

A hairline crack is not urgent if it's not changing rapidly (daily, weekly would be rapid, even monthly would be a concern). But a crack that's a half inch or more and that's new means some significant movment is occurring.

2. Immediate life safety hazards on the property:

Is there a risk that someone walking near the home could fall into a hole and be injured or trapped.

Generally experts warn to rope off suspect areas, keep people away, and get some help from a local expert. In Tennesse around Tiptonville that might be your local building department or a geo-technical engineer.

But if you see holes opening rapidly around the home, if it were me, and sorry to say I know this is troublesome, I'd get people out of and away from the property before calling for help.

In that case you might call emergency services - like 911 for help.

I cannot bet your safety on an email guess at just what's going on at your home, and I urge you to consult an expert onsite.

Please keep me informed - as what you learn will no doubt help your neighbors too.

See SINKHOLES - IMMEDIATE SAFETY ACTIONS

"Sinkholes" that are not verified by a licensed professional geologist or geotechnical engineer to be a true sinkhole are also described in various publications as subsidence incidents.

Readers should see SINKHOLES - IMMEDIATE SAFETY ACTIONS, and also

see FOUNDATION CRACKS & DAMAGE GUIDE

and CESSPOOL SAFETY WARNINGS.

Additional septic system safety warnings are at SEPTIC & CESSPOOL SAFETY.

The bare minimum that a property owner needs to know about sinkholes or any other sudden subsidence of soils at a property is that these conditions might be very dangerous.

Someone falling into a sink hole or into a collapsing septic tank could be seriously injured or even die.

If a suspicious hole, subsidence, or depression appears at a property the owner should rope off and prevent access to the area to prevent anyone from falling into the opening, and then should seek prompt assistance from a qualified expert, geotechnical engineer, septic contractor, excavator, or the like.

Reader follow-up:

Reelfoot lake was created over a hundred years ago by an earthquake that made the Mississippi river flow backwards for 2 days. We are in lake county. I wonder if public works could check it out.

Reply:

The Tennessee sinkhole information at https://tnlandforms.us/landforms/sinks.php does not include Lake County among the sites of major sinkholes but that's not a complete assurance.

Still, you are right on the western edge of the state. The map of the main deep sinkholes seems to put them in a chain running up through the center of the state. I include shapshots here showing where you are located and where the main series of Tennessee sinkholes are found in that state. .

Your subsidence is obviously real and is a legitimate concern. But we can't make an accurate guess about cause nor remedy (repair work) until the cause is diagnosed.

Significant in my view were the questions I posed before - amount and rate of movement.

Do your neighbors also have similar conditions?

That would be diagnostic too.

Tennessee Sinkhole Resources

Reporting Sinkholes in Tennessee

Contact your local building department to ask for help and advice with a local sinkhole, and contact a geo-techinical engineer for help evaluating the safety of sinkholes that you observe.

Occurrences of Sinkholes in Tennessee

You will see from the Tennessee sinkhole map that while there are scattered areas of sinkholes in eastern Tennessee, most sinkholes occur on a roughly north-south line that bisects the state. This map is adapted from Tennessee sinkholes, Tom Dunigan, retrieved 2018/05/10, original source https://tnlandforms.us/landforms/sinks.php

[Click to enlarge any image]

Most Tennessee sink holes are 10 feet or less in depth, though over 10,000 sinkholes are 30 feet or more in depth, and about 45 sinkholes are reported as 100 feet or deeper!

Principal Tennessee counties reporting deep sinkholes include Blount, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Cumberland, Franklin, Grundy, Hancock, Marion, Overton, Putnam, Van Buren, Warren, and White counties.

Tennessee sinkholes have also been reported in Anderson, Bedford, Bledsoe, Bradley, Cannon, Carroll, Cheatham, Chester, Clay, Coffee, Davidson, Decatur, DeKalb, Dickson, Fentriss, Giles, Grainger, Greene, Hambien, Hardeman, Hardin, Hawkins, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Lake, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Loudon, Macon, Madison, Marshall, Jaury, McMinn, McNairy, Meigs, Monroe, Montgomery, Moore, Morgan, Obion, Perry, Pickett, Polk, Rhea, Roane, Robertson, Rutherford, Scott, Sequatchie, Sevier, Shelby, Smith, Stewart, Sullivan, Sumner, Tipton, Trousdale, Unicol, Washington, Wayne, Weakley, Williamson, and Wilson county.

Amont these the counties with the greatest number of sinkholes in Tennessee include Montgomery County (3,025 sinkholes), White County (2,970), Jefferson County (2,364), and Marshall County (2,312)

No sinkholes have been reported for these Tennessee counties: Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Obion, Tipton

Insurance for Sinkhole Damage in Tennessee

In Tennessee via TN Senate Bill 880 (Tracy) [PDF] in 2014 the state legislature amended T.C.A. § 56-7-130. This is state law that required insurance carriers to offer homeowner's insurance in Tennessee. The amendment requires insurers to make sinkhole damage coverage available to their customers. The new statute clarified that in Tennessee, sinkhole insurance coverage is optional, provided by the company on request.

Excerpts from TCA 56-7-130 Sinkhole losses

5) “Sinkhole loss” means actual physical damage to a building or property within, arising out of, or caused by sudden settlement or collapse of the earth supporting the building, and only when the sudden settlement or collapse results directly from subterranean voids created by the action of water on limestone or similar rock formation. Contents coverage shall apply only if there is structural damage to the building caused by sinkhole activity.

(b) Every insurer offering homeowner property insurance in this state shall make available coverage for insurable sinkhole losses on any dwelling, including contents of personal property contained in the dwelling, to the extent provided in the policy to which the sinkhole coverage attaches

Watch out: don't assume that your Tennessee home is insured against sinkhole loss or damage. Check with your insurance company.

Research on Tennessee Sinkholes

• Beck, Barry F., and Felicity M. Pearson, eds. Karst Geohazards: Engineering and Environmental Problems in Karst Terrane: Proceedings of the Fifth Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impact of Karst, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, 2-5 April 1995. Taylor & Francis, 1995.
• Carpenter, Philip J., William E. Doll, and Ronald D. Kaufmann. "Geophysical Character of Buried Sinkholes on the Oak Ridge Reservation, Tennessee (Presented at SAGEEP95 in Orlando, FL)." Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics 3, no. 3 (1998): 133-145.
  Abstract:
  
  Sinkholes are important near‐surface indicators of active karst features at depth, such as cavities, conduits and solutionally‐enlarged fractures. This study tests the hypothesis that ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and other geophysical methods may be used to identify filled sinkholes as a means of inferring the existence of these deeper hydraulically‐active karst features.
  
  Geophysical surveys were made at two sites in Bear Creek Valley on the Oak Ridge Reservation in eastern Tennessee.
  
  GPR profiles (25 and 50 MHz) made along the northeast edge of Bear Creek Valley showed a troughlike pattern of radar reflections outlining a possible filled sinkhole. This feature is at least 45 m wide, 3.5 to 5 m deep, and appears on GPR profiles acquired at a variety of antenna separations and along profiles made in different directions.
  
  Its dimensions are consistent with dimensions of other mapped sinkholes in the area. GPR, electromagnetic conductivity surveys, resistivity soundings and gravity models suggest this feature is filled with relatively dense, resistive residuum or colluvium, and may contain cherty gravels along its base and sides.
  
  This structure lies almost directly above a major hydraulically‐active bedrock cavity at a depth of 18 m that was encountered during drilling of a nearby monitoring well. Similar reflection patterns were recorded by GPR surveys over another filled sinkhole at this site, and by GPR profiles over possible filled sinkholes above active karst conduits at a second site 7 km to the southwest.
• Dunigan, Tom, "Tennessee Landforms", [website] retrieved 2017/09/15, original source: https://tnlandforms.us/landforms/m.php?wpt=LAL004 . Mr Dunigan is a former Adjunct Associate Professor UTK and a retired ORNL Cisco research scientest.
• Hart, Evan A. "Legacy sediment stored in sinkholes: a case study of three urban watersheds in Tennessee, United States of America." Physical Geography 35, no. 6 (2014): 514-531.
  Abstract:
  
  As closed topographic depressions, sinkholes effectively divide karst regions into a series of subwatersheds, where swallets within each sinkhole define the downstream end of each subwatershed. Water and sediment are temporarily stored in sinkholes before continuing to underground streams.
  
  While pathways and travel times of water in karst terrain are commonly found using tracing techniques, such techniques do not provide information about the movement and travel time of sediment through these systems.
  
  This paper reviews the literature regarding sediment storage within sinkholes and presents a case study, the objective of which is to estimate the magnitude and timing of sediment deposition within three sinkholes in an urbanized area in Tennessee, United States of America.
  
  Sedimentation rates in sinkholes were estimated based on age determination of cultural artifacts (buried trash and coal fragments) and by 14C dating. For the three study sinkholes, minimum deposition rates (maximum residence times) were 15 cm yr −1(6 yrs), 1.5 cm yr −1(81 yrs), and 0.2 cm yr−1(640 yrs).
  
  The analysis revealed that sinkholes undergo fill and flush cycles at different timescales caused by changes in upland sediment supply and morphologic changes at swallet openings.
  
  Sinkholes that lack swallet openings, or with swallets that have become blocked by debris, are effectively disconnected from master streams with regard to sediment. Sediment stored in sinkholes may be released downstream when swallet conditions change.
• Kemmerly, Phillip R. "Corrective procedures for sinkhole collapse on the Western Highland Rim, Tennessee." Transportation Research Record 978 (1984).
  Abstract:
  
  Sinkhole collapse poses an increasing problem for the engineer and geologist. This is partly because no systematic procedure exists for repairing such collapses. Any successful repair procedure for use in the karst limestones of middle Tennessee should include efforts to identify and control water movement into the collapse site.
  
  A geologically based approach to collapse repair that takes advantage of the causal and correlative factors responsible for nearly 100 collapses in the study area and an extensive fluorescein dye-tracing program are described.
  
  Corrective procedures deal not only with the collapse itself but with the rerouting, to the extent possible, of runoff and groundwater at the collapse site. A high-permeability, graded rock fill is placed in the collapse, and water movement into the site is minimized.
  
• Knox County Tennessee, "Reporting Form for Drainage Concerns" [including sinkhole reporting] https://www.knoxcounty.org/stormwater/drainage_concerns_reporting_form.php
• Kohl, Martin S. "Subsidence and Sinkholes in East Tennessee." [PDF], State of Tennessee Dep’t Env’t Conservation: Div. of Geology (2001): 4-5. Retrieved 2017/09/19, original source: http://jumpjet.info/Emergency-Preparedness/ Disaster-Mitigation/Earth/Subsidence_and_Sinkholes.pdf
• Montgomery County Government, SINKHOLES [PDF] Montgomery County Govermnment, Building & Codes Department, 350 Pagent Lane Suite 308, Clarkesville TN 37040, Tel: 931-648-5718, retrieved 2018/05/10, original source: https://mcgtn.org/sites/default/files/building-codes /Stormwater/Facts/SinkholeInformation.pdf
  
  Excerpt: Sinkholes are the result of water movement through limestone rock formations. As water moves through the natural cracks in these formations, the limestone is slowly dissolved leaving open spaces in the rock structure. When enough limestone has dissolved to weaken the rock, the surface soil collapses into a cone shaped depression commonly called a sinkhole.
  
  The size of the sinkhole is dependent on several factors including groundwater level, surface water infiltration rate, overburden depth, and water chemistry. Once formed, a sinkhole can grow in size unpredictably, based on conditions specific to that area.
  
  Sinkholes are a common feature of Montgomery County and the surrounding areas. ...
  
  Montgomery County Storm Water Regulations require a 60 foot undisturbed buffer zone around any throats, cave entrances or Class V Injection Well structures to help protect ground water quality.
  
  Because sinkholes represent a direct path for pollution to enter area water resources, it is illegal to put any substance on the ground that can be washed into any sinkhole, or to dispose of trash, dirt, yard waste, garbage, building materials, animal wastes or chemicals by dumping them in or around a sinkhole.
  
  Landowners, farmers, businesses and industries are legally liable for accidental leaks that may result in contamination entering a sinkhole. Care must be taken to prevent pollution from entering sinkholes. By taking a few basic precautions around sinkholes, you can help prevent water pollution. ...
• Montgomery County [Tennessee] Storm Water Management and Control Regulation Program Website: http://www.mcgtn.org/stormwater/forms
• Shofner, Gregory A., Hugh H. Mills, and Jason E. Duke. "A simple map index of karstification and its relationship to sinkhole and cave distribution in Tennessee." [PDF] Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 63, no. 2 (2001): 67-75. Retrieved 2017/09/19, original source: http://thewatergrab.org/pdf/sinkhole-and-cave-distribution-in-tennessee.pdf
• Stephenson, J. Brad, W. F. Zhou, Barry F. Beck, and Tom S. Green. "Highway stormwater runoff in karst areas—preliminary results of baseline monitoring and design of a treatment system for a sinkhole in Knoxville, Tennessee." Engineering Geology 52, no. 1 (1999): 51-59.
• Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Office of Water Pollution Control: http://tennessee.gov/environment/wpc/
• Tennessee Geological Survey, Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, Department of Environment & Conservation, 312 Rosa L. Parks Ave., Nashville, TN 37243Tel: 1-888-891-8332, Email: ask.tdec@tn.gov , Website: https://www.tn.gov/environment/section/geo-geology
• Wolfe, William John. Hydrology and tree-distribution patterns of karst wetlands at Arnold Engineering Development Center, Tennessee. No. 96-4277. US Geological Survey; Branch of Information Services [distributor],, 1996.

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Who inspects sink holes in nashville?

who inspects sink holes in nashville? On 2020-12-02 by linda

Reply by (mod) - How to report a sinkhole in Nashville TN

Linda

How to report a sinkhole in Nashville TN

Nashville Tennessee sinkhole reporting for Nashville is through Nashville city government

At this page you can start a new sinkhole report

https://hub.nashville.gov/s/request-type/a0ut0000000ULleAAG/sinkhole?language=en_US

Or you can contact hubNashville

hubNashville provides non-emergency services. If you are experiencing an emergency, call 911 immediately.

hubNashville can be reached via phone at 311 or (615) 862-5000, Monday-Friday 8AM - 5PM

For more information about Metro Government, visit Nashville.gov

WATCH OUT: see the emergency advice given above on this page; if you suspect a sinkhole is developing you should keep people away and mark or rope off the area as well as notifying city officials. In an actual emergency call emergency services - dial 911

Has there ever been a sink hole issue in Murfreesboro, TN?

Has there ever been a sink hole issue in Murfreesboro, TN? Has a house ever been swallowed up by a sink hole in this area? On 2020-07-20 by Jennifer

Reply by mod:

Yes sinkholes and sinkole flooding has been reported in Murfreesboro - see

Sinkhole Flooding in Murfreesboro, Rutherford County, Tennessee, 2001–02 [PDF]

On 2019-10-25 by Vicky edwards

who do you talk to in order to get proof your sitting on top of a sinkhole i'm having problems with the insurance

Reply by (mod) -

You may need to find a local geotechnical engineer

Reply by (mod) -

You might start with your local building department, or a local geotechnical engineering firm who can tell you if sinkholes have been common in your immediate area.

On 2018-05-24 by Lynn

can you get sinkhole coverage on a road for future road repairs. The builder is not putting in sidewalks or curbs and Johnson City approved him doing this so now we are responsible for this road.

my home owner association found out we are responsible for my road because the builder refuses to finish this road with sidewalks and curbs. Now the city, Johnson City is refusing to make it a public road. The homeowners are afraid the road could get a sinkhole.

What are the chances of getting a sinkhole on this road. I live on this road at 35 Poinciana Place, Johnson CIty, Tn Also the city is saying the road will last about 20 years but it's already pretty damaged from the builder bringing all his trucks on it for the last 6 months.

The city allowed the builder to get away with sticking us homeowners with this exorbitant expense of maintaining my road. Also I am paying city taxes and they won't even plow my road in the winter. How can I find out if we could get a sinkhole. Should I call a sinkhole company?

Big sinkhole in Lebanon TN Wilson county 37087.

Posting comment from an anonymous reader

My mother owns her home on cedar Grove Rd in Lebanon TN Wilson county 37087. There is a very large sink hole right across the street from our house. We moved there over 20 years ago and it was there then and has only gotten bigger.

It's fenced off now because the landfill bought the property across the street but it's if I'm correct almost an acre of land big at ground level and about 30 to 40 feet deep, people have been trying to fill it in with junk and all kinds of stuff over the years.

But I'm concerned because this sink hole is not listed and I'm just now discovering that TN is high risk for sink holes and has one of the top five states in the us for a karsed landscape. Please advise who I can contact to have our particular sinkhole investigated! On 2018-05-10 by anonymous:

Reader Question: possible sinkhole developing in Tiptonville TN, about an eight of a mile from Reelfoot lake

Sep 15, 2017

We live in Tiptonville TN, about an eight of a mile from Reelfoot lake. We have noticed that our front door is now dragging the floor when we start to shut it. the front porch is slumping, and our yard is slumping in some spots.

We don't know if this is from the small earthquakes that we have quit often, or if it may be a possible sinkhole

...

The map above shows the general area of Tennessee's deepest sinkholes, over 100 ft., retrieved 2017/09/17, original source:https://tnlandforms.us/landforms/sinks.php

Reply by : sinkholes occuring in Tennessee

There are indeed reports of earthquakes around Tiptonville TN, just as you said and as I've read.

We provide details on Tennessee sinkholes and subsidences above on this page.

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Continue reading at SINKHOLE DAMAGE REPAIRS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Sinkhole & Subsidence Articles

• SEPTIC & CESSPOOL SAFETY
• SINKHOLES & SUBSIDENCES - home
  • DEFINITION of SINKHOLES
  • GHOST LAKES & SINKHOLES
  • SINKHOLE DAMAGE REPAIRS
  • SINKHOLE DETECTION, WARNING SIGNS
  • SINKHOLES - IMMEDIATE SAFETY ACTIONS
  • SINKHOLES COURSE - X-Ray Vision?
  • SINKHOLES on KARST FORMATIONS
  • SINKHOLES on LEDA CLAY FORMATIONS
  • SINKHOLE RESEARCH & REFERENCES
• SINKING BUILDINGS

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Sinkholes in TENNESSEE at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to SINKHOLES

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