Giant Desiccation Cracks in Arizona

Harris, R.C.

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Citation

Harris, R.C., 2004, Giant Desiccation Cracks in Arizona. Arizona Geological Survey Open File Report, OFR-04-01, 93 p.

Description

Giant desiccation cracks are common in southwestern U.S. playas and have been reported in several areas of Arizona but they are much more common than previously recognized. These giant cracks are similar to mudcracks or large soil cracks, but on an enormous scale. The cracks themselves are up to 3 feet (1 m) wide, up to 9 feet (2 m) deep (apparent depth), and a few are on the order of 1000 feet (300 m) long. They form polygonal blocks that look identical to the shape of mudcracks, but the polygons are characteristically 150-600 feet (45-180 m) across whereas typical mudcracks form polygons 4-8 inches (10-20 cm) across and large soil cracks form polygons 2-6 feet (0.5- 2 m) across. Some giant desiccation cracks are large enough to be mistaken for earth fissures that are caused by subsidence from groundwater pumping.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10150/629774

Additional Links

https://library.azgs.arizona.edu/item/AOFR-1552426828106-17

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Series/Report no.

OFR-04-01

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Documents in the AZGS Document Repository collection are made available by the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) and the University Libraries at the University of Arizona. For more information about items in this collection, please contact azgs-info@email.arizona.edu.

North Bounding Coordinate

37.2504

South Bounding Coordinate

31.7496

West Bounding Coordinate

-114.609

East Bounding Coordinate

-108.809

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AZGS Document Repository