Representatives Vince Leach and Mark Finchem alerted their constituents on Tuesday to a 1.8-mile-long fissure in the earth located about 13 miles south of Arizona City on Arizona Trust Land. The Arizona Geological Survey discovered the fresh fissure, which is up to 10 feet wide and up to 30 feet deep, and captured drone footage of it.
“Extreme caution should be exercised by anyone recreating south-southwest of Picacho Peak State Park, especially those operating off-road vehicles,” said Representative Leach.
The State Geologist of Arizona reported:
A fresh, ~ 2-mile long earth fissure occurs 10 miles south-southwest of Picacho Peak State Park on Arizona Trust Land in southern Pinal County (Figure 1a & b.). This new fissure, which is oriented roughly north-south, parallels other fissures in the Tator Hills Earth Fissure Study area. Fissures at Tator Hills were first observed in 1977, and by 2009 over 11 miles of fissures were mapped there.
The width and depth of the new fissure varies dramatically along its length; from a narrow, inch-wide crack to a shallow crevice up to 10 feet wide and 25 – to 30-feet deep. At 1.8 mile in length, this newest fissure is more than a ½-mile longer than other area fissures. Unlike older fissures in the Tator Hills, this fissure is free of vegetation, commensurate with having formed over just the past several years.
Comparing dated Google Earth imagery, AZGS Earth Fissure program manager, Joe Cook, determined the fissure began to form between Mar. 2013 and Dec. 2014. The onset of fissuring began in the north before extending southward and may have coincided with heavy rains in fall 2014. The southern portion of the fissure postdates the Dec. 2014 imagery.