Earth Fissures in the News
Geologic Hazards
Arizona Geologic Survey Releases Earth Fissure Maps
Yesterday the Arizona Geologic Survey (AZGS) released the first two of their 1:12,000 series earth fissure maps to the general public. The mapping program, perhaps the first of its kind in the country, came about after an earth fissures opened up in 2005 near Queen Creek, AZ, southeast of metropolitan Phoenix received much media attention. As a result, the Arizona Legislature passed House Bill 2639 of the 2006 Legislative Session that tasked the AZGS with mapping earth fissures and providing the data to the State Land Department for eventual delivery to property owners in Arizona. More after the break. (At left, the Apache Junction study area map, AZGS)
Geologic Hazards
Arizona Earth Fissure Planning Maps
According to Lee Allison’s Blog (Lee is the head of the Arizona Geological Survey and the Arizona State Geologist), the AZGS has released earth fissure maps of 4 Arizona Counties suitable for planning purposes. Read on for more details.
Geologic Hazards
SR 87 Landslide Presentation at Roads and Streets Conference
Last week was the annual American Council of Engineering Companies of Arizona Roads and Streets Conference in my home town of Tucson, Arizona. Its a transportation themed conference as you might guess, but there are usually a few geotechnical-type presentations. This year, there was an excellent presentation on the SR 87 Landslide that occurred about 1-year ago on the highway between Phoenix and Payson. The presentation was given by Keith Dhalen, PE with AECOM , Wayne Harrison, RG also with AECOM and Scott Neely, PE with Terracon . Read on for my recap of the presentation. (Photo by ADOT via AZGS)