Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Buyer Beware

I was driving in the area south of Hunt Highway when I came across this sign, which I think refers to the soil and a risk of fissures developing. Queen Creek is known for having fissures, tension cracks in the Earth's surface that have formed as a result of groundwater pumping. Intense rainfall can erode the sides of these cracks, expanding them into substantial chasms. The typical fissure is 3-10 feet wide and 5-20 feet in apparent depth.

Having said all that, I'm not sure that I've ever actually seen a fissure. There was a big story about four years ago, after particularly heavy rains, about a driveway that was destroyed when a fissure opened underneath it and another one about an unfortunate horse that fell into a fissure. You are taking a risk when you buy a residential property in some areas, like this one that the tire's message refers to, but I think the media has blown Queen Creek's fissures out of proportion.

4 comments:

  1. Wow. Odd way to sell land. But I guess in the circumstances it is worth starting with the bad news.

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  2. I was wondering if the owner actually posted that or if some disgruntled neighbor had, maybe someone who had purchased land nearby (from the seller?)and then found out he couldn't use it the way he wanted.

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  3. I used to ride my horse out toward the mountain when I lived there and I would have to stop and turn back when I came to a huge fissure that looked like there had been an earthquake. So big there was no going over it. I had forgotten about that until I saw your post today.

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  4. That's really interesting. I think the fissures are harder to see now because the area's been divided up into smaller parcels.

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